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Does God want Christians to be a ‘good guy with a gun’?
(RNS) — Does Jesus want you to own a gun?
It’s a question Richard Berry said he wrestled with for years, unsure of how to match his Christian faith with his appreciation for firearms and self-defense. A native of Olathe, Kansas, he told Religion News Service he began grappling with the issue of God and guns in earnest following a 2017 shooting incident near his house.
In February of that year, Srinivas Kuchibhotla and Alok Madasani, both Indian, were enjoying after-work drinks at Austins Bar and Grill when a man named Adam Purinton began to yell and pepper them with questions about their immigration status. Purinton was tossed out of the bar but returned and opened fire, killing Kuchibhotla and wounding Madasani and another man who came to their aid.
Purinton later pled guilty to murder and hate crime charges and is serving four life sentences.
Berry said that after the shooting and other violent incidents in his town, he agonized over whether God would approve of him carrying a concealed weapon to help defend himself or others. He eventually decided that the answer is yes.
“If a violent crime is happening, or if a woman is being raped, is it wrong, scripturally, to defend that person so they don’t die?” he told Religion News Service in a recent phone interview.
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I doubt that religion is the primary motivator behind gun ownership.
(RNS) — Does Jesus want you to own a gun?
It’s a question Richard Berry said he wrestled with for years, unsure of how to match his Christian faith with his appreciation for firearms and self-defense. A native of Olathe, Kansas, he told Religion News Service he began grappling with the issue of God and guns in earnest following a 2017 shooting incident near his house.
In February of that year, Srinivas Kuchibhotla and Alok Madasani, both Indian, were enjoying after-work drinks at Austins Bar and Grill when a man named Adam Purinton began to yell and pepper them with questions about their immigration status. Purinton was tossed out of the bar but returned and opened fire, killing Kuchibhotla and wounding Madasani and another man who came to their aid.
Purinton later pled guilty to murder and hate crime charges and is serving four life sentences.
Berry said that after the shooting and other violent incidents in his town, he agonized over whether God would approve of him carrying a concealed weapon to help defend himself or others. He eventually decided that the answer is yes.
“If a violent crime is happening, or if a woman is being raped, is it wrong, scripturally, to defend that person so they don’t die?” he told Religion News Service in a recent phone interview.
===============================================================
I doubt that religion is the primary motivator behind gun ownership.