~I just recently came across this random page floating around on the internet. It asks many of the questions that I have been asking for years, so I thought I would anchor it down here ~
Christians and Guns
One thing I really do not understand is the the deep connection between Christians and guns. What I do not understand is how any person claiming to be a follower of Jesus Christ can own a gun. I do agree that a person has the right to defend him or herself. But Jesus specifically taught the contrary. He taught nonviolence. This is an intriguing problem-- the fact that gun ownership is so widely accepted, embraced and propagated among Christians in the United States.
Of all people in the U.S., Christians should be the ones most likely to shun firearms and violence. Question: would Jesus ever have owned a gun?
"If someone strikes you on one cheek, turn the other." Here, Jesus is teaching you to give up your right of self-defense. He does not say to hit them back. He is telling you not to raise your hand, and to invite them to strike you again. It's interesting to note that in the bible, Jesus never resisted his persecutors.
If someone shot at Jesus, do you think he would have shot back? He said "Love thine enemies." He said "Let he among you who is without sin cast the first stone." I'm sure that also applies to firing the first bullet.
I have asked many gun-owning Christians if they would shoot an intruder who had broken into their house.They all say yes, they would. But what would Jesus do?
If anyone asks you for anything, give it to them without question. (Matthew 5:42)
If someone steals from you, don't try to get it back. (Luke 6:30)
If someone hits you, invite them to do it again. (Matthew 5:39)
If you lose a lawsuit, give more than the judgment. (Matthew 5:40)
If someone forces you to walk a mile, walk two miles. (Matthew 5:41)
That does not sound like he was the type to own a gun. If someone broke into his house, he would just let them steal. Of course, Jesus did not care about material possessions anyway, and suggests that his followers act likewise:
Don't become wealthy. (Mark 10:21-25)
Sell everything you have and give it to the poor. (Luke 12:33)
Ask a Christian: "Would you shoot someone trying to harm your family?"
Jesus said "Do not resist evil". He also said "And every one that hath forsaken house, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name's sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life." So, if you forsake your children and wife, allowing them to be killed, in order to follow Jesus' teachings of nonviolence, then you get a hundred times what you had, and everlasting life. What kind of morality is that?!
Furthermore, according to several passages of the bible, most in notably Romans, chapter 9, God has predestined our fates from before the creation of the universe. If it is your fate to have your family killed by someone who breaks into your home, who are you to oppose God's will? If God wishes your family to survive, will He not preserve them Himself?
Remember: "Judgment is mine, sayeth the Lord." If a Christian has a gun in his house, does that Christian have any faith or trust in God? It doesn't look to me that he does.
Would Jesus ever own gun? Would he ever shoot anyone? Would Jesus ever recommend that anyone else own a gun? If you are a follower of Jesus, how can you honestly justify owning a gun?
One thing I really do not understand is the the deep connection between Christians and guns. What I do not understand is how any person claiming to be a follower of Jesus Christ can own a gun. I do agree that a person has the right to defend him or herself. But Jesus specifically taught the contrary. He taught nonviolence. This is an intriguing problem-- the fact that gun ownership is so widely accepted, embraced and propagated among Christians in the United States.
Of all people in the U.S., Christians should be the ones most likely to shun firearms and violence. Question: would Jesus ever have owned a gun?
"If someone strikes you on one cheek, turn the other." Here, Jesus is teaching you to give up your right of self-defense. He does not say to hit them back. He is telling you not to raise your hand, and to invite them to strike you again. It's interesting to note that in the bible, Jesus never resisted his persecutors.
If someone shot at Jesus, do you think he would have shot back? He said "Love thine enemies." He said "Let he among you who is without sin cast the first stone." I'm sure that also applies to firing the first bullet.
I have asked many gun-owning Christians if they would shoot an intruder who had broken into their house.They all say yes, they would. But what would Jesus do?
If anyone asks you for anything, give it to them without question. (Matthew 5:42)
If someone steals from you, don't try to get it back. (Luke 6:30)
If someone hits you, invite them to do it again. (Matthew 5:39)
If you lose a lawsuit, give more than the judgment. (Matthew 5:40)
If someone forces you to walk a mile, walk two miles. (Matthew 5:41)
That does not sound like he was the type to own a gun. If someone broke into his house, he would just let them steal. Of course, Jesus did not care about material possessions anyway, and suggests that his followers act likewise:
Don't become wealthy. (Mark 10:21-25)
Sell everything you have and give it to the poor. (Luke 12:33)
Ask a Christian: "Would you shoot someone trying to harm your family?"
Jesus said "Do not resist evil". He also said "And every one that hath forsaken house, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name's sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life." So, if you forsake your children and wife, allowing them to be killed, in order to follow Jesus' teachings of nonviolence, then you get a hundred times what you had, and everlasting life. What kind of morality is that?!
Furthermore, according to several passages of the bible, most in notably Romans, chapter 9, God has predestined our fates from before the creation of the universe. If it is your fate to have your family killed by someone who breaks into your home, who are you to oppose God's will? If God wishes your family to survive, will He not preserve them Himself?
Remember: "Judgment is mine, sayeth the Lord." If a Christian has a gun in his house, does that Christian have any faith or trust in God? It doesn't look to me that he does.
Would Jesus ever own gun? Would he ever shoot anyone? Would Jesus ever recommend that anyone else own a gun? If you are a follower of Jesus, how can you honestly justify owning a gun?