Posted on 05/20/2015 5:54:14 AM PDT by OK Sun
A couple of weeks ago a toddler shot himself in the head after finding a gun under the pillow of his parent's bed. Just days later a police officer accidentally shot his mother at a family wedding while adjusting his jacket. Last year, a nine-year-old girl was being shown how to use an automatic weapon and accidentally killed her instructor. In Idaho a two-year-old boy was shopping at Walmart with his mother and three other children, when he found a gun in his mother's bag; he pulled the trigger and killed her.
Some would argue that these tragic stories are reason enough for people to rethink their attachment to firearms, but apparently not. Not all American Christians are pro-guns of course, but there is a sizeable number who are. One of the more outspoken evangelical proponents of gun ownership is theologian Wayne Grudem, whose arguments I will critique here.
The Second Amendment to the American constitution states: "A well-regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed."
Grudem argues that the reason the Second Amendment was added to the constitution was "to provide another protection against tyranny – to make it harder for any potential dictator or would-be king to take control of the entire nation against the will of the people." This concern is probably not at the heart of the individual gun control debate at the moment as the right to bear arms against a tyrannical dictatorship is a different question as to whether Christians need to own guns now in a stable democratic environment. ...
(Excerpt) Read more at christiantoday.com ...
Is it any wonder we declared our Freedom and sent these idiots packing?!
A British guy apparently. So just ignore this. Don't waste 5 minutes of your life.
Really? While some passages are meant figuratively, this one would not make sense from that perspective. A far more reasonable interpretation is that those who follow Jesus are commanded to literally defend ourselves "sell your cloak and buy (a sword)" but to keep that part of our lives in balance with our other Christian duties, "here are two swords" and "it is enough".
You know I went to a gun show this weekend where there were probably hundreds of thousands of guns laying around and I’m pretty sure there were thousands of Christians there given the numbers and odds and you know what?
Not ONE, NO not one gun got out of line, git up off the table and started shooting anyone. They all just laid down on the table and minded themselves. Maybe the author needs to do a little more study on the environment and perpetrators of gun crimes. The vast majority of them occur in bad neighborhoods with perps who are just bad people, plain and simple. Maybe the author also needs to do a little research into the background of WHY the founding fathers wanted The People to have guns, one of which is against tyrants who don’t want us to be able to defend ourselves. And maybe the author should concentrate on his own damn country which is being overrun by the head loppers...they’ll wish they had guns soon once they proclaim a caliphate over that land.
Don’t forget School Bus accidents.
No such thing exists.
As Christians, we know that no such thing CAN exist.
Whether we call it "sin nature", or "total depravity" or "original sin" or something else, it all points to the damage and corruption of human nature. We're all sinners; we can't be trusted with power. Any government we construct has the distinct possibility of becoming tyranny, and we must always be on guard against it. The anti-Federalists in particular knew this, and demanded a Bill of Rights. What we now call the Second Amendment was always an important part of that Bill of Rights.
For every one of these tragic accident stories there are hundreds more stories of people being robbed, raped, & murdered in their homes because they had no way to defend themselves from violent criminals.
We all have dangerous things in our lives: Gas appliances, electricity, cars, poisons under the sink, booze in the cupboard, ... Accidents happen even to naked, homeless people.
In all these gun accidents, one thing is clear: these people believed they needed a gun for sport and/or protection. I believe everyone has the right to own a gun & use it in defense of themselves & others from crime.
Stupid question.
The right question is should reptile brain savages own guns.
That is actually fairly rare.
http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/Pubs/811165.pdf
Note the chart at the link is not per year, but the total over 10 years. It is more dangerous to walk near a school bus than to ride inside.
It is so “safe” in England where handguns are outlawed that a soldier was beheaded in the street in London. Had anyone nearby been armed, the soldier would still be alive.
Thousands of Brits are leaving England for France, where the people are armed.
While the second part is mostly false, with the West relatively calm because people were armed, gun ownership is connected to cultural heritage, including our ability to defend that heritage against all threats, foreign and domestic. Hillary Clinton has said that, “religious beliefs and structural biases have to be changed” to expand access to abortion. I will not permit anyone to force a change in my values, and our God-given right to keep and bear arms vastly expands my ability to defend our rights and values against America's enemies and potential tyrants.
I’ve read that accidental shootings are on a decline as the number of firearms increases. Probably because of more people receiving training and awareness of responsibility. I don’t believe we have “stability” in our government or they wouldn’t be trying to take our guns. Governments have killed many more people in the last 115 years than have been in gun accidents, suicide by gun and murders, not counting of course those perpetuated by government.
Let me destroy his false assertions:
“Stable democratic gov’t”
- asset forfeiture raids for political opponents
- arrests for anti-Obama facebook posts
- warrantless SWAT raids
- IRS political targeting
Self Defense is dangerous because you don’t have enough training....??? THOUSANDS of contrary examples every year.
Christ told his disciples to go convert the world without taking any possessions.
This might apply if you’ve decided you’re going to be a Priest or Cleric, but I don’t think we’re to understand that all of humanity is live life without a home, or possessions, or careers, or family.
CDC is funded how much every year? And yet the best data they can muster is five years old? Fire 'em and start over!
“. . . Perhaps instead Christians might choose to lay aside their rights and even the pleasure they get from hunting in order to see fewer people die.”
Shut up, you preachy arrogant Brit! Hope your disdain for armed Christians holds you in good stead whenever some “Asians” have you cornered in a dark alley.
In Obama’s USA, guns are MY GUARANTEE that I’ll be able to openly remain a Christian. Every Christian should have at least one gun.
Note, the author does not offer a single argument or reason why Christian shouldn’t own guns. He just offers what he claims are counter-arguments to Grueden’s pro gun claims. Many of said counter-arguments are contrary to established facts and research.
Seriously, a “British theologian?” As a nation that seems to have utterly rejected religion and faith, this seems improbable.
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