Dec. 20, 2024

Mass Shootings and Luke 22:36

Mass Shootings and Luke 22:36

A discussion about mass shootings and Luke 22:36

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A discussion about mass shootings and Luke 22:36

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Looking at our world from a theological perspective. This is

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the Theology Central podcast making Theology Central. What comes to

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your mind whenever you see a news report about another

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mass school shooting? What comes to your mind? What feelings

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do you have whenever you see that there has been

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another mass school shooting? Do you get angry? Do you

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get upset? Do you get frustrated? Do you find yourself

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engaging in some kind of argument about school shootings or

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guns or whatever? Your particular perspective is, how do you

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typically deal with it? Do you just kind of shake

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your head? Do you just I don't know, what's what's

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your mindset? Well? For me, well, one, I get very

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emotional whenever I see that there was another mask shooting.

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I get very emotional because kids woke up that morning

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and went to school. They just went to school, right,

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whether they were excited about it, dreading it, whether they

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had a test, whether they had homework they did not

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turn in, whatever the case, maybe they were just going

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to school and they had in a sense their life

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before them, right, looking for their first date, their first kiss,

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looking for this going to the school dance or the

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football game, or graduating or are they going to get

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their report card. All the things you think about and

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care about in school, they had all of that in

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front of them, and they go to school and they

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never go back home. They are shot and killed in

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their classroom. That is emotionally disturbing to me. It bothers

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me so much. And then if that doesn't already, I mean,

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it makes me depressed it. I mean, there's so many

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emotions I go through. I could you just name the

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emotion I probably feel it in some way shape from

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all negative emotions. When a mass schools shooting occurs, When

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another mass schools shooting occurs, I get so so upset

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about the situation. I really, really really do. Then the

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news reports start coming out about the mass shooting, right,

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and then if you start reading the comments underneath these

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the articles, or if you look on social media, you

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immediately see the fighting, the arguing. Right the pro gun

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people say we need more guns, we need more guns,

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we need more guns. The anti gun people who know

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we need less guns, and everyone fights and argues. Others

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people say, well, we need we need the ten commandments

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in the classroom that'll stop it. We need this, and

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everyone throws out like they're an expert and what to

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do about it. Everyone has their perspective, and what's kind

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of sad is you have everyone arguing about their ideology,

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but the end result is the children are dead. The

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kids are dead, the teenagers are dead. Because it was

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another mass school shooting. It's everyone's arguing, and in many

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cases it's like the shooting just happened thirty minutes ago,

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forty five minutes ago, an hour ago, and you got

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everyone online arguing, and it doesn't stop anything, because then

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there's another mass school shooting, and then we wait till

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the next mass school shooting, and then we wait till

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the next one. But yet the same arguments are said

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over and over and over and over. Now you can

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almost if you look at the comments, you know the arguments.

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So that already that just adds to my depression, the

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emotions already had. It just makes me even more angry

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because they're yelling and screaming, and nobody even remembers the

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kids who were killed, because they care more about their

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ideology than I think in some cases the children who died,

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or at least it feels that way. But then the

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Christians get involved, and once the Christians start talking, I

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become even more bothered and frustrated, and I have reached

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Sometimes I feel like I've reached a breaking point until

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the next mass school shooting, and then I reach another

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breaking point, especially once the Christians start talking. If the

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Christians would stop talking, it's still horrible, it's still horrifying,

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and I almost reach a breaking point. But if I

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but if Christians would just stop talking, maybe just maybe

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I could handle it. Maybe I could just make it

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a little bit longer. I know you're gonna say that

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sounds very unfair, but I'm just I just wish Christians

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would stop talking. I wish Christians would get off social media.

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I wish Christians would just not speak, because most of

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what they say is absolutely insane when it comes to

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mass school shootings. So we're going to talk about Christians,

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and we're going to talk about their use of a

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specific Bible verse. After every mass school shooting, they quote

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the exact same I don't know what they expected to

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I don't know. I don't they that don't really, that

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don't really detail their plan, Okay, but but they quote

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the verse because this is the verse a go to,

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which just demonstrates that you know, well, you can make

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the Bible say anything, and I will tell you about

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that verse, and I'll tell you about what Christians say.

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And we're going to talk about the philological problems, the

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logical problems. And then then after we get done and

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fall with all of that, if we have a little

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bit of time, I'm just gonna show you how just

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insane some Christians sound when they really start talking about this.

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They don't understand the philological and philosophical complexities they they

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they they walk into and it's just so maddening. But

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we're gonna talk about all of that right after I

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do this. Good afternoon everyone. It is Thursday, December the nineteenth,

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twenty twenty four. It is currently five six pm Central time,

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and I'm coming to you live from the Theology Central

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Studio located right here in in Abilene, Texas. On Monday

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December sixteenth, twenty twenty four, the Christian Post posted the

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following article. Here is the headline, teacher student among three

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dead and shooting at private Christian school in Wisconsin. Teacher

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student among three dead and shooting at private Christian school

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in Wisconsin. Shooting suspect believed to be a fifteen year

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old female student. Authorities did not initially disclosed shooters age

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all right. They updated it on December the sixteenth. The

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shooting suspect was a fifteen year old female student. A

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law enforcement official reportedly told the Associated Press after the

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second press conference of the day, two of the injured

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students are in critical life threatening condition and four others

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wounded have sustained injuries that are non life threatening. That

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was updated on December the sixteenth at five pm, so

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that they may have updated it more. But once I

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saw that, I was like, here we go, another school shooting.

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People have died, here we go. And so then I

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braced myself for all of those things. I braced myself

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for all the arguments and everything. But then it was

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the Christian post. So I knew, well, now I'm going

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to hear the Christians in the comments section start putting

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forth their comments, and I already knew exactly where it

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was going to go. It did not take long when

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the article was originally published. It did not take long

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before well, they started citing a specific Bible verse. I

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knew it was going to happen, but I was waiting. Now.

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Once I saw this all play out, I was like, Okay.

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At some point I have to talk about it. I

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don't know if I decided, was it Monday, maybe Monday

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night early Tuesday morning, I don't know. I made the

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decision at some point I'm going to discuss this, but

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situation has not worked out where I could. So here

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we are today. In some ways, I like that I've

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waited a little bit longer because hopefully, hopefully most of you,

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if you've been arguing about school shootings, mass shootings, guns,

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pro gun and hopefully you've gotten a lot of that

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out of your system. So maybe you'll be a little calmer,

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and maybe you'll at least listen to a perspective that's

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probably it's probably going to tick you off, but maybe

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you'll at least listen a little bit to what I

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have to say. All Right, So we had another mass

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school shooting, in this case Wisconsin at a private Christian school.

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Now the Christian Post took an interesting and interesting perspective

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because after they published this article, they went to they

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published a second article basically saying, Hey, I think the

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way we can prevent this and now I'm paraphrasing this.

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I'm paraphrasing this. It wasn't this explicit, but it was

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pretty close to saying, Hey, I think the way we

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can possibly prevent school shootings and a Christian school is

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to do a better job at you know, looking at

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who we allow into the Christian schools. We got to

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do a better job basically, you know, going through the

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application process. We got to screen these children better and

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only let kids into the school who would never do

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a school shooting. Now, right there just seems bizarre to me,

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because wait, if you believe all people are totally depraved,

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the screening process is going to be center center center, oh,

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center center center, center, center, center, a center, a center,

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whether saved or not saved, they have a sinful nature,

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they are depraved. But I guess if we do a

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better screening process, I guess we can avoid this. I mean,

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if we do a better screening process in churches, I

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guess we'll have no backbinding, no gossip, no church splits.

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We just need to do a better screening process. I'm

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that philologically that I didn't even know what to say

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about that when I just I just left it alone.

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But I kept but I wanted to see how Christians

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were going to handle this. And I knew it was coming.

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I knew I didn't know how long it would take,

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but I knew, I knew, And you know what verse

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was started to be cited relatively quick because immediately there

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was some back and forth about we need better gun laws.

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Well these gun no gun laws would have worked, we

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need guns, we don't need guns. And then someone would

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immediately say they would read this or they would quote this.

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You ready, Let's see if you can recognize where I'm

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reading from. Are you ready? Here we go? Then said

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he unto them. This is Jesus speaking unto us some

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specific people. Then Jesus said, unto them. But now he

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that hath a purse, let him take it, and likewise

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his script, and he that hath no sword, let him

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sell his garment and buy one. That's what Christian after

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a mass school shooting, this is what Christians quote. They

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quote Luke twenty two thirty six. And I'm always just

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sitting there completely baffled by. So children are shot and

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killed in a school and you want to quote Luke

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twenty two thirty six. So are you saying they should

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have sold their clothes and went and bought a sword. No, no, no, no, no, no,

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They're not gonna take it that way No, what this

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verse is is that they people should own guns. So

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the kids are dead. But now Christians want to argue guns, guns, guns, guns, guns,

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not God, but guns. See, God didn't do anything right.

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I mean, God didn't show up and stop the school shooting.

