Editor’s Word: This can be a half of YourTango’s Opinion part the place particular person authors can present various views for wide-ranging political, social, and private commentary on points.
By John Pavlovitz
Christian.
To paraphrase a smart man, “They preserve utilizing that phrase. I don’t assume it means what they assume it means.”
Every single day my timeline is crammed with God and Gun Christians.
The 2 phrases are often given the identical place of adoration.
They’re spoken of with kindred reverence.
They’re allotted equal fervor.
God. Gun.
These two phrases are used with such related frequency on their social media bios, and sometimes so tethered collectively of their conversations and of their sermons that they’re inextricable.
And what you notice if you happen to listen, is that God and the gun have been conflated: that they actually solely worship a type of; that just one has their hearts.
At any time when I see these posturing professed disciples of a heat-packin’ deity — whether or not associates, strangers, influencers, or politicians — I don’t must know something about them to make sure of 1 factor about them: they don’t know who Jesus is.
They might have a picture on their wall or of their heads that they worship; one burned into their psyches by brimstone-breathing preachers and indignant older relations and NRA advert campaigns — but it surely certain as heck ain’t Jesus of Nazareth.
It’s not the mild, compassionate, open-hearted, non-violent rabbi Jesus who shunned retributive violence, who warned towards eye-for-an-eye myopia, who preached the blessing of peace towards the world — and who allowed himself to be unfairly arrested and crushed and murdered, to indicate that love is the final, loudest phrase.
I really feel deep sorrow for these individuals as a result of I see the scalding worry that they mistake for religious ardour; the perverted narrative that performs of their heads that tells them hazard lurks round each nook; the paradox of a God who protects them and but compels them to strap a weapon to themselves as a result of that God doubtless gained’t.
What does it say about your religion or concerning the character of the God you profess that religion in, that you just have to be armed always: on the grocery retailer or selecting up your baby at daycare — or the halls of Congress?
How do you reconcile a supreme and loving Creator you supposedly belief sufficient to go maskless in a lethal pandemic, however not sufficient to go away a weapon at dwelling if you go to your son’s little league recreation?
What sort of exhausting theological gymnastics do it’s good to do, to make any form of sense of that inside your head?
What horrible story do you inform your self concerning the world, about humanity, concerning the love you declare holds all of it collectively?
The life and teachings of Jesus are antithetical to gun worship. That’s simply the reality.
There’s merely no cheap option to align the posturing, pistol-packin’ antagonistic bravado of Lauren Boebert and Marjorie Taylor Greene — and the love your enemies, flip the opposite cheek, regular gentleness of their Christian namesake.
I do know they’d wish to consider in any other case — the one bother is, Jesus.
He is not going to consent to it.
He is not going to permit them to violently beat their plowshares into swords and bastardize the work he did and the phrases he spoke, no matter how powerful it makes them really feel after they do.
Christian, it doesn’t matter how lengthy you’ve been taught that these two issues are appropriate.
It would not matter how typically your pastors and associates have ratified it, what number of t-shirts you put on in your profile pic, what number of bumper stickers you slap in your again window subsequent to your gun rack — they are going to by no means be yoked collectively they usually can by no means be held tightly with the identical fingers.
Till professed Christians determine they’re going to guide with gentleness and never contempt, till they select to truly learn the Gospels and permit them to melt their hearts, and till they’ll discover a religion that doesn’t require a military-grade backup — they are going to proceed to weaponize faith into one thing that doesn’t resemble Jesus and use it to wound different individuals.
When your God is a gun, you’ll by no means be at peace.
When your God is a gun, you’ll by no means be God’s peace to others.
When your God is a gun, the love of God gained’t reside lengthy in you.
Select your God properly.
John Pavlovitz is a father of two and a 17-year ministry veteran, specializing in rabble-rousing, engineering mayhem and usually making an attempt to reside out the purple letters of Jesus.
This text was initially printed at The Good Males Venture. Reprinted with permission from the creator.
