We are hunters and target shooters. All of us have guns in our homes, and some of us collect guns. Most of us believe that the Second Amendment gives us this right:
“A well regulated militia, being necessary for the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.”
We are not members of a militia; but we read this to mean that, legally, we have a right to own and collect guns.
But "legal rights" are not our gods. We want to live for Jesus not for ourselves.
We know that things have gone too far. Our nation has become so individualistic, so self-centered, that we forget our duties to society. Jesus demands that we live for others and not just for ourselves. He commands us to help create a culture of peace not violence, of compassion not craving for guns. We know that helping create this culture is much more important, to Jesus and to God, than collecting guns or target shooting.
The problem is not just the number of guns and the kinds of guns. It is gun culture itself: the collective mindset we see, for example, at gun shows or in advertisements by politicians who seek votes by showing that they are gun owners. Deep down it is a violent culture: a culture that celebrates bullets and dominating power and killing. It is also an obsessive culture. Guns have almost become godlike for us and it's killing us.
The Bible has a name for what happens when something becomes godlike in your mind: idolatry. We speak of our obsession with guns as gunolatry. We confess that we have fallen into this idolatry and we want to repent, to turn around, for Christ's sake.
We know that Jesus was not a gun owner. As resurrected from his death, he lives today in our hearts and minds. He wants us to live as brothers and sisters who take care of one another in loving ways. He commands us to forgive others and to love even our enemies. He sets a high standard for us and we want to live up to it. We want to follow him.
For this reason, as an act of discipleship, we are giving up our guns. We are working with the local police. We call them, ask them to come to our homes, take the guns out of the cabinets where we keep them, and dispose of them. We are simultaneously taking the money we would otherwise use to buy guns and giving it to local charities. And we are taking the time we might otherwise give to target shooting and doing volunteer work in our communities with the elderly, with at-risk youth, and with women's shelters. We want to make a difference in our society in a constructive, life-affirming way.
We are Christians Against Gun Culture.
Please join us.
“A well regulated militia, being necessary for the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.”
We are not members of a militia; but we read this to mean that, legally, we have a right to own and collect guns.
But "legal rights" are not our gods. We want to live for Jesus not for ourselves.
We know that things have gone too far. Our nation has become so individualistic, so self-centered, that we forget our duties to society. Jesus demands that we live for others and not just for ourselves. He commands us to help create a culture of peace not violence, of compassion not craving for guns. We know that helping create this culture is much more important, to Jesus and to God, than collecting guns or target shooting.
The problem is not just the number of guns and the kinds of guns. It is gun culture itself: the collective mindset we see, for example, at gun shows or in advertisements by politicians who seek votes by showing that they are gun owners. Deep down it is a violent culture: a culture that celebrates bullets and dominating power and killing. It is also an obsessive culture. Guns have almost become godlike for us and it's killing us.
The Bible has a name for what happens when something becomes godlike in your mind: idolatry. We speak of our obsession with guns as gunolatry. We confess that we have fallen into this idolatry and we want to repent, to turn around, for Christ's sake.
We know that Jesus was not a gun owner. As resurrected from his death, he lives today in our hearts and minds. He wants us to live as brothers and sisters who take care of one another in loving ways. He commands us to forgive others and to love even our enemies. He sets a high standard for us and we want to live up to it. We want to follow him.
For this reason, as an act of discipleship, we are giving up our guns. We are working with the local police. We call them, ask them to come to our homes, take the guns out of the cabinets where we keep them, and dispose of them. We are simultaneously taking the money we would otherwise use to buy guns and giving it to local charities. And we are taking the time we might otherwise give to target shooting and doing volunteer work in our communities with the elderly, with at-risk youth, and with women's shelters. We want to make a difference in our society in a constructive, life-affirming way.
We are Christians Against Gun Culture.
Please join us.
Politicians promoting Gun Culture: Part of the Problem
