="Episkopos, post: 484892, member: 3944"]A Christian is one that uses things differently than others. We must divorce the gun from it's evil purpose...that of maiming people and taking life. I personally have a number of firearms that I have used for things like hunting, target shooting, and historical re-enactments. But I would never think of hurting anyone with these guns. No more so than using a bowling ball to hit somebody with. So then the first step is to not think of guns as something to kill people with.
Guns do not have an evil purpose. They are a tool and like most tools they can kill someone. And they can save lives.
In Canada there is far less tendency to see firearms as a self-defense option. Besides the fact that guns and ammo must be under lock and key...and separated from each other....this makes using firearms in any other way than a pre-planned outing to the range a non-starter. They are for sport only. The absence of human shaped targets here in Canada says a lot about this. When I see that in the US even civilian gun clubs use human shaped targets...it is very telling. It is desensitizing. At the club I once belonged to...any target shape, whether human or animal...was strictly forbidden. It was about getting good scores...competing for accuracy. That's the sport that attracted my wife and I.
How do you know that is true?.
And if true what does that say about the people of Canada?
I was an NRA instructor, a national pistol coach and coach to a youth Olympic style air pistol team I created that went all the way to international medals. Competitive shooting is the safest sport there is. Cheerleading is at the top of the heap for injuries.
And remember, Canada has an extremely tiny military. They depend on the US for protection.
What about other forms of violence. England severely cracked down on guns, so gun deaths decreased but knife deaths skyrocketed.
Cities in the US with the strictest gun controls have the highest gun violence rates.
Canada is a far more sparsely populated country.
They have far more anti-Christian laws.
Anti-Christian laws in Canada at DuckDuckGo
They have far stricter immigration policies than the US does. And yet Islamic terrorists have staged attacks.
I don't know any other way to put it, but Canada's Prime Minister is a real piece of work.
My whole point is you have to do your total homework before jumping to conclusions.
Getting back to the faith...Christians are not to contemplate let alone actually hurting others. Jesus said...I have not come to take life but to give it.
The unjustified taking of a life should be abhorrent to Christians.
That includes abortion.
But self-defense is not. Nor is taking of a life as a soldiers or police.
For some, guns mean power. But Christianity is anti power. It is a renunciation of power. Unfortunately it seems that few can see the Christian faith without the added baggage of modern nationalistic culture. I know that America has added in the Christian faith (as an ideology) to it's mythology in the bid to unite the people around something that serves the national identity. This is NOT the purpose of the coming of Christ. It is a subversion of the faith of Christ. A Christian must learn to have all things submit to the faith of Christ....not the other way around.
Nationalism has always been here, from Israel forward, and God and Christ never condemned it.
Mythology? This country was founded on seeking religious freedom.
The Tories were opposed and moved to Canada to remain loyal to the monarchy.
Many in Québec speak French and a number of efforts have been made to create a separate country.
In the Bible God judges nation according to their relationship with God.
No government equals anarchy. Anarchy equals death and Satan.
The Bible quite clearly says render unto God what is his and unto Caesar what is his. That is a clear recognition by God of government.
In fact the Bible says God appoints national Leaders.
