The issue of gun control has been front and center in
American politics since the December 14, 2012, senseless murder of 20 children
and 6 adults at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. On one
side of the argument are those who want stricter gun control laws including the
banning of some weapons and background checks for gun buyers. On the other side
of the argument are proponents of the Second Amendment who don’t want their
Constitutional rights infringed any further. Gun control advocates claim that
these laws are necessary to stop the slaughter of children, but most of their
arguments are flawed. For example, the left will argue that no one needs an
AR15 to go hunting. That is a foolish argument because hunting has nothing to
do with the Second Amendment. The Second Amendment states, “A well regulated Militia, being necessary to
the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms,
shall not be infringed.” It is all about security, protection, and defense.
“This right was described by Blackstone
(writing about the right to bear arms in English common-law) as an auxiliary
right, supporting the natural rights of self-defense, resistance to oppression,
and the civic duty to act in concert in defense of the state.” Our founders
viewed the right to bear arms as the right of a citizen to protect himself from
tyrannical governments both foreign and domestic
Actually, the Second Amendment is deeply embedded in the
American Revolution. It was an attempt by the British to confiscate American
guns that ignited the Revolution. “The American War of Independence began on
April 19, 1775, when 700 Redcoats under the command of Major John Pitcairn left
Boston to seize American arms at Lexington and Concord.” For more information
on the historical background, read this article: The
American Revolution Against British Gun Control.
Another emotional but flimsy excuse by the left is that if
the life of just one person is spared, it will be worth giving up our Second
Amendment rights. As I was driving home today, I saw a traffic message that
said 786 people had lost their lives in traffic accidents so far this year. If
we follow the logic of the left, we could have saved at least 786 lives in
Texas by banning all cars. It is true and would be more effective in saving
lives than gun control, but it is a foolish argument.
The problem with all these arguments is they miss the real
issue. Passing laws and throwing money at the problem may soothe the
consciences of politicians, but they are not effective in saving lives and
making us safer. How many people who were shut up in their homes during the hunt
for the Boston Bombing terrorists would you imagine wished they had a gun to
protect their home and family? Guns in and of themselves are not the problem.
The real problem is a spiritual issue. Many people today feel that the Bible is
irrelevant to their daily lives, but let me share a story with you to show just
how relevant it really is.
Shortly after Adam and Eve were banned from the Garden of
Eden, the first murder occurred. Cain killed his brother Abel. The Bible doesn’t
say how he did it. He could have killed him with a rock, a club, or even his
bare hands. If he had had a gun back then, he probably would have used that. But,
the problem was not the club, the rock, or a hypothetical gun. It was a
spiritual problem. You see, Cain had become jealous and furious at Abel because
God had accepted Abel’s sacrifice and not his. Now why didn’t God accept Abel’s
sacrifice? Because something was not right in Cain’s heart. In fact, God warned
Cain saying, “…if you refuse to do what is right, then watch out! Sin is
crouching at the door, eager to control you. But you must subdue it and be its
master.” (NLT) Today, we don’t like to use the word “sin.” It makes us feel
uncomfortable. We might be accused of being judgmental. But the Bible uses the
word a lot, and I like to translate it this way, choosing to live life my way rather than God’s way. It’s pretty
common. In fact, God says we all do it. Now be careful here because you might
get the idea that if everyone has done it, then it can’t be that bad. Wrong! It
is just the opposite. Choosing to live life my way rather than God’s way leads
to all kinds of bad things: lying, cheating, violence, wars, selfishness, lack
of compassion, gossip, hatred, jealousy, divorce, conflict, stealing,
arrogance, murder, terrorism, and on and
on it goes. That’s why events like the shooting at Sandy Hook and the bombing
at the Boston Marathon happen.
So what is a better answer to this problem. Well, if it is a
spiritual problem, then the answer involves turning to God and asking him to
change our hearts. That’s what the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus
makes possible. But what are we as a country doing? We are rejecting God in every
way that we can. Unless there is a catastrophe, we can’t mention prayer or God
without being accused of intolerance and religious bigotry. The Ten
Commandments have been torn down from our walls, including the one about “Thou
shalt not murder.” We slaughter children inside and outside the womb and
justify it by hiding behind the cliché of a woman’s right to control her own
body. We have allowed the courts to destroy the First Amendment that guarantees
that Congress can pass no law that prohibits the free exercise of religion.
Instead, we have turned it upside down to mean that no atheist has to ever be
exposed to religious expression of any kind (except his own). So we gasp when
God’s name is mentioned in schools or in public ceremonies.
This is not the America that was fought for by our founders.
I could cite hundreds of examples, but let’s look at what George Washington,
the father of our country, wrote in his Farewell Address in 1796.
