military is investigating a Marine accused of promoting Christianity in
with a Bible verse on them,
officials said on Thursday.
“They
have initiated an investigation into that and there is some evidence of an
individual that was doing that,” said Bryan Whitman, a Pentagon
spokesperson.
According
to a report from McClatchy News Service, a Marine in Falluja has been handing
out coins with the Bible verse for a few days.
“Where
will you spend eternity?” was on one side of the coin.
On
the other was a Bible verse referring to Jesus: “For God so loved the
world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall
not perish, but have eternal life. John 3:16.”
If
true, the Marine would have violated US military rules that prohibit the
promotion of any religion, faith or practice.
Christians
make up around 3% of the population in mostly Muslim Iraq.
Handing
out or exchanging coins is a tradition within the
often minted with the emblem of a unit or other military affiliation and senior
commanders have their own coins.
Often,
US defence secretaries hand out their coins or a “Combating Terrorism”
coin to troops in the war zone and sometimes to visitors. Service members often
collect dozens of these sought-after coins.
Reuters
