Christianity and Politics

Lately I've been feeling like I should be more well informed about goings-on in the United States. As an adult, a husband, a future father, I think I should know what's going on, as well as what a Christian perspective on world events and politics is.

I've noticed that most, if not all, political issues are about one of two things: morality and money. Moral issues are pretty clear cut for Christians; if it's wrong according to the Bible, it's wrong, and it's something not to be agreed with.

Take abortion for example. The Bible clearly says that murder is a sin. Not only that, but John the Baptist, before he was even born, was full of the Holy Spirit (Luke 1:15). Would the Holy Spirit indwell something that wasn't alive? No, that would be pantheism, which is unbiblical. So the evidence suggests that children are alive while in the womb. Thus, aborting a child who is still in his or her mother's womb is murder. Pretty clear cut, right?

But then you get to the money. This is the more difficult part to figure out. The Bible has plenty to say about money, such as the fact that we should pay taxes to our government and we need to be good stewards of our money. In my opinion, if the rulers of the US really were being good stewards, we wouldn't have nearly the amount of national debt that we have now.

Here's where I stand. A person who is a good steward knows to live within his means. If there is something truly necessary that he can't afford, but he knows he'll be able to pay it off, he may use a credit card, or pay in payments. He'll pay that money back as soon as possible, maybe in payments, maybe not. That's limited experience talking, mind you, and I know things aren't always that easy, but that's just one very, very general example.

Now we look at our country, spending non-existent money on everything, useful or useless. That's not good stewardship, so clearly it's in the wrong. But how do we fix that? Darned if I know the answer to that one. I'm no economist.

So that was my rambling of the night. Enjoy it!

The Right to Bear Arms

I personally want some, but I haven't found a bear willing to give me his arms.

So today I found out about a book titled Shooting Back: The Right and Duty of Self-Defense. This book argues that Christians have a Biblical duty to own and carry guns to protect themselves and others. Pretty interesting.

It got me thinking about my own views of guns. And, since so many of you actually care, I felt like sharing my views.

I have no problem with the right to bear arms. In fact, I think it's a good idea for that law to be in effect. The bad guys use guns. They don't care about killing, threatening, whatever. Why shouldn't we be able to protect ourselves from that? In my opinion, laws that ban people from owning guns will just mean the bad guys will obtain them illegally and then they'll be able to threaten us unarmed folks that much more.

But to me it goes deeper than that. Guns disturb me on principle. The fact that we invented something that can take a life and send it to hell with the twitch of half a finger just sounds like a fact that shouldn't be a fact. I wish they hadn't been invented.

Now, if Sarrah and I were to mutually decide that we should own a gun, I would do everything to make sure we did. I'd also be very serious about gun safety. I would get a permit, learn how to use it, etc etc. I sincerely doubt that will ever happen, but you never know. Like I said, I have no problem with the right to own guns, and I'd gladly own one if we deemed it necessary. But the fact that these sorts of weapons exist is a sign that we live in a very dark, fallen world.

Yes, it's another one of those "we live in a fallen world" things. It's kind of like the whole bin Laden thing. Was killing him good? No. Is it good that he can't threaten us anymore? Absolutely. In the same way, are guns a great thing? I don't think so. But is it good that we can protect ourselves, our famlies and others against people who use them for evil? Definitely.

Here's another note I feel I should add, and this is probably the main reason I don't see Sarrah and I ever owning a gun. We heard John Piper in one of his "Ask Pastor John" segments talk about the issue of gun ownership. When asked if he would protect his daughter if an intruder entered the house and he (Piper) had a gun, he answered, "Of course I'm going to protect my daughter! But I'm not aiming to kill anybody, especially an intruder who doesn't know Christ and would go straight to hell, probably. Why would I want to do that if I could avoid it?" Also according to Piper:

[T]he missionaries in 1956 who were martyred in Ecuador—Jim Elliot, Nate Saint, Ed McCully, Roger Youdarian, and Peter Fleming—were all speared to death, but they had guns...And they shot their guns in the air as the spears were going through their chests. They could've saved their lives by just shooting horizontally, but they didn't. They shot in the air because they decided earlier that they were ready to go to heaven but these natives were not. So why would they kill them rather than being killed themselves?

After that, Piper decided, "If somebody enters my house as a thief, he probably is not ready to go to heaven either." He doesn't own a gun, and has no problem with people owning guns. That's just his thought on it. Sarrah and I agree on that too.

But what about hunting? I don't think people should hunt for sport. What's so great about going out and killing animals just to leave the carcass there on the ground? But I absolutely believe in hunting to eat. There's an animal rights argument here, but I'm not gonna respond to that. Sadly though, there's no way to hunt without weapons and traps that one can also use to kill people. So it's a double-edged sword (pun partially intended). It's all a matter of the people using said weapons and traps in the right way: hunting to eat, and protection of oneself, one's family, and other innocent people.

So, I'm off to find a bear. I heard one showed up in Port Orchard the other day. Maybe he wouldn't mind giving me his arms...