My Take: The thin line between God and guns

[Scuba]

http://religion.blogs.cnn.com/2013/04/10/my-take-the-thin-line-between-god-and-guns/


Editor's Note: The Rt. Rev. Edward J. Konieczny is bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Oklahoma. He was previously a police officer in Southern California.

(CNN) — Both sides of the gun control debate think I’m on their side. I am the bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Oklahoma, a believer in Jesus Christ and for more than 18 years before entering seminary, I was a police officer. While I try to preach God’s love and mercy, I also have a concealed carry permit and sometimes take my gun on long drives through the isolated areas of my diocese.

...

In 1991, a few days before I was to leave the police department to enter seminary, I was dispatched to check on a man with a history of depression who had not responded to his family’s numerous attempts to contact him. No one responded to our knocking, and when my partner and I opened the door to his house, the man appeared directly in front of me with a rifle pointed at my head. He pulled the trigger, but the weapon did not fire.

Later we learned that the man had struggled with serious mental illness for years but was still able to purchase weapons.

...

The horrific massacre in Newtown, Connecticut, and the murders in other communities scream out to us. The unthinkable grief of the parents and grandparents who were called upon to bury their children and grandchildren make it clear to all of us that we have to face the raw emotions of gun violence whether we want to or not. Clearly God’s command to practice mercy and justice requires us to formulate a comprehensive response to gun violence.

[jimmy the one]

1. god given

link: Clearly God’s command to practice mercy and justice requires us to formulate a comprehensive response to gun violence.

houston we have a problem....

A good man Konieczny (~ko neetch nee), & I'm not arguing with you scuba, but the nra & gunnuts think the very same thing about god supporting rkba, & some even cite god as approving of their personal 20+ gun arsenals & ar15s. An early nra motto had 'god' in it as approving of something or other, I can't find it on google; kkk cites/cited god as well in the past, you get the drift, 'praise the lord & pass the ammunition', 'kill em all let god sort them out'. Misuse of piety? perhaps, or better said hopefully.
How many times have we heard gunworld citing 'our god given right to keep/bear arms'?

Demonstrating (once agayne) the bible can be turned upside down to justify just about anything:

15Exodus 15:3 The LORD is a warrior; the LORD is his name
Exodus 15:3 World English Bible Yahweh is a man of war. Yahweh is his name.
Exodus 15:3 Wycliffe The Lord is a man-fighter, his name is Almighty; (The Lord is a fighter, and his name is The Almighty
Exodus 15:3 Young's Literal Translation Jehovah [is] a man of battle; Jehovah [is] His name.

a religious explanation: In Exodus 15:3 we see God as a warrior. But the context is the destruction of the Egyptian Army. As we all know, Egypt had enslaved the Israelite nation and God simply became their warrior and delivered them. In Joel 3 we see a prophetic statement as the book of Joel clearly is prophetic in nature. In other words, there will come a time when it is required to fight.
There is no contradiction for God to be both the Lord who battles unrighteousness and also loves peace. This is just as true with people, who are really peaceful by nature, but will fight when the time requires it. http://carm.org/bible-difficulties/genesis-deuteronomy/lord-god-peace-or-war

as I said a religious explanation, also what the nra largely believes in, & pretty much secular reasoning as well regarding 'when it's justifiable to fight'.
Point being, whose side is 'god' really on? If a republican senate has the gall to block background checks which have 90% public approval, many of them will 'thank god' for stopping the rights denying liberals, as if god really is on their side.

[Scuba]

2. Well, there's no crazy like god crazy, but I can't see those nutjobs deciding our policies.