I’m a judgmental SOB and I make no apologies about it, but the David P. Gushee, a “Distinguished University Professor of Christian Ethics at Mercer University and theologian-in-residence for the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship,” should know better than to judge not just Michael Dunn but everyone else who has a concealed carry license.
This is part of what he writes:
Once again a white civilian has used a gun to kill a black civilian in Florida. Once again a jury has failed to convict the white man of any crime against the now-dead black man. Once again the media, social and otherwise, has erupted. Once again black Americans cry out that the verdict is an appalling confirmation of the relative worthlessness of black life in racist America. Once again white Americans, including many Christians and church leaders, either dissent or remain largely silent. Meanwhile, many conservative white Christians, recently including the leaders of the Georgia Baptist Convention, press for more rather than less freedom for civilians to arm themselves in public places such as churches and universities.
….
The result is an extraordinarily dangerous environment, especially for young black males. But to some extent we all need to be afraid of the possibility of finding ourselves in a public space having conflict with someone — because they might be holding a gun, they might (say they) think we are dangerous, and they might shoot us — as in the Tampa movie theater shooting in January.
In Romans 13 Paul offers a brief for government authority as God-given source of public order. It is “the authority” (state/government) that terrorizes the evildoer. It is the authority that seeks to maintain public order. It is the authority that bears the sword. All kinds of problematic interpretations of this passage have bedeviled Christian history, but in light of the chaos of self-armed citizen vigilantes the passage offers fresh insights desperately needed right now.
Paul’s vision is certainly not of every citizen in the Roman Empire locked and loaded for the next street fight. It is instead of a strong, well-trained state authority that keeps public order through its monopoly on both authority and arms. “
Source: http://www.abpnews.com/news/item/28363-romans-13-michael-dunn-and-gun-toting-citizen-vigilantes#.UwJMbvk2ymY
Don’t you love these liberal Christians that quote one verse but ignore another? Here’s what Jesus said about arms.
He said to them, “But now if you have a purse, take it, and also a bag; and if you don’t have a sword, sell your cloak and buy one.
Luke 22:36
So what happens when the authority is away? Then we bear the sword ourselves.
“Christians” like David are scum, first of all, how do we know Michael Dunn was a racist? How do we know he would not have shot white teenagers had they done the same thing? Thugs are thugs, and they come in all colors. Do I agree with what Dunn did? No, but I know how evil teenagers can be, I know how they don’t respect their elders and betters anymore, so I can understand where Dunn was coming from.
What the youth of today need is to have a little more fear of strangers. I treat every man like they have a gun, I mind my manners, why can’t they do the same?
David asks
What authority, training and accountability do our street-corner problem-solvers like Michael Dunn have?
The authority as a free man! Something “Christian” slaves like David will never understand.
My analysis is that lobby-driven and fear-driven gun-rights absolutism has weakened the God-given role of the state in keeping public order
I wonder if Jesus respected “the authority” when he was being crucified? I wonder if St. Paul respected “the authority” when it allowed the prostitution of children and Gladiator games? Yet “Christian” David doesn’t want us to worship God, he wants the State to be God.
Jesus wasn’t an anarchist, but he wasn’t a Statist either. Render to Caesar what is of Caesar, render to God what is of God. Our 2nd Amendment and our Bill of Rights come from the Creator if you believe in the words in our declaration of independence. Our rights don’t come from government, they come from God.
We accept some government in our lives, we accept or at least follow grudgingly some laws no matter how horrid they may be. But free men do not accept to be disarmed and have their safety and well-being placed in the hands of another.
This is was Satan’s Theologians don’t get, and yes, I do believe that “Christians” who support gun control are doing the work of the devil. Think about it, if you were the Lord of Lies, would you not want people disarmed so they can be victimized? Sure you would.
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Gregory Smith