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He didn't stop it, he didn't intervene, he didn't protect,

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he didn't resurrect, he didn't heal. They died. So okay,

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so now forget God. We need guns. And we're gonna

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quote Luke twenty two thirty six in order to somehow

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prove that we need guns. And I'm always baffled by that. Well,

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first the kids are dead, So who should have had

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the guns? The kids? Oh no, you know, the teachers.

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So now we need the teachers. I guess all. I

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mean they got to have the gun really readily available

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in case the first classroom the child walks into, who's

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going to do the school shooting? I mean, the teacher's

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got to be armed and ready. They got to have

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it on the hip with a bullet in the chamber,

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and then they can boom eliminate the threat. I guess

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that's what we want. We want all schools where all

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the teachers are walking around the classroom carrying a gun

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on their hip, I mean, and that seems reasonable to

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some Christians. So I was just like, okay, Luke twenty

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two thirty six. So what do I want to do

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here at the beginning is just look at this somewhat.

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I think I'm just going to offer some thoughts. Let's

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say it that way, and then you can process how

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you think about it. All right, I think that there

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are some textual, hermeneutical and logical challenges and using Luke

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twenty two thirty six as a defense for gun ownership

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and modern Second Amendment rights, I think there are let

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me state that again, textual hermeneutical and logical challenges to this,

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all right. Now, first, just no, they just quote one

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verse Luke twenty two thirty Six's that's what they quote.

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And I think they and you talk about they don't

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care about context, They don't even care about any and

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they sure don't care how their early church approach this

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in any way, shape or form. Let's look at the

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textual context, all right, Luke twenty two thirty six, quoting

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now from a different translation. But now let the one

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who has a money bag take it, and likewise, a knapsack,

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and the one who has no sword sell his cloak

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and buy one now please now. But now there's somehow

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a transition there. Now you need to take a money bag.

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You now need to take a knapsack. See, before Jesus

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told him not to take anything, now he tells them

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to take something. This seems to indicate there's something that

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this verse is about a transition and something has changed.

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What has changed here? I think that's the real question.

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Hey there, Hey, before don't take anything, now take make

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sure you have all of your provisions. Well, what changed?

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I think that's a that's a that's the theological question, right,

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but all right? The verse this verse Luke twenty two

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thirty six occurs within jesus instructions to his disciples as

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they prepare for his arrest and crucifixion. The immediate context

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emphasizes coming challenges and the shift from earlier reliance on

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hospitality and peace to a time of opposition and hardship.

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See it seems to be like Jesus is showing that

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there's a transition. Before you're gonna rely on other people.

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There's gonna be just real. You're gonna rely on hospitality

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and being at a time of peace. Now things are

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gonna change and you're not gonna be able to rely

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on hospitality. You're gonna have to make sure you take

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what you need. And it does it also sounds like,

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hey there, it's not gonna be a time of peace,

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it's going to be a time of persecution. Right, So

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that seems to be this is more about a transition.

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But what people want to turn it into he said

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buy a sword. He said, buy a sword. That's the

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same thing as buying a gun, because a sword and

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a gun is equal. That's how they don't care about

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what the what's the thiological implications here? What is going on? No, no, no,

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they just see sword and that well that sounds like gun. Now.

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The key challenge here is the sword, which is a

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referenced It references a small, short bladed weapon use what

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some would say for self defense, others would say it

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was more used for daily task. It was not a

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modern firearm, and it was not even an equivalent. It

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was not even equivalent in the sense of it could

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not carry out some kind of large scale violence, right,

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I mean it was it was a short blade, little

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a knife basically, right, maybe a little longer than a knife.

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But but they're like, also, see right there, you already

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have a problem. You're trying to you're trying to say

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gun equals this instrument that they were told to buy

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based off the Greek word, and we want to somehow

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draw a correlation. There's all kinds of just problems with

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doing that. When you project a modern concept onto an

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ancient text, you stretch its meaning. You may even be

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stretching the purpose of this passage. This passage may not

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This passage is not prescribing everyone go out and buy

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a knife, or go everyone out, go out there and

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buy a gun. To say that this is prescribing something

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is just bad textual interpretation. It's describing a change, a transition.

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That's what we should be discussing. But we can't have

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that conversation because all Christian can say I can get

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a gun because Jesus said buy a sword. I can

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have ten guns because Jesus said by a sword, I

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can have one hundred rounds of ammunition, because Jesus said,

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buy us sword. And you're like, what is happening here?

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But trying to sometimes have a rational conversation in many

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of these cases is well, it's a fool's errand because

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you really can't. So the textual context doesn't really support

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this idea of making this a gun. It and again

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not only that, the textual context it's describing, it's not

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prescribing anything for you or me, or or you would

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become a Christian And the first thing that would says

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you need to go buy a sword. Next, there's a

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hermoneutical problem literal versus figurative language. You see many scholars,

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I know that that's you know this is going to

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be a shock to many of you. But many scholars

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argue that Jesus reference to the sword here is more

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symbolic than it is literal. He often spoke in metaphor

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or hyperbole. Matthew five twenty nine through thirty cut off

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your hand. The sword here is more of a symbol.

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The more symbolizes preparedness for spiritual or figurative battles, not

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literal armed conflict. That the point here of this passage

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is things are going to change. You need to be prepared. Now,

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before I told you not to take anything, Now I'm

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telling you to take things because you need to be

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prepared for a major change in how things are going

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to work. And operate and to support this idea that

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this may have been more figurative than literal. Jesus rebukes

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Peter for using a sword in the Garden of Gassetamie

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and Luke twenty two fifty through fifty one. In Matthew

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twenty six fifty two, he says, quoting are kind of

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a paraphrase, put your sword back into its place, for

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all who take the sword will perish by the sword.

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This would undermine completely the entire materialist the military. Well, look,

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we won't call it a military kind of interpretation. A

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more when some says, oh, an actual sword used an

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actual self defense to actually attack people, and kind of

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a somewhat of a violent way, Well this, Jesus words

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to Peter, this is the ferd hey by a sword.

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Peter has a sword, uses the sword immediately, Jesus like,

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what are you doing? Put it away? Don't. Those who

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live by the sword will perish by the sword, will

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die by the sword. This seems to go. What gives

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this entire interpretation that we're supposed to have a sword

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and use it. The first time Peter uses it he

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is rebuked for doing so. Nobody wants to quote that

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say everybody just wants to quote Luke. Everybody just wants

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to quote the passage here in Luke, chapter twenty two

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and verse thirty six. That's how everybody wants to They

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don't want to say, well, wait a minute, So do

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we have an example of someone having a sword and

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using the sword and what did Jesus say? Yeah, he

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said put it away. Know what people will say, well,

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in that context there, yeah, you're not to use is

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the sword? So so when when is the context right

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to use the sword? When we have one example of

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someone doing so and being rebuked for it and being

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literally said, if you live by it, you're gonna die

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by it. Not only that the use of the sword

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would see in a violent way. I was gonna say

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in a kind of a militaristic way, kind of a

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you know, but I don't want to use it in

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a militaristic way. I don't want to use that word

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because because some people say, well, I'm not trying to

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be like I'm in the military, so in a violent way,

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and some people name may not even that word in

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a self defensive way. Whatever the case may be, violence ensues,

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whether you're using it as a defensive weapon, or as

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an offensive weapon. It's still violence. And Jesus, if you

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live by it, you're gonna die by it. And he

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tells Peter to put away the sword. And then if

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you look at the rest of jesus teaching, Jesus larger

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teaching emphasizes nonviolence, love for your enemy, look at you

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five thirty eight through forty four, turn the other cheek,

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resist not evil, love your enemies. Jesus seems to emphasize

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trusting God rather than weapons or violence for security. Using

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Luke twenty two thirty six to justify owning a firearm

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conflicts with the overarching principles that Jesus even taught. Jesus

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didn't say, hey, oh no, no, fight your enemy, kill

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your enemy, defend yourself against your enemy. No, he said, resists,

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not love your enemy. That's what Jesus said, Trust God.

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So to run to Luke twenty two thirty six seems

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to completely ignore everything. It ignores everything. So it's a

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hermoneutical problem. It's a textual problem. How about a logical problem. Well,

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when you apply a first century instruction to disciples swords

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to defend twenty first century firearm ownership, you're ignoring the

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historical context completely. The Second Amendment and gun rights are

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modern constructs unrelated to Jesus' message one thousand percent has

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nothing to do with it. But we want to take

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Luke twenty two thirty six and say the Second Amendment

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constitutional rights. I have the right to own a gun.

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Wit do you don't use Luke twenty two thirty six.

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If Luke twenty two to thirty six justifies gun ownership,

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why is the rest of jesus instruction in the same

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passage sell your cloak not treated as binding. Picking one

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phrase to justify an agenda risks is of Jesus reading

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personal views into the text. Say well, we'll go what

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Jesus said and just take that part. We'll take that

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part and say buy the sword, not anything else I

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do that. You can't just pick and choose. And if

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disciples needed swords for defense, why did Jesus lady declare

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it is enough Luke twenty two thirty eight when presented

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with just two swords among twelve disciples. This shows Jesus

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wasn't advocating for an armed group, but making a symbolic

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point about readiness. Because when they come back and say,

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we only have two He's like, that's enough. Wait, what

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do you mean that's enough? There's if there's disciples, you

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need more swords to be able to defend everyone. Well,

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only two of you are gonna have this short kind

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of knife sword thing to defend the rest of you.

