> General Discussions
"So - Is there any difference?"
Mike Gagne:
Just a thought...
Genesis 6:5 (KJV)
5 And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.
Mat 15:19 For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies:
Mark 7:21-23 (KJV)
21 For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders,
22 Thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness:
23 All these evil things come from within, and defile the man.
Even thinking on those things is evil, Oh who will save me from the wretched man that I am? Thanks be to God that when his righteous judgements are in the earth the inhabitants will learn righteousness!!!
Father open the eyes and ears of our hearts and anoint our understanding that we may behold thy Glory and by beholding your Glory we may be changed in to your imagine, In Jesus Name
arion:
Here is what it all boils down to for me. We're all trying to walk this walk but our life experiences are so different that we see things through different glasses. If one has lived in urban or suburban areas all their lives the only thing they hear about guns is negative. The daily parade of carnage goes on and on and more and more [especially young people] are slaughtered. However, if you lived and were brought up in a rural area your outlook would be quite a bit different.
Take the following items. A gun, axe, chain saw, knife, crowbar, socket wrench and screw driver. What do all of these have in common? They are all tools which can be used for good or evil. A inanimate tool in and of itself is amoral. It is neither good or evil but can be used for good or evil. Some will disagree with that statement. Some would say well yes, I understand that an axe can be used to cut firewood but also hurt someone. A knife can be used to cut trim or cut my meat but can also be used for evil. I know what crowbars, socket wrenches and screw drivers are used for and I suppose they could also be used to maim so I can see that all these have potential for good and evil but you've lost me with a gun. How can a gun be used for good?
Well, if your rural you would understand that the gun can be used to feed my family and put food on the table. Most of you eat meat. Somebody has to kill and butcher that cow or pig you consume. You might keep your hands clean but somebody has to do it for you. A gun can also be used to protect my livestock or pets from wolves or coyotes or to scare a bear away in the middle of the night. There are also those who do use them for sporting purposes and enjoy skeet shooting. My older brother has told me the story before how he was on the high school skeet team and would walk into his school with his shotgun and put it in his unlocked locker during class. Other times he would leave it in his car. Nobody had to worry about school place violence and the worse it got back then was the very rare after school fight by a couple of boys trying to prove how tough they were. And although the media is loath to report it there are also times that firearms have prevented violence by being a deterrent to evil. To me with my life experiences it's a simple tool and one that I have never used for evil. I own several firearms but I think I've only opened my gun locker up once this year several months ago to make sure they were oiled.
I've touched on before the opinion that many have that having a firearm is showing a lack of faith in God's provision for your safety. By the same token many of the same see nothing wrong with having health insurance, a pension plan, a savings account, various stock investments, ect. They have no problem with going to a doctor when they are sick, ect. When questioned about it they would simply reply that having these things are simply prudent and being a good steward. They would say that God can heal supernaturally but that he can also choose to use a doctor, medicines or even have the body heal itself naturally. They might also say that God expects them to do what they can with what they've been entrusted with and that is simply a part of walking out your faith and not remaining static. One can have all the faith in the world but God still expects you to work as well. Faith and works goes together...they are not mutually exclusive.
I am able to respect the opinions of those that feel that having a firearm is a lack of faith in God's provision if they also are willing to eschew the insurance, pensions, savings accounts, doctors visits, medicines, ect. At least with that one would be consistent in the approach. Like with just about everything in the Christian walk it comes down to the heart and motivations, and that is something that I am not qualified to judge someone else on. Indeed at times I don't even know my own heart and motivations. It is very possible for someone to be moved totally out of fear of the future and as an outworking of that fear they acquire guns, gold, money, various insurances and investments as well as running to the doctor every time they have a sniffle. On the other hand it's also possible for someone to have a firearm, perhaps a bank account and a few investments, maybe some insurance and see a doctor occasionally but yet do so in complete faith in God's provision for you. If having access to any of these things to you shows a lack of faith then for you it is a lack of faith. To our own master we stand or we fall. And thank God he is able to make us stand!
Blessings to all.....
Doug:
Hi Arion,
I understand what you are saying and think you make very good points to consider. However, I do not see how you can compare insurance, stocks, gold, bank accounts, doctors etc. to the use of guns. Everything you listed does no harm to another person only a gun has that potential. I have not problem with gun ownership for a number of reason you cited, however I do not believe we should harm another individual using a firearm. When God brought me to the understanding of bible truths one of the first things I did was sell my gun. It was only for protection. It was something that to me did not need much thought or what if's.
lauriellen:
Last night about 3 am, the local band of coyotes moved in within 100 yards of our house, yelping, howling and raising cain. They snatch a few chickens a year from us. Our dogs naturally went crazy barking and soon every neighbor dog in earshot was too. I opened my window and hollered, whistled and tried to scare them away and quiet the dogs. No success. I finally got my .22 pistol and walked out on my back porch and fired off a couple of shots into the air. Silence. I couldn't help but think how this could be a parable for this discussion.
lauriellen
Mike Gagne:
Guns don't murder, murder comes from the heart. And how do I know? because I turned and I saw, and what did I see? I seen that I don't murder as much as I used to...
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