Why Stricter Gun Control Makes Sense..... Until you think Biblically

Why Gun Control Makes Sense…. Until you Think Biblically

          We all watched in terrified unbelief as the events of the Sandy Hook Elementary School Massacre unfolded before us on the news.  How in the world, in our civilized society, and at our point of advanced human evolution, could someone just walk into a school full of innocent children and fire off 156 shots in a matter of moments, killing 26 people?  How could a person just walk up to beautiful and innocent children and blow them to pieces?  What is wrong with a society in which something like that could happen?  These questions are not easy to answer immediately, but it is the answer to these questions that will help us understand and prevent this kind of tragedy in the future.

          After the crying, hugging, funerals, and the candle light vigils, many people have been moved to action.  We cannot allow this to ever happen again.  We must do something!  This feeling echoed through conversations at the supper table, the water cooler, and town meetings.  What can be done to prevent this unspeakable evil from ever occurring again?  Soon the answer came quickly.  We must eradicate all the guns responsible for this crime.  If we make these guns unavailable, then perpetrators of these kinds of monstrous acts will lack the tools to accomplish their evil intent.  On its face, this idea seems to make sense.  If there were no pesky second amendment zealots, this would have already been accomplished.  What is wrong with a society that would abide by the slaughter of the innocent just so some could continue to have access to these grotesque tools of barbarism?  This kind of hysteria is understandable, but there is another, deeper, set of truths that must be considered.  Why would Americans be so quick to surrender the blood bought freedoms guaranteed by the Second Amendment?  The author would like you to consider that there are three major underlying reasons that American society is willing to surrender their Second Amendment freedoms.

1.   As a society, we refuse to acknowledge or comprehend the extent of Human Depravity.

We human beings are a narcissistic lot.  We are so sure that we are the epitome of virtue and morality.  Just look at the “counseling” one receives on Face Book.  MIME after MIME proclaims that deep inside you is an angel, or that you are the source of light to brighten the world, or that all you need for things to work out, is to follow your heart.  If we humans are so wonderful, then how in the world can events like Sandy Hook or Columbine take place?  It must be the guns!  They are the problem!  It must be the video games… they are making our wonderful citizens into killing machines.  It must be mental illness… no one in their right mind would do this kind of evil.  So then this is what we must do… we must ban violent video games, confiscate guns and fund better mental illness.  That works… until you consider the Bible.

Jeremiah 17:9 (AV) The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?

Proverbs 14:12 (AV) There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.

Romans 3:10–13 (AV) ¹⁰ As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: ¹¹ There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. ¹² They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one. ¹³ Their throat is an open sepulchre; with their tongues they have used deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips:

    You see, we humans are rotten to the core!  Every one of us starts out dead in our trespasses and sins.  We cannot make a move toward God or morality on our own.  Sure, if we can pass this darkness off onto something, anything, other than our own depravity, then we can be comfortable once again.  Governor Malloy said it right when first responding to the events of Newtown:

“Evil has visited this community today”

    Now that we have identified the true culprit for this kind of bloodshed, the presence of unspeakable depravity locked deep inside every human being, let us expose another misconception that allows Americans to surrender their Second Amendment rights.

2.    As a society, we need to find a scapegoat to blame when evil is manifested.

If there is some other thing we can blame, some inanimate object responsible, then we do not have to face the prospect that this evil resides within all of us.  If we can identify a scapegoat, then we do not have to take responsibility as a society for the existence of this evil.  Let us consider the logic.  A group of metals and polymers shaped in the form of an AR-15 in and of themselves become the embodiment of evil.  This kind of superstition was embraced centuries ago in pagan cultures.  Some imagined that certain colors or symbols, or even musical intervals contained evil.  Have we not moved past that kind of ignorance?  Some would say that video games, a collection of plastic and metal parts, are evil.  Really? 

What does the Bible teach about inanimate objects being evil?  The Apostle Paul was doing battle with Gnostics that viewed all material things to contain evil.  His thoughts in Romans 14 are very instructive:

Romans 14:14 (AV) I know, and am persuaded by the Lord Jesus, that there is nothing unclean of itself: but to him that esteemeth any thing to be unclean, to him it is unclean.

So in our effort to release ourselves from the evidence of innate human depravity we have found an inanimate scapegoat.   The Bible teaches us that guns, like all inanimate objects are neither good nor evil.  It is not an unclean gun in and of itself… it is neither clean nor unclean.  It depends upon how it is used.  Now let us be very cautious.  Once we accept the premise that it is ok to find a scapegoat to blame, then the next step is to graduate from blaming innocent metal to blaming innocent groups of people.

Autistic children all over America were stigmatized by the media after Sandy Hook.  Sure, it is easier to blame a mental illness, than to address the presence of Evil lurking in all of us, but it is not just.  It is not a great leap to then make a religion, a race, or an ethnicity the scapegoat for the next great evil that presents itself.

3.   As a society, we have a strong aversion to accepting personal responsibility and accountability for our actions.

We look at the thugs who shot up Columbine and blame the other kids for bullying them.  We look at the violence in our inner cities and blame poverty.  If only there were more social programs.  If only we could stop the bullies.  If only we could get rid of the video games that create mass murders.  Hold on!  As human beings we have free will!  We all make choices whether or not to feed the darkness lurking within or to keep it locked up so our inner monster never gets out!  We must get back to the simple law of action and consequences.

Galatians 6:7–8 (AV) ⁷ Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. ⁸ For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.

Our government is charged with dealing with evil doers.  It is not to be a terror to the innocent or to the good.  It is a violation of God’s trust in our society to allow Government to usurp the rights of the innocent in order to control the evil.

Romans 13:1–4 (AV) ¹ Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God. ² Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation. ³ For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil. Wilt thou then not be afraid of the power? do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise of the same: ⁴ For he is the minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the sword in vain: for he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil.

So here we are in Connecticut, ready to do great violence to the constitution in order to protect us from future Sandy Hook tragedies.  Guns are not capable of evil, people are.  Control evil people by ensuring swift and final consequences for those who perpetrate evil without blaming great masses of people, making them simply guilty by association.  I thought we have evolved past that kind of behavior.

If you agree with these thoughts, please pass it on.  Let people know on Facebook, Twitter, or anywhere that people will listen.