Arms

So, I have some friends who are in to what I would broadly call ‘Conspiracy Theory’. Some Conspiracy Theories seem more plausible than others, but the overall gist seems to be that some shadowy organisation is working behind the scenes to conceal the truth from the rest of the world.

Maybe they are! If there is a shadowy organisation working behind the scenes, then by design most people wouldn't know they existed. That ‘most people’ would in this instance include myself.

But, this post is not so much about whether or not I believe that the Illuminati are secretly attempting to install a New World Order or not (because in the end I'm not sure it really matters!) but about one of the sub-theories that I have heard come out of this.

Gun control.

There seems to be a common idea (especially but not uniquely among Americans) that any form of gun control is wrong, immoral, and dangerous.

The argument in a nutshell is this: if the government registers firearm owners, they then know who has the firearms, and can then confiscate said firearms before hauling their citizens off to whatever death camp/indoctrination booth/mind control factory they want, and nobody will be able to stop them because their guns will have already been confiscated.

Some of my friends have even posited that governments desperate to implement such gun control laws may in fact be responsible for various highschool/church/cinema shootings, brainwashing or manipulating the gunmen into performing their heinous acts in order to turn public opinion towards gun control.

If that is true, then it may very well be effective. I'm skeptical, but I admit it's not outside the realms of possibilities. In Revelation there is reference to a New World Order being established, and I suppose that the Illuminati could be working to bring it about in this way…

But, the real theological question, as far as I can tell, is what we should be doing about it?

Let's put aside talks of conspiracy, New World Orders, and Illuminati for now, and focus on the gun control issue.

If the government wanted to confiscate our guns, what should our response be?

And when it comes down to it, should we as Christians even need guns?

When Jesus was talking to his disciples about this very matter, he said “Love your enemies, pray for those who persecute you, and if they try and confiscate your guns, shoot them in the face…”

Well, ok, maybe not that last part. But Jesus did talk about love for your enemies quite a lot.

Can we love them while threatening to shoot them?

Some people might argue that a gun is not for actually shooting, it's about having a deterrent, about being able to protect your family.

I sympathise with this, but let's be blunt: you cannot guarantee the protection of your family. A knife won't protect you from a gun. A gun won't protect you from a tank. A tank won't protect you from a bomb. A bomb won't protect you from a world-obliterating comet.

In the end, a gun is not protection. It's about confidence, it's about feeling in control. It's about trusting in something to keep you safe.

And what should we be putting our trust in?

The famous Proverbs passage states: Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will direct your paths (Proverbs 3:5-6).

Exodus 20:13 says: You shall not murder.

Matthew 5:39 says: But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn the other to him also.

To me, that does not seem to require weapons.

In fact, a quick glance suggests that the times people have taken up arms in the name of Christ have been the low points of Christian history. 

The Crusades.

Ireland.

‘Christian’ militia in Africa.

The KKK.

In each of these instances, so-called Christians have justified their hatred of another group by twisting the faith into something that it was not. 

In each of these instances, the use of weapons has led ‘Christians’ to murder the enemies Jesus told them to love.

In each of these instances, non-believers find justification for their rejection of Christianity.

Should we be offering them such justification?

Titus 2:7-8 says: in everything set them an example by doing what is good. In your teaching show integrity, seriousness and soundness of speech that cannot be condemned, so that those who oppose you may be ashamed because they have nothing bad to say about us.

What is good: to take a life, or to lay ones life down?

To resist evil with violence, or with love?

To trust in a weapon to defend you, or to trust in God?

I won't pretend that these are easy statements to live out when you are faced with an armed intruder in your house, but our God is mighty to save.

Look at the famous trio of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. In the face of a fiery furnace, they knew that God could save them, and even if He did not they were prepared to stand up for their beliefs by not bowing down to the societal norms of the day.

Taking another brief glance through history, we see that those Christians who did not resist their enemies with violence are the ones who are remembered as heroes of the faith.

The challenge grows deeper when we read of Gandhi, who based his passive resistance movement on the example set by Jesus, yet who rejected Christianity, apparently because the Christians he saw looked nothing like Christ.

A question could be raised regarding Luke 22:35-36, where Jesus says that although his disciples lacked nothing when he sent them out “without purse, bag or sandals,” yet now “if you have a purse, take it, and also a bag; and if you don't have a sword, sell your cloak and buy one.” But in verse 38 He tells his disciples that the two swords they already have are enough, and in verse 50 he rebukes them for actually using a sword to cut of the ear off the high priest’s servant, and promptly heals the ear. Following this time, we never hear of any disciple or apostle using or carrying a sword for any reason whatsoever, except for the figurative sword of the spirit (aka, the Word of God/the Bible). And with the exception of John, each of the apostles was killed for their faith.

It seems that, whatever reason Jesus had for wanting the two swords when he was arrested, the use of those swords for any form of violence – even self-defence, even in the face of death – was not among them.

So, I guess the question then is, if we are not to use weapons in self defence, if we are to love our enemies and turn the other cheek, if we are to trust God for our protection, why should gun registration bother us at all? Is it something we should be fighting against?

Is it something we should be seen to be in opposition to?

If the Illuminati is behind bringing in the New World Order, then is the lack of gun control going to foil their plans? And if there is no conspiracy theory, and governments actually just want to register gun owners and bring in regulations in order to keep their citizens safer, shouldn't we be supporting something that has life and safety as its goal?

I want to end this post with an emotive story that someone told me while I was developing this post. I don't have any corroborative evidence for this, so it might be made up, but I can't help but feel that this is how God could work.

Apparently, a lady sleeping alone woke up one night to see an axe-wielding man standing at the foot of her bed. Being without a weapon, and feeling this was not a normal situation, she asked the man if he was ok, and if he needed help.

He did (obviously).

So she talked things through with him, calmed him down, and arranged some help for him.

If this is true, it is obviously a fairly unique event. I'm not saying that every axe-wielding man could be calmed down with a gentle word. I'm not saying that every home invasion could turn out positive.

But, if the woman had a gun, and shot the man in justifiable self-defence, he would never have got the help that he needed.

We do not have the right to kill.

We are to shine the light in the darkness, and sometimes the darkness will seem to win.

But we are still called to shine.

How can we shine to anyone if we shoot them first?

Sometimes we might die.

But, as Jim Elliott famously said: “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose.”

If you don't know who Jim Elliott is, look him up sometime.

He knew what he was talking about.