Who has the best hand?

[defacto7]

I cross posted this in both GCRA and A&A because it's kind of double edged.

My position on guns in America is now pretty well set.

A few days ago, a friend I had not seen in years gave me a call and asked if he could drop by. He's an evangelical fundamentalist and with me being his complete opposite it posed an opportunity for lively discussion for sure, so we decided to get in his truck and go out to eat. We discussed several things one of which was his faith in God to protect him from harm which took us to Internet issues such as privacy, NSA and even passwords. He said, "I don't care about passwords because God will take care of my stuff as he sees fit. I don't worry about it because I have faith he will keep my accounts safe." He proceeded to share with me his one password for /everything/ which was a 6 character lower case word and utterly useless. Then we got into 2nd amendment issues where he gave me the usual RW blather about Obama and the LW trying to take his guns away at which point he showed me a gun that he carries in his truck. He held it up and said, "This is the hand of God." Then I asked, "what kind of a metaphor is that?" His reply, "it's no metaphor." I said, "but don't you trust God to protect you and your life just as much as your Internet access? Why would you need a gun when you have faith in God?" Then he replied with a kind of reverence, "If God calls me to use it, I will use it." End of conversation.

Beside the fact that his argument is hypocritical this person is no backwoods slouch. In fact he's quite intelligent and well educated though he picks and chooses his facts according to the "will" of God and the bible.

If he represents 10 other people in the US, we have a problem. I'm sure he represents thousands. If people carry guns on their person or in their vehicles, and states have no strict laws that bar such carrying practices, and law enforcement has no will to enforce such a law, such irrational numb ethics that becomes the will of God in the minds of thousands of believers of a thousand definitions of god will be the hand of a thousand different gods. Those gods exist the minds of fearful, angry and irrational hypocrites who can't even keep their faith in the God they believe in.

I have just joined the ranks of those who want to see his "hand of God" taken away after all. That's a blanket statement but I see no reason for fallible humans with the propensity for false judgment to be the carriers of death walking and driving in the presence of us all.

[randys1]

1. There is no right to own a gun in this country outside of a well regulated militia

and your friend is a good example of why...

Frightening isnt it, someone who claims to be a follower of Jesus doing something Jesus not only would never do, but would slap the living shit out of him for doing

[defacto7]

5. I think he has the idea

that he IS a well regulated militia, he with all the other fly-by-night vigilantes that use God as their General in spirit. Talking about deluded....

To clarify, I see no friend there, that was a long time ago and it seems for him, a lot of propaganda in between.

[Hoyt]

2. Irrational folks definitely shouldn't have access to guns.

[mwrguy]

3. Get a new friend

One less scary.

[defacto7]

4. I agree... n/t

[jimmy the one]

6. praise the lord & pass the ammo

defacto: Then we got into 2nd amendment issues .. he showed me a gun that he carries in his truck. He held it up and said, "This is the hand of God." ... I said, "but don't you trust God to protect you and your life just as much as your Internet access? Why would you need a gun when you have faith in God?" Then he replied with a kind of reverence, "If God calls me to use it, I will use it."

He's in the 'praise the lord & pass the ammunition' lunatic fringe, taking it literally - kill 'em let God sort 'em out - a gunnut true & true, a gunnut's gunnut.
They can justify just about anything in 'God's Name', & to boot, if they do done do wrong, they know he forgives them for doing it! What a religion. And thank G, er, goodness, for separation of church & state.

defacto: Those gods exist {in} the minds of fearful, angry and irrational hypocrites who can't even keep their faith in the God they believe in.

They twist it, justify whatever, & then self absolve themselves once something does go wrong. Not to say (presumably) all Christians are like this, just a small percentage.

df: I have just joined the ranks of those who want to see his "hand of God" taken away after all.. I see no reason for fallible humans with the propensity for false judgment to be the carriers of death walking and driving in the presence of us all.

Agree, but isn't much we can do about it, thanks to the nra & the rest of the maddening crowd of gunworld. I see no reason for the nra/gun lobby to throw this guy under the bus, jeez, they might make him the driver.