Getting to the Christian Bottom Line

The purpose of this blog is my journey to see the gun and gun violence issue through the eyes of faith. Theological and Biblical perspectives are important to me. In the end, one of the most important questions for Christians around any issue is not so much, “What would Jesus do?” but “What would Jesus have me do?” 

Getting to the Christian “bottom line” may be asked differently:

What is the will of God?

 What is the right and moral thing to do?

  What is my responsibility as a Christian?

However we might ask this bottom-line question, getting to the answer is not a straight line. People and Christians have used different formulas and different criteria to get to an answer. When I am trying to get to a right answer, the formula I ponder uses this series of questions:

·       What does the Bible say about this?

·       Historically, what is the traditional teaching of the church on this issue?

·       What is the position and teaching of my church?  

·       Using my intellect and common sense, what does my own reasoning say to me?

·       Is God, through the Holy Spirit, speaking to me on this issue? Am in prayerful enough to listen?

In essence my method uses the Bible, history, church, reason, and Spirit

Therefore, my Lenten pilgrimage is trying to get to a Christian bottom-line by using the above described process. Translated that means I seek understanding of:

·       what the Bible says about guns and gun violence

·       what the traditional teaching of the church has been on guns and gun violence

·       the position of my church, the Presbyterian Church (USA), on guns and gun violence

·       what my own reasoning says to me about guns and gun violence

·       what God’s Spirit is leading me to believe, think and do about guns and gun violence

The Pro-Life Gun Debate

I keep wondering about the link between “pro-life” and the gun debate. Abortion has been on the front burner of American thinking for years. Though the issue often presents itself as legal and political, I try to understand it through a theological lens. I confess it is not easy for me to articulate my own position because I don’t have clarity about this question: “When does human life begin?” Some in the theological community believe that life begins at conception. Others do not. I seek the intersection of faith and science around that question. However, some avoid the “when does life begin” question altogether because they frame abortion as a “women’s issue” as in a “woman’s right to choose.”  

I like that Catholic theologians are consistent on “life” issues: against abortion, against euthanasia, against capital punishment and for stronger gun control because guns are used to kill human life. I like their consistency but I don’t always agree.

Still, I am trying to connect the dots between pro-life and the gun issue in American society.   We have now experienced dozens of horrific mass shootings which have produced a staggering number of deaths and an epidemic of fear and anxiety among our citizens, especially children, teenagers and college students. Each year ours is a country where more than 8000 gun murders occur, which is tragically high when compared to other similar cultures and developed countries. Our gun murders are more than 100 times higher than the UK when comparing per capita rates. Statistics and reason shows that our high US gun murder rate is directly correlated to the amount of guns, the ease in which one can purchase a gun (even killing machines such as the semi-automatic AR15) and the lack of strong gun laws.  Isn’t this a pro-life issue?

I don’t always agree with pro-life positions. However I respect pro-lifers because they believe theirs is a moral and spiritual issue and that the law of the land is unjust….which is why they gather in front of state houses and legislatures carrying signs of protest.