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It's just ridiculous. With the minute Jesus says, wait, that's enough,

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you don't need any more, that seems to indicate completely

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that this is about being prepared. It's not about and

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how do you even make that work in that particular case.

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Jesus is everything, Jesus says after the buy the sword thing,

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everything he taught beforehand, and everything that happens after indicates

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that this whole pro gun argument of Luke twenty two

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thirty six is just ridiculous. Jesus Kingdom is not of

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00:24:16.480 --> 00:24:19.839
this world, and his mission was not to establish earthly

401
00:24:19.920 --> 00:24:24.720
power of physical safety. A theology that prioritizes self protection

402
00:24:24.880 --> 00:24:28.920
or violence risk diminishing the Gospel's focus on reliance upon God,

403
00:24:29.240 --> 00:24:32.599
sacrificial love, and the hope of eternal life. The New

404
00:24:32.680 --> 00:24:38.839
Testament epistles reinforce nonviolence and emphasizes enduring persecution without retaliation.

405
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You have this in Romans twelve seventeen through twenty one,

406
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and one Peter two twenty one through twenty three. There's

407
00:24:45.759 --> 00:24:49.400
never fight back, there's never have your sword and stab

408
00:24:49.440 --> 00:24:52.119
them in the face. There's none of it by eighteen

409
00:24:52.200 --> 00:24:55.279
guns and shoot them. There's none of that in the

410
00:24:55.319 --> 00:24:58.240
Bible Biblical text. Now, if you want to make an

411
00:24:58.319 --> 00:25:01.759
argument some other way, fine, leave Luke twenty two thirty

412
00:25:01.799 --> 00:25:04.000
six out of it, because the minute you do that,

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now it's not And this is where I know. It's

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now twenty five minutes in and people are gonna email me.

415
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But that's great because I'll know that they didn't listen

416
00:25:11.200 --> 00:25:15.640
to the whole thing. This discussion is not about guns.

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This is about the use of a Biblical text in

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an incorrect way. If you want to make an argument

419
00:25:21.880 --> 00:25:24.400
about guns, make all your arguments, but don't try to

420
00:25:24.440 --> 00:25:28.160
grab words of Jesus, rip them out of their context,

421
00:25:28.319 --> 00:25:32.200
ignore everything else, and make some ridiculous claim. Because now

422
00:25:32.400 --> 00:25:34.920
this is not an argument about guns. This is an

423
00:25:35.039 --> 00:25:38.559
argument about conservatives or liberals, Republicans or democrats. This is

424
00:25:38.599 --> 00:25:43.400
an argument about you can't interpret the Bible anyway you want.

425
00:25:48.839 --> 00:25:51.759
Using Luke twenty two to thirty six to defend gun

426
00:25:51.799 --> 00:25:56.039
ownership or a pro second amendment. Basically, it involves a

427
00:25:56.079 --> 00:25:59.920
textual distortion, misipplying the meaning of sword, a possible hermeneutic

428
00:26:00.200 --> 00:26:04.359
inconsistency with jesus teaching on nonviolence, a logical flaw due

429
00:26:04.400 --> 00:26:10.920
to cultural anacharism and selective interpretation, and then you have

430
00:26:11.240 --> 00:26:14.440
a philological conflict with the nature of jesus mission and kingdom.

431
00:26:15.039 --> 00:26:18.079
This passage, in context is far better understood as preparing

432
00:26:18.119 --> 00:26:22.599
disciples for spiritual, emotional, and practical challenges rather than endorsing

433
00:26:23.079 --> 00:26:30.400
armed self defense. And I want to go back. We

434
00:26:30.480 --> 00:26:32.640
mentioned it briefly, but I'm going to now expand a

435
00:26:32.640 --> 00:26:37.640
little bit on it. Because after Jesus says in thirty six,

436
00:26:39.200 --> 00:26:41.839
sell your garment and buy one, speaking of a sword,

437
00:26:42.200 --> 00:26:45.359
when they in verse thirty eight, and they said, Lord, behold,

438
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here are two swords, and he said, unto them, it

439
00:26:48.160 --> 00:26:50.960
is enough. All right, So just I want to make

440
00:26:50.960 --> 00:26:54.359
sure that that's a very important concept. All right, Hey,

441
00:26:54.640 --> 00:26:57.279
go buy one. Well, okay, that's enough, right there, that's enough.

442
00:26:58.359 --> 00:27:04.039
There's a lot of discussion about verse thirty eight. Right.

443
00:27:04.839 --> 00:27:09.359
This raises several points that further challenged the idea of

444
00:27:09.519 --> 00:27:13.480
using a passage to justify widespread weapon owner ownership of

445
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the Second Amendment. And here's a couple of things. Number

446
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one a lack of sufficient swords. The Disciples only produced

447
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two swords for the entire group of at least eleven people.

448
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Judas appears to have already had left the group by

449
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this point. If Jesus intended for all Disciples to arm

450
00:27:30.079 --> 00:27:33.079
themselves for self defense or combat, two swords among the

451
00:27:33.119 --> 00:27:35.880
group would be insufficient, and he would likely have corrected

452
00:27:35.920 --> 00:27:38.920
them or emphasized the need for more weapons. He would Look,

453
00:27:38.960 --> 00:27:42.079
what do you no, guys, I said, go buy all

454
00:27:42.119 --> 00:27:44.519
of you need one, because you're gonna have to fight.

455
00:27:44.680 --> 00:27:47.039
You're gonna have to kill some people. You're gonna or

456
00:27:47.039 --> 00:27:49.640
you're gonna have to at least be prepared to do so. No, no, no, no, no, no,

457
00:27:49.839 --> 00:27:54.799
he doesn't. That's enough. That's enough. Now, there's a lot

458
00:27:54.799 --> 00:27:57.759
of there's another way to interpret it is enough? All right?

459
00:27:58.559 --> 00:28:01.039
But and we could we could get into that. But

460
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just I think we can at least agree on this.

461
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When Jesus says it is enough, it suggests that the

462
00:28:06.079 --> 00:28:08.519
swords were not meant for practical self defense in the

463
00:28:08.519 --> 00:28:12.400
first place. It was never the intention and even and

464
00:28:12.440 --> 00:28:15.400
if you're going to if you're gonna make this, if

465
00:28:15.440 --> 00:28:17.960
you're gonna and just think, how about this even works?

466
00:28:18.200 --> 00:28:22.000
How does this even work? Right? Because if you have

467
00:28:22.160 --> 00:28:25.720
at least a minimum of eleven and they only have two,

468
00:28:26.839 --> 00:28:29.200
and you're gonna make this prescriptive, then how do you

469
00:28:29.240 --> 00:28:33.960
make this work? For Christians? What only two Christians per

470
00:28:34.119 --> 00:28:40.880
every eleven is supposed to have a sword? Is two? Like?

471
00:28:40.960 --> 00:28:43.920
How two per church? Like? How do you work this?

472
00:28:44.839 --> 00:28:47.680
See what you make it prescriptive? See? This is what

473
00:28:47.720 --> 00:28:50.599
you do. We take a descriptive passage, make it prescriptive,

474
00:28:50.680 --> 00:28:52.880
and then we can just do whatever we want with it,

475
00:28:52.960 --> 00:28:55.480
because now we don't have any actual rules to govern it,

476
00:28:55.519 --> 00:29:01.480
so then it can just be a free for all. Now.

477
00:29:02.039 --> 00:29:05.799
It is also discussed sometimes in some commentaries that it

478
00:29:05.920 --> 00:29:12.079
is enough. It has been interpreted to be more understood

479
00:29:12.079 --> 00:29:16.640
as being dismissive or ironic. Some don't say, hey, that's

480
00:29:16.960 --> 00:29:19.240
right there, that's good, that's good. Others see it as

481
00:29:19.240 --> 00:29:22.839
more being like it is enough. It is a being

482
00:29:22.920 --> 00:29:25.680
more dismissive or almost ironic. Let me try to explain

483
00:29:25.720 --> 00:29:27.599
it this way. I'm going to be reading from something

484
00:29:27.599 --> 00:29:31.279
that describes this, Jesus could be signaling that the disciples

485
00:29:31.279 --> 00:29:35.119
have misunderstood his instructions in the first place, as they

486
00:29:35.160 --> 00:29:37.880
often did throughout the Gospel. For example, in Luke twenty

487
00:29:37.960 --> 00:29:41.039
two forty nine through fifty one, Peter or another disciple

488
00:29:41.160 --> 00:29:43.200
uses one of these swords to strike the servant of

489
00:29:43.200 --> 00:29:46.400
the high priest during jesus arrest, but Jesus rebukes him

490
00:29:46.640 --> 00:29:51.519
and heals the servant, saying no more of this, no more. Basically, hey,

491
00:29:51.720 --> 00:29:55.200
no more of this. This rebuke underscores that jesus kingdom

492
00:29:55.279 --> 00:29:58.279
is not advanced through violence. My kingdom is not of

493
00:29:58.319 --> 00:30:00.400
this world. So what he could have been doing is like, okay,

494
00:30:00.440 --> 00:30:02.680
it's enough, just stop, just stop. You don't get it,

495
00:30:02.720 --> 00:30:05.480
you're not understanding, all right, Just that's good, that's good.

