Guest Post by William Guice
This gun issue is very simple for me
it's pretty cut and dried:
1) Jesus wouldn't carry a gun. He for sure wouldn't carry or
keep it with the intent of harming another human being. That wasn't his thing,
and so it shouldn't be ours. The harming of another human being is antithetical
to what it means to be a Christian.
The earliest Christians got this. We
don't have a single document that supports the taking of life for the first 300
years of the church. Three hundred years! Where did we go so far astray?
(I could stop here, but...)
2) Every explanation I see
of why we should have and carry guns is rooted in some type of fear - literally
every one. When (if) you said yes to Jesus your worldview was to change. You
are not promised a country or safety or that bad or even horrible moments
wouldn't come. You WERE promised that he would never leave you or forsake you.
You were promised peace that passes all understanding. You were promised that
what is in Christ is greater than what's in the world. You were promised a
cross, but you were also exhorted over and over again to "fear not."
Fear is killing us folks.
Real freedom is the release
of fear.
3) The 2nd amendment when
used to defend present day ideas of gun ownership is taken completely out of
context and doesn't even really make sense. If we used the same logic and
methodology with the Bible, we would have some crazy beliefs.
4) Common sense dictates
that if there are fewer guns, there are fewer gun deaths.
5) Global statistics prove
#4 and that we are in the wrong or that we are behind on this issue in so many
ways. Other developed countries simply don't have this problem.
6) I highly recommend the
writing of David Gushee. His work along
with the work of Greg Boyd and Glen Stassen are clear, compelling, and concise on
these topics.
P.S. > The master said,
"Fear Not!"
Peace!
William Guice
2 comments:
Does this article support the theme of Jesus Untangled? Did Jesus campaign for non violence by advocating the disarming of the Romans? Did Jesus campaign for non violence with his interpretation of the Roman's constitution? Did Jesus campaign for non violence with common sense? Did Jesus campaign for non violence using global statics? How did Jesus campaign for non violence?
Very Respectfully,
Ryan
Some of the questions this introduces have simple answers in my opinion. For example, if I even think there MIGHT be a hell, how can I possibly risk sending somebody there just to save my own life? For my father, who believed God might someday send him to preach the gospel to the Koreans the question was "how can I kill one of them and then return and preach salvation to that man's relatives?" and so he went through the entire war with an unloaded weapon. Sometimes I wonder if we ask the right questions.
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