Linkathon!
When your spouse is mentally ill…
Four essential questions about racial justice…
Orthodox church conflicts in Ukraine…
The influence of Christian nationalism on the insurrection…
Christian nationalism and the Jan 6, 2021 insurrection (full report)
Roger Olsen says he’s a socialist because he’s a Christian…
Cultivating Christ-like compassion…
Bible Gateway removes “Passion” translation…
Does Jesus defend our enemies?
Can/should Christians own a gun?
Five signs you are hearing Gods voice and not your ego…
More later…
Thanks for continuing to post the Linkathon, which always has thought-provoking articles that I wouldn’t see otherwise.
On “Can/should Christians own a gun?”:
I live in a rural county, in a state that has a per-capita gun murder rate below the US national average, and which permits open carry. I volunteer at a livestock rescue, and at one of our meetings, we were informed of the state law regarding loose dogs attacking livestock — basically, state law allows one to destroy any unconstrained dog found injuring livestock, and it was recommended (for those not already doing so) to carry a firearm when out in the pastures, since there is a loose dog problem here. The whole discussion of “Should Christians own a gun?” (short answer from the article: no) doesn’t have much relevance here and makes me sigh at the things Christians focus on besides following Jesus and loving one’s (immediate) neighbors in deed and action rather than in thought and abstraction; it also feels like a litmus test for those who insist on trying to judge if you’re really a Christian or not.
Sarah,
Thank you as always for reading…and for giving us a different perspective to look at this issue through…
Having grown up in a rural area, I can second the thoughts about much of the gun ownership there had far more to do with hunting and animal control than it did for other purposes.
I now live in the city and owning a gun is far more about protection. The concerns and issues of gun ownership are quite different just by taking an hour’s drive.
Many issues of this world can not be summed up in neat little packages.
I don’t like guns, but if I lived in a rural area, I’d reluctantly get a rife and learn how to use it, if only to shoot rabid skunks or wild hogs. In the city, I think I would not have a gun, but I don’t fault others for having one for protection of them and their families. I don’t blame shopkeepers for having guns. I find connecting gun rights with Christianity to be very odd but folks have connected a lot of stuff with Christianity lately that doesn’t fit in with the words of Christ. I think guns are a sad necessity of the fallen world.
i loved the “Recipe of Me”, probably because my environment has been multicultural my entire life. I have a collection of friends going back more than 50 years who have enriched my life through sharing their culture with me, and i continue to make similar friendships. I’m not afraid of present or future demographic changes. I’m glad that America continues to be a welcoming place, at least by some of us. I find it especially exciting that so many of these people, who do not know Christ, are able to hear about Him as they come to America.
Guns don’t kill people, people do (I’m not being pithy, hear me out).
Interesting article, but the implication is that Christians should turn the other cheek no matter what. There are plenty of other ways and tools used to commit violence. I have firearms, and have taken a lot of training classes, yet I don’t think I could bring myself to use one for self defense.
However, if someone were attacking my family (children), do I do nothing using violence to intervene? Or is that “worse than the heathens,” not “taking care of [my] family?”
Here in the silicon Valley, a jewelry store owner, with a permit to carry, shot at armed robbers during am attempted smash and grab.
About 15 years ago, when I used to read the paper every day, there was a story where a man had to shoot his own father dead. Dad was attacking his other son with a nail studded bat. No charges were filed against the first son.
Even when my kids aren’t with me, guns are locked up. I got a kind of big dog instead. She’s friendly to people outside, but it’s a fierce guard dog with anyone who violates our property space unless I’m there to tell her it’s OK.
Roger Olson’s blog post was also interesting, yet I think that the actions he’s advocating means a much bigger and controlling government. California is certainly trying, but even San Francisco mayor London Breed suggested that Conservatorship laws needed to be relaxed (i.e., looser requirements about locking up people against their wills…. I went through this with my mom) to provide housing.
Feed everybody? Maybe, sure. Our school district has been funded to give kids free food. So some parents no longer have to lie on the means testing applications. I’m for this one, based upon my own experience being food deprived in high school.
I’m not sure what he means by “free school.” If college, it isn’t like that on the EU and surrounding countries: kids are tested and put on tracks. There are plenty of cost-effective options here, but many Americans aren’t so imaginative, and buy into the University Industrial Complex kool-aid. I do think it’s a good idea that community College should be free. Get an AA, AS, and/or a certificate in automotive tech, radiology, criminal justice, nursing, and the like. If you do a transfer track, then you’ve proved that you can hack university. This would also address the 40-50% 1st year university drop out rate and also the shameful trend of remedial math and ELA courses (which kids and parents have to pay for! And waste semesters) at the Uni level.
Is there moral hazard here as well? It took me many years to look back and realize that the single moms that my mom hung out with (she loved underdogsl when I was a child were just enabled by checks from the state for their kids. If I was able to make $ from gig jobs in the neighborhood starting at 14 under the table, then they certainly were it they wanted. East San Jose pretty much runs on the underground economy thanks to immigrant Mexicans (and not a few Vietnamese). They are very proud of it also. Working hard.
“If you don’t work, then you don’t eat.” That implies “if you can work” of course.
When CPS got involved with us when I was 13 , the other family living on the property in a converted bus was mad at my mom when after mentioned them. They weren’t concerned about their kids being taken away, but their precious checks. The non working boyfriend (not the daddy) pushed my mom down back onto a bed after getting in her face he was so mad. He had a bum eye, but he could have worked rather than parasiting off his girl friend’s child aid checks for her kids (whom he openly didn’t like). I hope those kids turned out OK…
I have so many more stories, but I’ll shut up now. :^P
I read through the can/should/gun article…and it sounds cerebral and spiritual, but without much effort dismissed his theses. Can is an easy one–like the one the old radio preacher used to say, “People ask me ‘can Christians dance?’ Some can, some can’t.” Should speaks to the issue of Christian liberty, conscience, and expediency. It was a lightweight treatment.
The full report on Christian Nationalism is well worth reading. It may well be the heresy of our time. Like Arianism or Gnosticism it will spread as the result of believers giving it space (or at least giving space to its ideals) within otherwise orthodox circles. I’ve become convinced that Christian Nationalism is one step removed from paganism…
John Cooper wants to declare war on reconstruction.
Well, I declare war on lead singers of rock bands looking like hipsters, including the 19th-century-esque long beards. Unless you look like ZZ Top, beards should be forbidden: save the long hair for your head.
Sorry, deconstruction.
By the way, it is not what the celebrity preachers tell you it is.