496
00:30:06.079 --> 00:30:09.599
Just stay with the two swords, right, because sometimes you

497
00:30:09.599 --> 00:30:11.559
can do that with your kids. You tell them to

498
00:30:11.559 --> 00:30:13.920
do something about Okay, that's good, that's enough. Just stop

499
00:30:14.000 --> 00:30:16.079
right there, that's good, fine, And you don't really mean

500
00:30:16.119 --> 00:30:20.680
it's fine. You're really frustrated, you're really irritated. So considering

501
00:30:21.079 --> 00:30:24.039
that not long after this, Jesus is like, that's it,

502
00:30:24.079 --> 00:30:27.920
that's enough to put away the sword, then it seems

503
00:30:27.920 --> 00:30:29.759
to indicate that when he says that it is enough,

504
00:30:29.839 --> 00:30:32.279
it may have been not no, that's a sufficient amount

505
00:30:32.319 --> 00:30:34.960
to protect yourself. It may have been, like, you guys

506
00:30:35.000 --> 00:30:39.680
are just missing the point. Just stay with that. If

507
00:30:39.759 --> 00:30:42.680
Jesus were preparing his disciples for literal self defense or

508
00:30:42.759 --> 00:30:46.160
armed resistance, two swords against our Roman cohort or temple

509
00:30:46.200 --> 00:30:50.680
guards would be laughably insufficient. This reinforces that the instruction

510
00:30:50.839 --> 00:30:54.359
was not about physical warfare. And of course, as we've

511
00:30:54.400 --> 00:30:57.799
already discussed jesus immediate rejection of violence in the Garden

512
00:30:57.880 --> 00:31:00.920
Luke twenty two, fifty one, and the exact same chapter

513
00:31:01.440 --> 00:31:03.799
seems to confirm that he did not intend the swords

514
00:31:03.839 --> 00:31:06.400
to be used for combat. Then if you look at

515
00:31:06.400 --> 00:31:08.839
his broader teachings such as turn the other cheek, love

516
00:31:08.880 --> 00:31:13.200
your enemy, seems to align poorly with an interpretation that

517
00:31:13.240 --> 00:31:18.359
promotes violence or self defense as a primary concern. And

518
00:31:18.440 --> 00:31:21.680
just think, in the very same chapter Christians want to

519
00:31:21.720 --> 00:31:24.119
go to Luke twenty two to thirty six, they seem

520
00:31:24.200 --> 00:31:27.400
to skip verse thirty eight, and then in fifty one

521
00:31:28.160 --> 00:31:35.559
Jesus answered and said, suffer ye thus far stop see suffery.

522
00:31:35.680 --> 00:31:37.559
That's Luke twenty two to fifty one. This is just

523
00:31:37.680 --> 00:31:42.000
after the ear has been cut off, right, and Jesus like, hey,

524
00:31:42.279 --> 00:31:51.359
stop it, stop it. Wait. Why would Jesus say stop

525
00:31:51.400 --> 00:31:54.000
it if just a few verses earlier he's like, hey, everyone,

526
00:31:54.039 --> 00:31:56.920
go get a sword. Like, go get a sword, but

527
00:31:56.960 --> 00:31:59.720
you're not going to use it. That seems to be

528
00:31:59.720 --> 00:32:03.559
comple contradictory unless the sword had nothing to do in

529
00:32:03.599 --> 00:32:06.799
any way, shape or form was self defense, it was

530
00:32:06.839 --> 00:32:14.160
it was something completely different. For example, Jesus could have

531
00:32:14.200 --> 00:32:17.640
been saying enough of this discussion, recognizing that his disciples

532
00:32:17.640 --> 00:32:21.000
misunderstand stood him. Hey, you know, just it is enough.

533
00:32:21.119 --> 00:32:24.319
Just stop this. You don't get it. The two swords

534
00:32:24.400 --> 00:32:27.039
might symbolize the spiritual and practical challenges I had, not

535
00:32:27.119 --> 00:32:31.240
literal fighting, and Jesus may have been speaking sarcastically knowing

536
00:32:31.240 --> 00:32:33.680
that the two swords would be inadequate for self defense,

537
00:32:33.759 --> 00:32:37.440
further illustrating that his instruction was not literal. He could

538
00:32:37.440 --> 00:32:40.359
have just been, oh, yeah, that's plenty, Yeah that's really

539
00:32:40.400 --> 00:32:42.839
gonna work, just because he knew they did not get it,

540
00:32:42.880 --> 00:32:52.400
and they did not understand. So it's possible. It's plausible

541
00:32:54.279 --> 00:32:58.400
that Luke twenty two thirty six through thirty eight, that

542
00:32:58.519 --> 00:33:02.319
these swords were intended as tools rather than weapons for

543
00:33:02.359 --> 00:33:06.400
self defense. There's a possibility that if we say that

544
00:33:06.480 --> 00:33:09.200
these were literal swords, not figurative, as some in Church

545
00:33:09.279 --> 00:33:11.920
history has said, if we go with a more literal well,

546
00:33:11.920 --> 00:33:15.680
then ladies and gentlemen, then these were probably used as

547
00:33:15.720 --> 00:33:18.480
a tool. And this interpretation that these were more for

548
00:33:18.559 --> 00:33:21.240
a tool than for some kind of self defense aligns

549
00:33:21.279 --> 00:33:23.880
with not only the cultural context of the time, but

550
00:33:23.920 --> 00:33:26.759
it also aligns with jesus larger teaching. So let's just

551
00:33:26.799 --> 00:33:29.920
go through some of this. In the first century, the

552
00:33:30.000 --> 00:33:33.759
small swords which this Greek word is referring to, was

553
00:33:33.880 --> 00:33:37.480
used as a multi purpose tools for tasks like cutting ropes,

554
00:33:37.759 --> 00:33:42.920
preparing food, or protecting against wild animals during travel, not

555
00:33:43.119 --> 00:33:46.880
for combat against people. So it could have been maybe

556
00:33:47.119 --> 00:33:50.599
for a wild animal, it was for cutting, preparing. It

557
00:33:50.720 --> 00:33:53.440
was a tool, that's what it was. It wasn't necessarily

558
00:33:53.480 --> 00:34:00.559
a weapon for self defense. Jesus instruction to buy sword

559
00:34:01.359 --> 00:34:04.160
possibly reflects a practical need for a tool in the

560
00:34:04.200 --> 00:34:06.799
face of the disciples and pending journey, which would involve

561
00:34:06.839 --> 00:34:10.000
greater dangers and fewer supportive resources. Which seems to be

562
00:34:10.079 --> 00:34:15.800
the overall context of Luke twenty two. This seems to

563
00:34:15.840 --> 00:34:19.880
contrast their earlier reliance on hospitality and divine provision, as

564
00:34:19.920 --> 00:34:21.760
in Luke ninety three, where they were told to take

565
00:34:22.079 --> 00:34:26.480
no staff, no bag, and no money. See before they

566
00:34:26.519 --> 00:34:29.039
were told to take don't take anything. Now they're like,

567
00:34:29.280 --> 00:34:32.760
take everything. Something has changed. In the past. It was

568
00:34:32.800 --> 00:34:34.960
almost like God's going to provide for you in maybe

569
00:34:34.960 --> 00:34:37.760
a supernatural way. But now, hey, you're gonna have to

570
00:34:37.920 --> 00:34:43.039
You're gonna have to take things. So the sword might

571
00:34:43.079 --> 00:34:47.039
simply symbolize the shift in mindset being ready for challenges,

572
00:34:47.320 --> 00:34:50.679
be ready for challenges, be ready for a hostile conditions,

573
00:34:50.880 --> 00:34:58.280
but not necessarily be ready for physical combat. The fact

574
00:34:58.280 --> 00:35:01.679
that this disciples only produced two swords for the entire

575
00:35:01.679 --> 00:35:05.960
group seems to indicate that the primary purpose that if

576
00:35:05.960 --> 00:35:09.119
the primary purpose were defense or combat, that this would

577
00:35:09.159 --> 00:35:13.039
be completely inadequate. This suggests that the swords were not

578
00:35:13.119 --> 00:35:17.519
for self defense against arm enemies, but for a practical purpose. Hey,

579
00:35:17.559 --> 00:35:20.079
we only need to someone can cut this, someone can

580
00:35:20.159 --> 00:35:22.360
use it to prayer. We don't need everyone to have one.

