YouTube #18 Gun Rights – Arm or Disarm

In view of the recent shooting at Parkland and the avalanche of arguments for and against gun control, it is time to again take up this question: What does the Bible say about gun rights and the second amendment? Does the Bible teach that the best state of affairs is an armed citizenship or an unarmed citizenship? Or does the Bible ignore this question altogether and leave the decision to our own sanctified wisdom?

After reviewing the recent events, I discuss the inadequacy of both Constitutional arguments and utilitarian arguments to definitely answer the question. No one is omniscient enough to predict long-term outcomes based on arm or disarm policies. At the very least, Christians should understand that the world is vainly attempting to answer the gun argument on the basis Utilitarian Philosophy – the greatest good for the greatest number of people.

The only definitive answer (and the reason Evangelical Christians lean toward the pro-gun, NRA culture) are Jesus’ words. “Whoever has no sword is to sell his coat and buy one” (Luke 22:36). The Christian pro-gun stance is not a historic, cultural aberration in American Christianity; it comes from Biblical texts and the Biblical worldview.

Scriptural References: Luke 22:35-38; Leviticus 19:34; Psalm 7:15; Ecclesiastes 10:2; Romans 13:4; Luke 9:3; 2 Corinthians 11:26; Luke 22:49-54; Matthew 26:51-52; Jeremiah 17:5