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The Bible really seems to take two different points of view regarding defending yourself. There's the passage in Matthew that instructs a Christian to "turn the other cheek" which seems to support a position of nonviolence but there's also plenty of passages which talk about fighting your enemies so it seems like self defense is also acceptable.
I personally own several handguns and a rifle (somebody stole my shotgun when I moved here from the moving company) and I do believe I have the right to defend myself in my home. My neighbor was threatened by his girlfriend's exhusband who said he was going to kill him so he got a restraining order and also bought a gun and a license to carry. Unfortunately the guy who's threatening him was a sniper in the military so it does concern him and I think he has every right to do what he can to defend himself.
As far as the atheists on this forum are concerned I get the feeling that there are probably quite a few who might be opposed to gun ownership although I may be wrong. I have the opinion that criminals are going to get their guns one way or the other and I have the right to buy one legally which I have done. Crime is fairly high where I live and if someone broke into my house I feel I need some means of protecting myself. I keep a loaded 9mm by my bed.
So what opinions do you have on gun ownership and how does it fit into your religious or nonreligious point of view?
Hm. I'm okay with gun ownership, and we have a few since my husband's a hunter. From the point of having one for self defense, however, how does that work? Maybe not everybody is as obsessive as we are about storage, but wouldn't the gun be locked in a gun safe and some distance away from ammo, etc?
We have muzzle loaders, and before those things even cross the threshold they're completely dismantled with triggers and barrells removed. I'd do better whacking somebody with the barrell of one than I would trying to reassemble and load it. lol
Maybe not everybody is as obsessive as we are about storage, but wouldn't the gun be locked in a gun safe and some distance away from ammo, etc?
In my situation I live by myself so there's not a danger of a child finding a loaded gun. If there were children here I'd get a gun safe or find some means of making sure they could never get their hands on it. There are many accidental deaths every year that are the result of carelessness on the part of the parents and there's no excuse for it.
A few weeks ago, a guy I worked with was leaving an Italian Restaurant. As he left the building, he noticed a Hummer was parked so close to his car door that he couldn't get in. Inside the Hummer was some woman talking on her cell phone. From what I gather, he knocked on the window and asked her to move the car (although I'm sure it could have been more like "telling" her). Well, she told him where to go and then her husband walked out at that moment and saw the two of them arguing. Then, a confrontation began in the parking lot with the two of them yelling at one another over the stupid parking spot. The guy turned his back, walked over to his Hummer, reached inside, grabbed a pistol and shot my co-worker in the chest and killed him in front of his entire family. The guy said it was self-defense. I don't like guns. Never really have. Now, I really don't like guns.
I have gone back and forth about getting a gun. I want one to protect myself and my two kids at home with me. But on the other hand I'm so terrified one of them may get ahold of it. If I had one, and someone broke in, I'd use it.
I don't think Jesus expects us to let someone break into our home, rape and or torture our loved ones, and murder all of us.
I can't think of a theoretical link between religion and gun ownership, all though there may be a correlation simply because a liberal is more likely to disbelieve God and be for gun control, while a conservative is more likely to believe in God and be against Gun control.
The guy turned his back, walked over to his Hummer, reached inside, grabbed a pistol and shot my co-worker in the chest and killed him in front of his entire family. The guy said it was self-defense. I don't like guns. Never really have. Now, I really don't like guns.
That's horrible. Have they charged the man who shot your coworker?
I do understand your point of view because there are so many circumstances in which a gun was used to take someone's life when there really wasn't any threat in the first place. I remember the case of the young Japanese student who was going to a Halloween party and accidentally went to the wrong house and the owner shot him dead and was acquitted for it. Ten years ago I was working in Littleton, Colorado only several miles from the Columbine High School when all of those students were gunned down. Yes, a case can be made that there are just too many guns and anybody can get one if they make a little effort. Because I know I'm a responsible person and don't pack a gun everywhere I go and just keep them in my home I feel I'm acting appropriately and it's extremely unlikely that I'll ever have the need to actually shoot someone who is threatening me but I do feel a little safer knowing I have one as a last resort. My Father carried a gun everywhere he went and in Montana it's not that uncommon. Crime there is very low so the situation does vary quite a lot from one state to the next.
im a christian and i beleive it is perfectly fine to own a gun ..its how you use it that realy makes a difference... as far as life or death situations of coarse protect yourself ..it says in the bible that if a burgler sneaks into your house at night and u kill him its ok because thats your home and while your asleep your at a vulnerable sate..it also says that if you kill someone in the day then you gotta pay for wat you did.. so the way i take that is defend myself in the least deadliest way
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