581
00:35:22.480 --> 00:35:25.000
We just need a couple of tools. Amongst the group

582
00:35:25.159 --> 00:35:33.159
that makes far more sense. And then when Peter uses

583
00:35:33.239 --> 00:35:35.599
one of the swords to strike the servant of the

584
00:35:35.679 --> 00:35:39.320
High Priests during the Jesus arrest, Jesus immediately rebukes him,

585
00:35:39.440 --> 00:35:42.079
put your sword back into its place, for all who

586
00:35:42.079 --> 00:35:44.880
take the sword will perish by the sword. If the

587
00:35:44.920 --> 00:35:49.840
swords were primarily for defense, Jesus' response undermines his own instructions. Instead,

588
00:35:50.039 --> 00:35:52.559
the reaction reinforces the idea that their purpose was not

589
00:35:52.800 --> 00:35:57.039
violent resistance. He would seem to undermine what he just said,

590
00:35:57.199 --> 00:35:59.039
go buy a sword, I just use the sword now

591
00:35:59.039 --> 00:36:00.920
I get in trouble. I don't know what Jesus is

592
00:36:00.960 --> 00:36:03.840
talking about, which may indicate that when he said, guy, okay,

593
00:36:04.239 --> 00:36:06.679
it is enough, it was more of him almost saying

594
00:36:06.719 --> 00:36:14.559
you guys, just still don't get it. And then we

595
00:36:14.679 --> 00:36:17.400
have all the other teaching where Jesus says, love your enemy,

596
00:36:17.440 --> 00:36:19.400
turn the other cheek, resist not evil. We have all

597
00:36:19.440 --> 00:36:22.480
of that other teaching which would contradict Jesus saying, okay, guys,

598
00:36:22.639 --> 00:36:26.599
buy a sword, be ready fight back. That's not it

599
00:36:26.679 --> 00:36:29.880
makes no sense in the overall teaching of the entire

600
00:36:29.960 --> 00:36:42.920
New Testament. And so then I did a little research here.

601
00:36:43.519 --> 00:36:45.760
I did a little research in here was the question

602
00:36:46.039 --> 00:36:49.960
I wanted to try to answer. Do we have any

603
00:36:50.000 --> 00:36:52.840
examples from the time of Luke twenty two thirty six

604
00:36:53.159 --> 00:36:55.840
to the end of the New Testament of any of

605
00:36:55.880 --> 00:36:58.719
the disciples using a sword for a means of self

606
00:36:58.760 --> 00:37:03.000
defense or engage in any type of self defense? All right,

607
00:37:03.079 --> 00:37:04.679
So I had to do a little research, and here's

608
00:37:04.719 --> 00:37:07.320
what we find. From what I can tell, there are

609
00:37:07.400 --> 00:37:09.800
no examples in the New Testament from the time of

610
00:37:09.880 --> 00:37:12.159
Luke twenty two thirty six to the end of the

611
00:37:12.199 --> 00:37:14.880
text that shows any of the disciples using a sword

612
00:37:14.960 --> 00:37:19.719
or engaging a self defense. On the contrary, their actions

613
00:37:19.719 --> 00:37:24.079
and teachings reflect a consistent commitment to nonviolence and reliance

614
00:37:24.199 --> 00:37:27.280
on God. Now we can go through some of these.

615
00:37:27.400 --> 00:37:29.840
We have Luke twenty two forty nine through fifty one,

616
00:37:29.880 --> 00:37:32.480
and John eighteen ten through eleven. This is in the

617
00:37:32.480 --> 00:37:36.800
Garden of Gassetamie, Right, Peter or another disciple. There's some argument.

618
00:37:36.840 --> 00:37:39.639
I sometimes say Peter. Some commentaries say, we don't know

619
00:37:39.639 --> 00:37:42.039
if it's Peter, but okay, they use one of the

620
00:37:42.079 --> 00:37:44.599
two swords, most likely using one of the two swords

621
00:37:44.840 --> 00:37:47.079
to strike the servant of the High priest cutting off

622
00:37:47.119 --> 00:37:51.880
his ear. Jesus immediately rebukes this act Luke twenty two

623
00:37:51.920 --> 00:37:55.400
to fifty one, depending on your translation. No more of this,

624
00:37:55.719 --> 00:37:58.480
Matthew twenty six. Put your sword back into its place,

625
00:37:58.519 --> 00:38:00.719
for all who take the sword will perish by the sword.

626
00:38:01.679 --> 00:38:05.000
John eighteen eleven. Put your sword into it sheath. Shall

627
00:38:05.000 --> 00:38:07.519
I not drink the cup that the Father has given me.

628
00:38:08.119 --> 00:38:11.239
This is the only recorded instance of a disciple using

629
00:38:11.239 --> 00:38:18.440
a sword, and Jesus explicitly condemns the action. Now, after

630
00:38:18.559 --> 00:38:22.719
Jesus is arrested, the disciples face various threats and persecutions,

631
00:38:22.800 --> 00:38:25.960
but there is no indication that they ever resort to

632
00:38:26.119 --> 00:38:29.840
violence or self defense. We have this and Steven's Martyrdom

633
00:38:30.079 --> 00:38:35.559
and Acts Chapter seven fifty four through sixty. Stephen preaches boldly,

634
00:38:35.920 --> 00:38:38.880
is dragged out and stoned to death. He responds by

635
00:38:38.920 --> 00:38:43.320
praying for his persecuted persecutors, saying, Lord, do not hold

636
00:38:43.320 --> 00:38:46.079
this sin against them. A clear example of non violence.

637
00:38:46.400 --> 00:38:49.920
The Apostles Imprisonment and Acts four and Acts five. When

638
00:38:50.000 --> 00:38:52.800
arrested and threatened, the Apostles boldly proclaimed the gospel, but

639
00:38:52.840 --> 00:38:55.960
may make no effort to resist or defend themselves physically

640
00:38:56.360 --> 00:39:01.639
Paul's persecution. Paul frequently faces beatings, stonings, and prisonments and

641
00:39:01.679 --> 00:39:05.719
threat threats of death. He never defends himself with violence,

642
00:39:05.840 --> 00:39:09.280
but has said preaches and entrusts himself to God. So

643
00:39:09.360 --> 00:39:11.920
you don't have nowhere do you have it? They never

644
00:39:12.000 --> 00:39:15.280
seem to do this. Now what Christians will say, Well, okay,

645
00:39:15.440 --> 00:39:19.239
I've got the formula. If they're persecuting you, then don't

646
00:39:19.239 --> 00:39:22.199
fight back. Okay, is that really the way it works?

647
00:39:22.320 --> 00:39:24.800
Because most churches now are a lot of them have

648
00:39:25.039 --> 00:39:27.559
armed guards inside the church. So if someone comes with

649
00:39:27.599 --> 00:39:30.880
a gun shooting everyone because they're gonna persecute Christians, your

650
00:39:31.360 --> 00:39:33.639
security team is gonna stand down and not do anything.

651
00:39:33.840 --> 00:39:35.760
You know, you're not you're gonna shoot the person. So

652
00:39:35.800 --> 00:39:38.920
then yeah, you're not even following that role. Well, if

653
00:39:38.920 --> 00:39:42.039
I'm being persecuted, I won't fight back. Give me a

654
00:39:42.519 --> 00:39:45.400
that's you know, you're not gonna wait to find out

655
00:39:45.400 --> 00:39:52.440
why they're trying to kill you. When Paul is in danger,

656
00:39:52.519 --> 00:39:55.039
he never resorts to violence, but in said uses legal

657
00:39:55.119 --> 00:39:58.039
rights as a Roman citizen or appeals to authorities. We

658
00:39:58.079 --> 00:40:04.559
see this in Acts sixteen and Acts twenty two. Also,

659
00:40:04.639 --> 00:40:07.920
we have the writings the writings of the New Testament

660
00:40:07.960 --> 00:40:11.760
continue to emphasize nonviolence and submission. You have Romans twelve

661
00:40:11.880 --> 00:40:15.039
seventeen through twenty one. Paul writes, repay no one for evil,

662
00:40:15.239 --> 00:40:17.880
do not overcome, Do not be overcome by evil, but

663
00:40:17.960 --> 00:40:21.159
overcome evil with good one Peter two twenty one through

664
00:40:21.159 --> 00:40:23.880
twenty three. When he was reviled, he did not revile

665
00:40:24.000 --> 00:40:27.159
in return. When he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued,

666
00:40:27.199 --> 00:40:30.719
and trusting himself to him who judges justly Hebrews ten

667
00:40:30.800 --> 00:40:33.960
thirty four. The early Christians joyfully accepted the plundering of

668
00:40:34.000 --> 00:40:37.920
their property, trusting and their eternal reward, rather than retaliating.

