Shooting Back
Many Christians have bought into the world view of Christians
being namby-pamby, soft, pushovers that do not and will not get
involved in violence, fighting or even self-defense. Utter nonsense.
Charl Van Wyk, a Christian living in South Africa was concealed
carrying gun owner church attendee at St. James church. One day,
two South African nationals burst into church, throwing hand grenades
and shooting AK-47s. With 11 killed and 58 wounded, Van Wyk turned
the tide by shooting back and wounding one. The two men were caught
and put in prison. Van Wyk visited them and shared Bod's plan
of salvation.
Van Wyk's book, "Shooting Back" addresses the issues
of biblical self-defense, firearms and moral and spiritual viewpoints
on when it is appropriate to defend yourself, your family and
other innocent people. Should Christians own guns? Is it appropriate
for churches to have armed security? If we tithe and attend church
and obey God, won'e he automatically keep us "safe"?
Or does he want (or expect) us to do something ourselves?
It is not a lack of faith to prepare for possible self-defense
any more than it is to have insurance. God expects us to do our
part. To get a correct biblical perspective on "guns"
and self-defense, you have to substitute "sword" (the
main hand-held weapon). Owning and using a sword for self-defense
was a normal part of life. Sword is mention 448 times in scripture
with 37 references in the New Testament.
Jesus was not a long-haired hippy pacifist … neither is God who
will judge! (Rev. 19:15-16, 21) The sword was to be used against
evil people (Matt. 15:19, 26:55 and Romans 13:4) Jesus told his
disciples to take nothing with them when they preached (Luke 9
did not tell them to go without a sword) and modified it in Luke
22:36-38 to be specific about the sword). He did not advocate
being defenseless. You are not to "trust flesh rather than
God," but God expects us to use common sense. We lock cars
and homes and pay for insurance. Owning a firearm is just another
form of "insurance" for believers. We should not be
afraid, but neither should we be defenseless. Law abiding American
citizens use firearms to stop crimes 2.5 million times a year.
That's 6,850 times a day. Crime rates fell in the 36 states with
concealed carry permits.
Christianity is meant to be practical in every area and it is
if we are biblical. That's something to think about!
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