Posted on 11/01/2015 9:47:00 AM PST by WhiskeyX
Polls show that 90 percent of Americans support universal background checks for gun buyers, yet a bill mandating this died in the Senate. Evangelical Christians, however, may well be the key to shifting Americaâs broken political dynamic around gun rights.
Right now, white evangelical Protestants are the group most likely to oppose stricter gun- control laws. They stand out as one of the few constituencies where a strong pro-life identity is tied to attitudes against any restrictions on gun ownership. Evangelicals are also one of the strongest constituencies of support for the National Rifle Association.
Yet the NRA, which has been vigilant in advancing expansive gun-ownership policies, including broader concealed-carry rights, has been accused by its critics of having a casual disregard for the sanctity of human life. A brief stroll through its direct mail and advertising, listening to the language of its most prominent spokespeople and seeing the laws it promotes could bear this assertion out. Meanwhile, the proliferation of âstand your groundâ laws, which relieve citizens of the obligation to exhaust all options before shooting in self-defense, sounds like an inversion of basic Christian teachings about loving every human being, including, and most especially, those who would harm you.
adArmor-of-Light-Rob-Schenck-Silhouette-in-Church-Credit-Jeff-Hutchens Rob Schenck sitting in church in a still from âThe Armor of Light.â FORK FILMS/Jeff Hutchens
The close relationship between evangelicals and the NRA does not go back far.
[....]
Abigail E. Disney is a filmmaker, philanthropist and the chief executive and president of Fork Films. She is the director of "The Armor of Light," about an influential Evangelical minister who supports gun control, which opened in theaters nationwide October 30.
(Excerpt) Read more at blogs.reuters.com ...
That cartoon is racist. I see no black people with signs. Oh wait.....
“Then Simon Peter, having a sword, drew it and struck the high priestâs servant and cut off his right ear”-because guns weren’t invented yet, he didn’t shoot him.
Well, first of all, mandatory background checks are already required of all gun purchases, except from friends and family members and unlicensed collectors.
Funny.
The Christ I worship told his followers to sell their cloak and buy a sword, and scourged the moneylenders from the temple.
Christ wouldn’t join the NRA, but only because he considered them Lukewarm.
Dear Abby: The people of this nation who fought the English were Christians. ARMED Christians. Thank Jesus for giving you life. Thank ARMED Christians for giving you freedom.
So Jesus does not want folks to protect their families?
I did not know that.
Jesus was more into whips, methinks.
So true. And we all know that the criminals buy their weapons at the gun shops. :-)
Put a fork in her.
Luke 22:36
“Polls show that 90 percent of Americans support universal background checks for gun buyers”
Journalistic malfeasance.
Indy is into guns! Even though he carried a whip!
I hope it tanks.
Well, Jesus didn’t need a gun! He could do stuff with the wave of a finger! (Oh, and they didn’t have guns back then, anyway) But, us mere mortals have to have a mode of protection from the miscreants in this world.
Here’s the question...could Jesus walk safely through North Birmingham or west Memphis at midnight safely? Would thugs kill Jesus for $6 in his billfold? Would Jesus fail to recognize that #blacklivesmatter?
Luke 22:36.
He (Jesus) said to them, "But now, let him who has a purse take it, and likewise a bag. And let him who has no sword sell his mantle and buy one."
by the way, since when does “Reuters” start running ad promotions for filmmakers and call it “news”?
will Reuters give the Kendrick brothers of Sherwood Pictures some free space to write a promo for their next film?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.