669
00:40:38.159 --> 00:40:45.719
So we have scriptural examples and basically teaching to handle

670
00:40:46.400 --> 00:40:52.880
evil not by fighting back, but by submitting, trusting, loving,

671
00:40:53.400 --> 00:40:56.159
completely opposite to what how the modern church wants to

672
00:40:56.199 --> 00:41:01.000
handle this. All right, and the church tradition holds that

673
00:41:01.039 --> 00:41:03.440
most of the apostles were martyred for their faith, yet

674
00:41:03.440 --> 00:41:05.519
there is no record or tradition of them attempting to

675
00:41:05.519 --> 00:41:09.880
physically defend themselves. Paul said to have been Peter has

676
00:41:09.880 --> 00:41:13.199
said to have been crucified, Paul beheaded. Both faced their

677
00:41:13.239 --> 00:41:20.440
deaths without resistance trusting in God. Right, So then I

678
00:41:20.559 --> 00:41:23.599
was like, Okay, that that seems to I mean, I

679
00:41:23.639 --> 00:41:25.559
don't know how else you can get. Look, I don't

680
00:41:25.599 --> 00:41:27.760
know what Christians do with Luke twenty two thirty six,

681
00:41:27.800 --> 00:41:30.119
But this, I mean, I think I've already dismantled their

682
00:41:30.199 --> 00:41:32.880
argument every way you can possibly handle it. But let's

683
00:41:32.920 --> 00:41:36.440
go through their church fathers. Listen, how did the church

684
00:41:36.480 --> 00:41:40.679
fathers handle Luke twenty two thirty six. The church Fathers

685
00:41:40.719 --> 00:41:43.760
offered a variety of interpretations of Luke twenty two thirty six.

686
00:41:43.800 --> 00:41:46.360
I know, shocking, right, But guess what one thing they

687
00:41:46.360 --> 00:41:49.920
were consistent on. They refrained from seeing it as a

688
00:41:50.000 --> 00:41:54.159
justification for violent self defense or physical combat. Oh, and

689
00:41:54.239 --> 00:41:58.519
that interesting. Instead, their interpretations often emphasize spiritual, symbolic or

690
00:41:58.559 --> 00:42:04.360
practical applications. Origin third century he understood he viewed the

691
00:42:04.559 --> 00:42:07.079
sword in Luke twenty two thirty six as a symbolic

692
00:42:07.239 --> 00:42:10.599
of the Word of God or spiritual preparation. He emphasized

693
00:42:10.639 --> 00:42:13.119
that Christians should be armed with spiritual weapons rather than

694
00:42:13.119 --> 00:42:17.119
physical ones. In his writing's Origin consistently stressed non violence,

695
00:42:18.199 --> 00:42:21.079
arguing that Christians are called to a higher standard of

696
00:42:21.119 --> 00:42:25.360
peace even in the face of persecution. Totolian second and

697
00:42:25.400 --> 00:42:28.760
third century Totolian rejected the use of violence by Christians,

698
00:42:28.760 --> 00:42:32.280
including in military service. He interpreted Jesus' words about swords

699
00:42:32.280 --> 00:42:36.280
as either symbolic or practical for self restraint, not aggression

700
00:42:37.719 --> 00:42:41.000
on idolatry and the crown. Totolian argued that Christians are

701
00:42:41.039 --> 00:42:44.159
forbidden to shed blood and must emulate christ example of

702
00:42:44.239 --> 00:42:51.760
suffering and non violence. Syril of Alexandria fifth century. Syrill

703
00:42:51.960 --> 00:42:56.440
suggested that jesus instructions to buy a sword reflected a

704
00:42:56.519 --> 00:43:00.679
transition from reliance on divine providence, as in Luke ninety three,

705
00:43:00.880 --> 00:43:03.360
where the disciples were told to take nothing for their

706
00:43:03.440 --> 00:43:06.719
journey to a time of preparation for hardship. However, he

707
00:43:06.760 --> 00:43:08.760
did not interpret this as it called a violence, but

708
00:43:08.840 --> 00:43:13.199
rather as a recognition of the trials the disciples would face. Basically,

709
00:43:13.199 --> 00:43:16.880
Cyrill of Alexandria was like, Hey, guys, this is just

710
00:43:17.000 --> 00:43:22.079
demonstrating something is changing. Before. You don't need anything, trust God.

711
00:43:22.440 --> 00:43:27.599
Now you're gonna take everything with you. Cyril argued that

712
00:43:27.639 --> 00:43:30.039
the two swords mentioned in Luke were not meant for

713
00:43:30.079 --> 00:43:32.920
actual combat, given jesus rebuke of Peter in the Garden

714
00:43:32.920 --> 00:43:35.800
of Luke twenty two forty nine through fifty one. John

715
00:43:35.880 --> 00:43:40.760
Chrysostom fourth and fifth century. John Chrysostom emphasized the symbolic

716
00:43:40.840 --> 00:43:43.719
nature of jesus command. He argued that the sword represented

717
00:43:43.760 --> 00:43:45.920
the need for the disciples to be spiritually prepared for

718
00:43:45.960 --> 00:43:50.119
the struggles they would face after jesus departure. Chrysostom also

719
00:43:50.199 --> 00:43:54.639
highlighted the futility of physical weapons, given that Jesus immediately

720
00:43:54.679 --> 00:43:58.239
rebuked Peter for using a sword during his arrest. Then

721
00:43:58.280 --> 00:44:02.440
we come to Augustine fourth to fifth century. He interpreted

722
00:44:02.519 --> 00:44:05.440
Luke twenty two thirty six. He interpreted the command to

723
00:44:05.440 --> 00:44:08.880
buy a sword as metaphorical, reflecting the need for spiritual

724
00:44:08.960 --> 00:44:11.400
defense against the coming trials. He saw the sword as

725
00:44:11.400 --> 00:44:14.639
a tool for understanding the disciples need to be armed

726
00:44:14.639 --> 00:44:17.480
with faith and the Word of God. Augustine emphasized that

727
00:44:17.599 --> 00:44:20.039
Jesus kingdom is not of this world and rejected the

728
00:44:20.079 --> 00:44:23.000
notion that Christians should engage in physical violence to advance

729
00:44:23.039 --> 00:44:29.639
the Gospel. Eucibius of Eusebius in the fourth century. Eusebius

730
00:44:29.760 --> 00:44:32.559
understood Luke twenty two thirty six as a prophetic statement

731
00:44:32.679 --> 00:44:35.519
about the challenges and oppositions the disciples would face after

732
00:44:35.599 --> 00:44:40.119
Jesus' death. The sword symbolized preparation for these difficults difficulties,

733
00:44:40.199 --> 00:44:42.400
but Eusebius did not interpret it as a call for

734
00:44:42.519 --> 00:44:46.199
literal violence. Now we come to the fourth century Ambrose.

735
00:44:47.039 --> 00:44:50.679
Ambrose recognized a dual purpose for the sword. On one level,

736
00:44:50.679 --> 00:44:52.960
it might have served as a practical purpose as a tool.

737
00:44:53.199 --> 00:44:55.840
On the other, it symbolized preparedness and resolved needed for

738
00:44:55.880 --> 00:44:59.960
the spiritual trials the disciples would endure. So the general

739
00:45:00.199 --> 00:45:06.320
themes among the church fathers symbolism, nonviolence, christ rebuke of Peter,

740
00:45:06.679 --> 00:45:10.800
and spiritual struggle struggles. That is how all, that's how

741
00:45:10.840 --> 00:45:15.480
the entire that's how the entire early church handled it.

742
00:45:15.840 --> 00:45:18.960
You you almost have no almost everyone is an agreement

743
00:45:19.400 --> 00:45:23.320
for probably at least five centuries, six centuries into church history.

744
00:45:23.679 --> 00:45:26.159
Now you may find someone out there who disagreed, obviously,

745
00:45:26.199 --> 00:45:29.000
you probably can, but it was very common, and it's

746
00:45:29.360 --> 00:45:33.559
it's I mean, come on, the Church never agrees on anything.

747
00:45:34.280 --> 00:45:36.559
But hey, that's okay. Let's just go to Luke twenty

748
00:45:36.559 --> 00:45:39.440
two thirty six. And when Christians do this, you just

749
00:45:39.880 --> 00:45:42.079
what literally what I want to do when I see

750
00:45:42.159 --> 00:45:44.360
Christians start this nonsense, is I just want to say,

751
00:45:44.360 --> 00:45:46.599
I give up. I just give up. There's no point

752
00:45:46.599 --> 00:45:49.480
in doing hermoneutics, there's no point in doing Bible interpretation

753
00:45:49.760 --> 00:45:53.920
because Christians just don't care about interpreting the Bible. They

754
00:45:54.000 --> 00:45:56.400
just want to use it for their own purpose and

755
00:45:56.440 --> 00:46:00.480
their own agenda. And again, this is not an argument

756
00:46:00.480 --> 00:46:03.159
about guns. If you want a gun, fine, just don't

757
00:46:03.239 --> 00:46:07.039
use Luke twenty two thirty six as some lame justification

758
00:46:07.239 --> 00:46:09.039
for it. Just say I'm gonna have a gun and

759
00:46:09.079 --> 00:46:11.159
I'm gonna kill all person if they do this or

760
00:46:11.159 --> 00:46:13.159
this or this, and then you live with that. You

761
00:46:13.199 --> 00:46:15.440
can either try to justify it or just say that's

762
00:46:15.480 --> 00:46:27.920
what you're going to do. Now. That's all Luke twenty

763
00:46:27.920 --> 00:46:34.639
two thirty six. That's all Luke twenty two thirty six.

