PA Bill Number: SB170
Title: In criminal history record information, further providing for juvenile records; and, in juvenile matters, further providing for powers and duties of ...
Description: In criminal history record information, further providing for juvenile records; and, in juvenile matters, further providing for powers and dutie ...
Last Action: Removed from table
Last Action Date: Oct 2, 2024
Don't be fooled, the Bible does not support gun control :: 03/02/2018
While the tragic shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., has understandably spurred many emotional responses, one student at the University of South Carolina has taken the gun debate to new heights.
In an opinion piece published by the Daily Gamecock, Laurryn Thomas lectures Christians that giving up their guns is an action in accordance with biblical values. Her justification for more gun control is that the Bible paints Jesus as someone truly devoted to peace at all costs.
“[W]e know that Jesus truly cared about pacification,” she writes, citing Matthew 5:38-42, a passage famous for the teaching to “turn the other cheek.”
Based on this example, Thomas concludes that arming more citizens to protect themselves against individuals who might seek to do them harm goes against Christian values. Instead of protecting themselves with a firearm, Christians should simply turn the other cheek.
“With all of this evidence abundantly available in the Bible, the justification for guns by the GOP is not only hypocritical but also baseless,” writes Thomas. “The argument of increasing the prevalence of guns for protection against crazy shooters is so illogical by Christian standards and even more so by common sense.”
While Thomas does attempt to cite one Bible verse as evidence for increased gun control, there are several verses that also support the right to self-defense, as well as condemn those who would sit idly by and watch a tragedy unfold without acting.
For example, Exodus 22:2-3 reads: “If a thief is found breaking in and is struck so that he dies, there shall be no bloodguilt for him, but if the sun has risen on him, there shall be bloodguilt for him. He shall surely pay. If he has nothing, then he shall be sold for his theft.”
According to the Old Testament, we have the right to defend ourselves inside our homes, and when necessary, use appropriate force to do so. Should one be faced with a criminal intruder who is willing to use deadly force in order to commit a robbery, it is perfectly within biblical standards to defend oneself with a firearm.
Proverbs 25:26 reads: “Like a muddied spring or a polluted fountain is a righteous man who gives way before the wicked.”
In this sense, if someone witnessed a violent crime and had the means to intervene or stop the attacker but chose not to, the Bible would rebuke them. There are countless stories of how a bad guy with a gun was only stopped when a good guy with a gun realized what was going on and made the decision to intervene to help others.
In addition to purposefully misrepresenting passages, using the Bible to push gun control is offensive to millions of Christians who strive to live their lives according to the word of God, and also have a desire to protect themselves and their families from harm.
For a publication from the Bible Belt, the Daily Gamecock’s piece on gun control and Christian values misses the mark.
John Patrick (@john_pat_rick) is a graduate of Canisius College and Georgia Southern University. He interned for Red Alert Politics during the summer of 2012 and has continued to contribute regularly.