Of all the dispositions and
habits which lead to political prosperity, religion and morality are
indispensable supports. In vain would that man claim the tribute of patriotism
who should labor to subvert these great pillars of human happiness – these
firmest props of the duties of men and citizens. The mere politician, equally
with the pious man, ought to respect and to cherish them. A volume could not
trace all their connections with private and public felicity… And let us with
caution indulge the supposition that morality can be maintained without
religion. Whatever may be conceded to the influence of refined education on
minds of peculiar structure, reason and experience both forbid us to expect
that national morality can prevail in exclusion of religious principle.
Washington believed that our prosperity and happiness as a
country depended on religion and morality. Yet we continue to ignore his
warning just as we have spit in the face of God. Thomas Jefferson once said,” I
tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just; that his justice cannot
sleep forever.” I am sure that Washington would say, “Amen” to that.
Our country is not a theocracy even though we were founded
on Christian principles. No one should ever be forced to do any religious
activity. Faith cannot be coerced. So what is the answer if it isn’t gun
control? Again, the Bible has the answer.
…if my people who are called by my
name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their
wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and restore
their land.
The Bible tells us that it begins not with everyone but with
people who have turned to God and away from their wicked ways to pray and to seek
God with all their hearts. Our politicians don’t need to pass a lot of laws,
but those politicians who are believers should encourage us to practice our
religious beliefs with peacefulness and joy. Church attendance should be
encouraged. The President and Congress could issues proclamations recommending days
of fasting, humiliation, and prayer. The Ten Commandments could once again be
placed on the walls in our schools and in our courtrooms. If students elect to
offer a prayer at school events, it should be allowed. Nativity scenes and
crosses should once again be allowed. There are many today who would say this
sounds radically crazy and un-American. Actually, it is as American as apple
pie. In the early days of our country, Congresses, Presidents, and Governors
called for days of fasting,
humiliation, and prayer. Here is an example from the Congress and President
Abraham Lincoln in March of 1863.
Whereas, the Senate of the United States,
devoutly recognizing the supreme authority and just government of Almighty God,
in all the affairs of men and nations, has, by a resolution, requested the
President to designate and set apart a day for National prayer and humiliation;
And whereas, it is the duty of nations, as well
as of men, to own their dependence upon the overruling power of God, to confess
their sins and transgressions, in humble sorrow, yet with assured hope that
genuine repentance will lead to mercy and pardon, and to recognize the sublime
truths announced in the Holy Scriptures, and proven by all history, that those
nations only are blessed whose God is the Lord;
And, inasmuch as we know that, by his divine
law, nations, like individuals, are subjected to punishments and chastisements
in this world, may we not justly fear that the awful calamity of civil war
which now desolates the land, may be but a punishment inflicted upon us for our
presumptuous sins, to the needful end of our national reformation as a whole
people? We have been the recipients of the choicest bounties of Heaven. We have
been preserved, these many years, in peace and prosperity. We have grown in
numbers, wealth and power, as no other nation has ever grown. But we have
forgotten God, we have forgotten the gracious hand which preserved us in peace,
and multiplied and enriched and strengthened us; and we have vainly imagined,
in deceitfulness of our hearts, that all these blessings were produced by some
superior wisdom and virtue of our own. Intoxicated with unbroken success, we
have become too self sufficient to feel the necessity of redeeming and
preserving grace, too proud to pray to the God that made us!
It behooves us, then, to humble ourselves
before the offended Power, to confess our national sins, and to pray for
clemency and forgiveness.
During the American Revolution General Washington issued orders
for his officers and soldiers to attend church services.
The General most earnestly requires
and expects a due observance of those articles of war established for the
government of the army which forbid profane cursing, swearing and drunkenness;
and in the like manner requires and expects of all officers and soldiers not
engaged on actual duty, a punctual attendance on Divine Service to implore the
blessings of Heaven upon the means used for our safety and defense. 4 GENERAL ORDERS, CAMBRIDGE, JULY 4,
1775
Today, Washington might be subjected to a court marshal for
issuing such orders.
I won’t belabor the point any further. The truth, of course,
is that even if we implemented these changes, it wouldn’t reverse the trend of
our culture overnight. It takes time to reverse a cultural decline that has
lasted over 50 years. However, if pursued with diligence, it could be done and
a new hope and joy would begin to reign over this country. Lives would be
changed and families healed. Gun control laws and politics are exercises in
futility that won’t end the violence, but it gives people the illusion that we
are doing something. These laws will ultimately lead to the destruction of our
Second Amendment rights. The truth is that the problem is a spiritual one and
can only be solved by turning back to God. This is the only way that we can get real gun control that works.