764
00:46:37.800 --> 00:46:40.360
But I have another problem when it comes to Christians

765
00:46:40.360 --> 00:46:49.480
and mass shootings. Oh do I have another problem. I

766
00:46:49.559 --> 00:46:54.880
struggle deeply with how many Christians respond to mass shootings,

767
00:46:55.320 --> 00:46:57.760
not only the Luke twenty two to thirty six issue,

768
00:46:57.760 --> 00:47:00.880
but other things they do. You see, they will talk

769
00:47:00.920 --> 00:47:05.880
about praying for the wounded and the families who lost

770
00:47:05.880 --> 00:47:08.920
a loved one, And by doing this, this seems to

771
00:47:08.960 --> 00:47:12.199
imply that they truly believe that God can and may

772
00:47:12.320 --> 00:47:15.159
intervene in some way to hill the wounded or to

773
00:47:15.199 --> 00:47:22.719
somehow comfort those who lost the loved one. They are praying,

774
00:47:22.760 --> 00:47:25.400
I want you to think about this. They are literally

775
00:47:25.480 --> 00:47:30.880
praying to the very God who at the very least

776
00:47:32.000 --> 00:47:35.719
allowed the shooting to happen or at the very most

777
00:47:36.039 --> 00:47:38.320
decree it to happen. So you're gonna come to the

778
00:47:38.440 --> 00:47:41.159
very God. You're gonna pray. Hey, there's a mass shooting.

779
00:47:41.320 --> 00:47:43.360
Let's pray. So you're gonna pray to the God who

780
00:47:43.440 --> 00:47:45.440
at the very least allowed it or at the very

781
00:47:45.480 --> 00:47:50.400
most decrete it. What he So, now you want God

782
00:47:50.440 --> 00:47:53.880
to do something who didn't do anything in the first place,

783
00:47:53.960 --> 00:48:00.159
to stop it. Like, the whole thing is confusing, And

784
00:48:00.239 --> 00:48:02.960
this praying that they engage in seems to indicate they

785
00:48:02.960 --> 00:48:05.519
believe God can either intervene in a real way, but

786
00:48:05.599 --> 00:48:08.480
they tend to be the most vocal, So by praying,

787
00:48:08.480 --> 00:48:11.199
they seem to indicate they believe God can really intervene

788
00:48:11.239 --> 00:48:14.760
in a very literal way. But then those same Christians

789
00:48:14.840 --> 00:48:17.159
tend to be the most vocal and supportive for people

790
00:48:17.159 --> 00:48:20.320
having guns and gun rights. If God can intervene, why

791
00:48:20.360 --> 00:48:29.199
would Christians be so pro gun? Now? I believe those

792
00:48:29.239 --> 00:48:32.800
things that I just pointed out raises some very serious

793
00:48:32.840 --> 00:48:37.079
theological and ethical questions, and I think it really comes

794
00:48:37.079 --> 00:48:40.920
down to challenging Christians on their level of consistency when

795
00:48:40.960 --> 00:48:46.800
it comes to their responses to mass shootings. See, when

796
00:48:46.840 --> 00:48:49.000
you pray to a God who allowed or to creed

797
00:48:49.039 --> 00:48:53.519
the shooting, there's a thiological tension. You see. Many Christians

798
00:48:53.519 --> 00:48:57.000
pray for healing, comfort and justice after tragedies, believing God

799
00:48:57.039 --> 00:49:01.519
is sovereign and can intervene. However, this creates attention. If

800
00:49:01.519 --> 00:49:05.199
God is sovereign, then he either allowed or decreed the event,

801
00:49:05.400 --> 00:49:07.519
and question, so why are you going to pray to him?

802
00:49:07.800 --> 00:49:10.920
He either allowed it or decreed it, So now you

803
00:49:10.960 --> 00:49:15.199
want him to do something after the fact. Now this

804
00:49:15.360 --> 00:49:20.760
tension to me, and it should it should it should

805
00:49:20.840 --> 00:49:24.239
you should feel it. It should bother you because it

806
00:49:24.320 --> 00:49:27.639
implies asking God to comfort victims of something he did

807
00:49:27.719 --> 00:49:33.360
not prevent the same somewhat I don't know. Confusing. Now,

808
00:49:33.400 --> 00:49:37.800
some Christians try to reconcile this and say, well, well, okay, okay, okay,

809
00:49:37.880 --> 00:49:39.840
First of all, Christians usually just get ticked off in

810
00:49:39.920 --> 00:49:42.039
defense of when I bring this up. But it's something

811
00:49:42.079 --> 00:49:45.880
you have to struggle with. We so mass shooting just occurred.

812
00:49:46.119 --> 00:49:48.480
Now you want me to pray? What am I praying?

813
00:49:49.039 --> 00:49:51.039
Because I'm going to pray to the God who allowed

814
00:49:51.039 --> 00:49:54.280
this to occur or at the very most decreed. It

815
00:49:54.280 --> 00:49:58.599
just seems a little bizarre here. So what Christians usually,

816
00:49:58.639 --> 00:50:04.199
when they do try to push back, they'll say free will. Okay,

817
00:50:04.199 --> 00:50:06.480
I don't know how this argument fixes anything, but they'll

818
00:50:06.519 --> 00:50:10.320
try to basically say, God permits you, permits human choices

819
00:50:11.039 --> 00:50:14.000
even when they lead to evil, to preserve free will.

820
00:50:14.079 --> 00:50:16.440
So what they're saying, hey, God cares more about free

821
00:50:16.440 --> 00:50:19.400
will than stopping anything from happening, So he's not going

822
00:50:19.480 --> 00:50:21.960
to interfere because if he interferes, he's going to be

823
00:50:22.039 --> 00:50:24.199
messing up free will. Well, then in that case, why

824
00:50:24.239 --> 00:50:27.000
are you praying. You can't pray on anything that would

825
00:50:27.000 --> 00:50:32.199
interfere with free will. There'd be no point. Your prayers.

826
00:50:32.199 --> 00:50:34.679
Would have to always be praying in such a way

827
00:50:34.679 --> 00:50:36.480
that you show respect to free will. If you're going

828
00:50:36.519 --> 00:50:38.400
to believe in free will, then you've got to pray

829
00:50:38.400 --> 00:50:40.199
in a way that we're God. Because God's only it's

830
00:50:40.199 --> 00:50:42.920
got to respect free will. So God could never intervene

831
00:50:42.960 --> 00:50:45.079
in a way that would go against someone's free will.

832
00:50:45.199 --> 00:50:53.400
How are you going to pray? Then? And did God?

833
00:50:53.719 --> 00:50:55.920
I mean, didn't God over and over and over intervene

834
00:50:55.960 --> 00:50:57.679
in the Bible, and didn't bother to care about? I

835
00:50:57.679 --> 00:51:00.639
don't know the will of the Egyptians, the will of Pharaoh,

836
00:51:00.719 --> 00:51:02.079
and go on and on and on the will of

837
00:51:02.119 --> 00:51:04.079
the Babylonians. I mean, go on and on and on

838
00:51:04.119 --> 00:51:14.159
and on. Now others will say it's sovereignty and mystery

839
00:51:14.280 --> 00:51:17.199
because see that sounds really spiritual. So they will say

840
00:51:17.239 --> 00:51:20.760
that God's They that the belief that God's purpose and

841
00:51:20.800 --> 00:51:23.760
allowing evil or beyond human understanding but ultimately serves a

842
00:51:23.760 --> 00:51:27.239
greater good. Hey, we don't understand it. It's a mystery,

843
00:51:27.440 --> 00:51:29.920
but understand it. It serves a greater good. Do you

844
00:51:30.000 --> 00:51:33.280
understand how twisted that sounds? Oh, so kids have to

845
00:51:33.320 --> 00:51:36.760
die in school because well, it serves God's greater good.

846
00:51:37.000 --> 00:51:39.159
I mean, come on that you really want to be

847
00:51:39.199 --> 00:51:45.159
the one who says that. Now, some phiological traditions will

848
00:51:45.199 --> 00:51:49.239
distinguish between God's active will what he directly causes and

849
00:51:49.280 --> 00:51:52.920
his permissive will what he allows through human agency. So

850
00:51:53.239 --> 00:51:56.480
but see, once again, you still have God allowing it.

851
00:51:56.519 --> 00:51:59.239
God allows it. Well, if God allowed it, then why

852
00:51:59.239 --> 00:52:01.360
are you praying for him to intervene after the fact.

853
00:52:01.400 --> 00:52:09.840
He's the one who allowed it to happen. Now, if

854
00:52:09.880 --> 00:52:12.000
you look at everything I just brought up, which I

855
00:52:12.000 --> 00:52:17.039
think every Christian should struggle with, come on when when?

