![\"Weaponizing](\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/1467\/2023\/04\/jesus-gb1b8026ec_1920.jpg\")
Social media flame wars are no fun\u2014but sometimes you have to say something.<\/strong> Sometimes you just can\u2019t let a bad post go without comment. I hate it when people argue with me on my own page\u2014I have a right to my opinion. I also believe in letting others be wrong on their own page. So, when a couple of different friends posted this meme on social media, I didn\u2019t argue with them on their own pages. Instead, I wrote this article about it. This is a perfect example of the religious right weaponizing the Bible in defense of guns.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n This post is so wrong, for so many reasons. Here are seven of them:<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n This post uses the Bible to make a case for civilians carrying guns.<\/strong> It hints at the \u201cgood guy with a gun<\/span>\u201d<\/a> argument which, incidentally, doesn\u2019t solve the problem. It often gets the \u201cgood guy\u201d killed. Sometimes the \u201cgood guy\u201d ends up shooting noncombatants in the crossfire. Plus, when the police arrive and find two people shooting at each other, they don\u2019t know who the original shooter is. So, guess who gets targeted\u2014both of them!<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n This post literally weaponizes the Bible to support premeditated killing.<\/strong> It\u2019s generally right-wing Christians you see posting this meme on the internet. Yet, while it inaccurately portrays two Old Testament stories, it never once references Jesus. That\u2019s because Jesus never\u2014not once\u2014said it\u2019s okay to kill anyone. Don\u2019t get me wrong. I believe in peace, but I\u2019m not a pacifist. If someone threatened my family, I\u2019m not sure I could hold back. I would probably resort to violence myself. But I believe this would be sin. Carrying a gun is premeditating killing. I know this because I used to carry one on a daily basis. And every day I planned how I would use that gun if threatened. It never occurred to me that if I ever successfully used the gun, it would be premeditated killing.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n The Bible doesn\u2019t say that Cain used a rock to kill Abel<\/a><\/span>.<\/strong> Actually, the Bible never says what method Cain used for the murder. The creator of this meme has relied more on Bible movies and artwork than the Bible itself.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n This story<\/a><\/span> doesn\u2019t make a point for civilians carrying guns. <\/strong>In fact, it may make a case for the opposite. A sling was a shepherd\u2019s tool, not a military weapon. So David took a civilian weapon onto the battlefield, rather than donning the weapons and armor the king tried to give him.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n The meme\u2019s claim that \u201cDavid used a rock to kill Goliath\u201d Is only partly true.<\/strong> Technically, David knocked the giant down with a rock. He then took the giant\u2019s own sword and decapitated him with it. David refused to carry a sword onto the battlefield.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n While David didn\u2019t accept the military weapons Saul offered, he did accept the military commission.<\/strong> When David enlisted in King Saul\u2019s service, he joined the army for a day. David acted under the authority of the government. He wasn\u2019t a \u201cgood guy with a sling\u201d who took matters into his own hands. By using the sword to kill Goliath, David showed that military weapons are for military people under military authority\u2014they are not for civilians.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n This meme equates rocks with assault rifles. <\/strong>But nobody ever picked up a rock and created mass casualties. You can\u2019t compare a rock and an AR-15. When was the last time you turned on the news and heard about a school stoning? In the Bible, stoning took place when a whole community executed one person with hundreds of stones. The AR-15 is the exact opposite, with one person killing tons of people with hundreds of bullets.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n This post is a false equivalency created by someone on the extreme religious right.<\/strong> They love weaponizing the Bible in defense of guns. They want you to believe that God is in favor of civilians carrying military-style weapons. Don\u2019t believe it. This post is FALSE. In fact, here\u2019s what Jesus actually did say about violence:<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Again\u2014I\u2019m not a pacifist. I just believe that we need to leave it to the government to use force.<\/strong> Romans 13:4<\/a><\/span> says that the government \u201cdoes not bear the sword in vain! It is the agent of God to execute wrath on the wrongdoer.\u201d <\/em>Good guys with guns aren\u2019t deputized. We must think twice before strapping one on and making ourselves premeditated killers. Besides, it\u2019s been proven that \u201cMore Guns Do Not Stop More Crimes.<\/a><\/span>\u201d<\/p>\n Since it\u2019s the government\u2019s job to use force against wrongdoers through military and police action, we have no need to carry guns at all.<\/strong> We have even less need to own military-style weapons like assault rifles. If you aren\u2019t in the military or a member of the police force, you don\u2019t have the right to declare yourself a good guy with a gun.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n If you call yourself a Christian, this means you follow Jesus.<\/strong> It means you quit weaponizing the Bible in defense of guns. Instead, you listen to Jesus. You act like Jesus. Jesus refused to defend himself and suffered violence for the sake of peace. He preferred to suffer violence<\/a> <\/span>than commit violence. Yet, today\u2019s American right-wing Christians are unwilling to act like Jesus and do the same.<\/p>\n I\u2019ll say again\u2014I\u2019m not a pacifist. I believe that governments have the right to use arms to protect people. But, for a Christian to kill another person outside of that governmental duty to protect the innocent is a sin. <\/strong>We do not have the spiritual right to use lethal force against another human being. It\u2019s time for Americans to give up their guns in exchange for peace. When we do, we\u2019ll find that Jesus was right all along. We\u2019ll be able to beat our \u201cswords into plowshares and\u2026spears into pruning hooks.<\/a>\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n The social media meme says: \u201cA rock in bad hands killed Abel. A rock in good hands killed Goliath. It\u2019s not about the rock.\u201d FALSE! Social media flame wars are no fun\u2014but sometimes you have to say something. Sometimes you just can\u2019t let a bad post go without comment. I hate it when people argue […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4628,"featured_media":2991,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[173],"tags":[2100,2097,2112,2121,2088,2103,2109,2091,627,2094,2106,2115,2118],"class_list":["post-2988","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-social-justice","tag-cain-killed-abel","tag-david-and-goliath","tag-government-does-not-bear-the-sword-in-vain","tag-governmental-use-of-force","tag-mass-shootings","tag-meme-cain-killed-abel-david-killed-goliath","tag-pacifism","tag-school-shootings","tag-second-amendment","tag-should-christians-carry-guns","tag-social-media-and-guns","tag-sword-into-plowshares","tag-what-jesus-said-about-violence"],"yoast_head":"\nWeaponizing the Bible in Defense of Guns<\/strong><\/h2>\n
1. Good Guy with a Gun<\/strong><\/h3>\n
2. Premeditated Killing<\/strong><\/h3>\n
3. Biblical Inaccuracy<\/strong><\/h3>\n
4. David Used a Sling<\/strong><\/h3>\n
5. More Biblical Inaccuracy<\/strong><\/h3>\n
6. Governmental Authority<\/strong><\/h3>\n
7. School Stoning? <\/strong><\/h3>\n
False Equivalency<\/h2>\n
What Jesus Actually Said About Violence<\/h2>\n
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Governmental Use of Force<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Following Jesus Means Suffering Violence<\/strong><\/h2>\n
For further reading, check out my articles:<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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