856
00:52:17.039 --> 00:52:20.599
When When? When Christians try to answer these this problem

857
00:52:20.679 --> 00:52:24.320
with some kind of supposed theological answer, it always comes

858
00:52:24.320 --> 00:52:29.360
across as very hollow, is very empty. Because if God

859
00:52:29.400 --> 00:52:32.519
has the power to prevent a mass shooting but doesn't,

860
00:52:33.360 --> 00:52:36.000
then praying after the fact feels like trying to fix

861
00:52:36.039 --> 00:52:39.519
something that could have been avoided. Hey, hey, God's not

862
00:52:39.639 --> 00:52:42.920
intervening to stop any of this. What the war in Ukraine?

863
00:52:43.719 --> 00:52:49.119
Cause we can go on death, suffering, destruction, death, mass shootings, murder, rape,

864
00:52:49.199 --> 00:52:53.360
children being molested, But after the fact, if to wait,

865
00:52:53.440 --> 00:52:57.440
so God can't prevent it? So the one If God

866
00:52:57.480 --> 00:52:59.199
couldn't prevent it, then why an't we praying to him

867
00:52:59.239 --> 00:53:07.480
after the fact. Well it just seems so confusing, which

868
00:53:07.519 --> 00:53:10.400
then leads and you'll see this in the comment section.

869
00:53:13.119 --> 00:53:15.079
Many critics will say, well, then why not pray for

870
00:53:15.119 --> 00:53:18.280
God to prevent such tragedies rather than only respond after

871
00:53:18.320 --> 00:53:21.119
they occur. Why are you praying now that God would

872
00:53:21.159 --> 00:53:23.920
intervene after the shooting. Why wouldn't you have been praying

873
00:53:23.920 --> 00:53:26.039
that God would stop all shootings. Well, we can pray

874
00:53:26.079 --> 00:53:28.159
that God stops, but He's never going to stop all shootings,

875
00:53:28.159 --> 00:53:29.880
because that's not the way it's going to work, is it.

876
00:53:30.320 --> 00:53:31.960
I'm not going to stop people from dying from cancer,

877
00:53:32.079 --> 00:53:35.639
children from being molested, women from being raped. War. No,

878
00:53:35.880 --> 00:53:39.840
So now there will come a time, but we immediately

879
00:53:39.880 --> 00:53:42.199
know that this whole thing becomes a problem. So this

880
00:53:42.320 --> 00:53:45.280
raises the broader problem of evil and suffering, which Christianity

881
00:53:45.320 --> 00:53:48.679
has wrestled with throughout well two thousand years of church history.

882
00:53:49.039 --> 00:53:51.480
Christians don't have any answer. They always like to act

883
00:53:51.559 --> 00:53:57.159
like they have an answer, but in reality they do not. Well,

884
00:53:57.159 --> 00:54:03.000
then this becomes even more problematic. If you believe that

885
00:54:03.079 --> 00:54:07.320
God can intervene, and you believe that God intervenes and

886
00:54:07.320 --> 00:54:10.679
he can protect and he can save, and he can

887
00:54:10.719 --> 00:54:13.880
do all of these things, well, then why are Christians

888
00:54:13.880 --> 00:54:19.960
so pro gun? If Christians believe God is capable of

889
00:54:20.000 --> 00:54:25.679
intervening supernaturally, why advocate for widespread gun ownership as a solution.

890
00:54:26.400 --> 00:54:28.559
This seems to suggest a lack of trust in God's

891
00:54:28.559 --> 00:54:34.400
providence to protect and provide for safety. Jesus consistently emphasize

892
00:54:34.400 --> 00:54:37.239
trusting God rather than earthly means for security. You see

893
00:54:37.239 --> 00:54:40.480
that in Matthew six twenty five through thirty four. Advocating

894
00:54:40.519 --> 00:54:43.880
for gun rights while claiming God is sovereign seems inconsistent

895
00:54:43.920 --> 00:54:51.320
with this teaching. Many pro gun Christians justify their stance

896
00:54:51.360 --> 00:54:53.880
as a form of self defense or protection for their families.

897
00:54:54.199 --> 00:54:57.760
This mindset often reflects a cultural value of self reliance

898
00:54:57.960 --> 00:55:03.400
and individual rights, then strict a biblical worldview. Biblically, reliance

899
00:55:03.440 --> 00:55:07.119
on weapons contrasts sharply with passages like some trust in

900
00:55:07.199 --> 00:55:09.559
chariots and some in horses, But we trust in the

901
00:55:09.639 --> 00:55:12.760
name of the Lord, our God. Oh, and of course

902
00:55:12.920 --> 00:55:15.960
my gun in this and for all who take the

903
00:55:16.000 --> 00:55:18.800
sword will perish by the sword. The early Church faced

904
00:55:18.800 --> 00:55:21.639
persecution and violence. They did not arm themselves for defense,

905
00:55:21.800 --> 00:55:27.480
but relied on faith and nonviolence. Support for gun rights

906
00:55:27.480 --> 00:55:31.039
among Christians in certain regions, especially in the United States,

907
00:55:31.360 --> 00:55:36.519
is often more cultural than thellogical. The Second Amendment and

908
00:55:36.559 --> 00:55:41.000
American notions of freedom have deeply influenced evangelical thinking, often

909
00:55:41.079 --> 00:55:46.559
blending nationalism with faith. This cultural fusion sometimes leads to

910
00:55:46.599 --> 00:55:51.559
prioritizing gun ownership over a consistent Christian ethic of nonviolence,

911
00:55:51.679 --> 00:55:55.559
despite Jesus teaching it becomes a cultural thing, it becomes yours,

912
00:55:56.039 --> 00:55:59.079
it becomes a political cultural thing, and you don't really

913
00:55:59.119 --> 00:56:01.840
care if it's consistent with your theology, but you'll go

914
00:56:01.920 --> 00:56:03.960
rip a Verse out of context, like Luke twenty two

915
00:56:04.000 --> 00:56:06.440
thirty six, to try to find some kind of justification,

916
00:56:06.639 --> 00:56:09.280
even without taking it into its full context in any way,

917
00:56:09.280 --> 00:56:19.079
shape or form. Christians who pray for victims after a

918
00:56:19.119 --> 00:56:22.239
shooting might need to wrestle more deeply with how their

919
00:56:22.280 --> 00:56:25.840
theology of God's sovereignty interacts with human suffering and violence.

920
00:56:26.480 --> 00:56:29.360
Does their belief align with the God revealed in scripture

921
00:56:29.719 --> 00:56:35.760
or is it shaped by cultural assumptions. A christ centered

922
00:56:35.840 --> 00:56:40.199
ethic would emphasize nonviolent self sacrifice and trusting God over

923
00:56:40.239 --> 00:56:44.320
self reliance through weaponry. This approach challenges the pro gun's

924
00:56:44.360 --> 00:56:46.360
stance and calls Christians to live in a way that

925
00:56:46.400 --> 00:56:50.840
reflects the peace of Christ, rather than focusing solely on

926
00:56:50.960 --> 00:56:54.760
thoughts and prayers. Christians could prioritize action that aligns with

927
00:56:54.760 --> 00:56:58.800
biblical call to protect the vulnerable Proverbs three or Proverbs

928
00:56:58.840 --> 00:57:02.559
thirty one, I apologize and seek peace. This might include

929
00:57:02.559 --> 00:57:05.519
advocating for responsible gun laws or addressing the root cause

930
00:57:05.679 --> 00:57:14.920
of violence. Now that's fifty seven minutes of a lot

931
00:57:14.960 --> 00:57:19.559
of thoughts that I know are going to bother everyone dramatically.

932
00:57:20.119 --> 00:57:24.239
So let me try to just state this again. The

933
00:57:24.360 --> 00:57:29.599
use of Luke twenty two to thirty six is textually problematic,

934
00:57:29.679 --> 00:57:31.639
or well, let me state it this way. Using Luke

935
00:57:31.679 --> 00:57:34.800
twenty two to thirty six as somehow a proof text

936
00:57:35.000 --> 00:57:37.280
that proves that you should have a gun and should

937
00:57:37.320 --> 00:57:40.519
be ready to use it at any time is complete.

938
00:57:40.599 --> 00:57:44.559
Is problematic from a textual standpoint, from a hermeneutical standpoint,

939
00:57:44.800 --> 00:57:49.960
from a cultural standpoint, from a logical standpoint, it's there's

940
00:57:50.079 --> 00:57:52.880
so many issues with it. So if you want to

941
00:57:53.079 --> 00:57:55.360
argue for owning a gun, look, if you need help,

942
00:57:55.400 --> 00:57:56.800
I can try to help you come up with better

943
00:57:56.920 --> 00:57:59.239
versus a Luke twenty two to thirty six. You're taking

944
00:57:59.280 --> 00:58:03.159
a decent scriptive passive passage, making it prescriptive. You're ignoring

945
00:58:03.199 --> 00:58:05.880
the actual context of what's even going on in the verse.

946
00:58:06.000 --> 00:58:08.400
The verse is signifying that this is a massive change

947
00:58:08.400 --> 00:58:12.079
from Luke nine. There's all kinds of things going on here.

948
00:58:12.159 --> 00:58:14.400
Has nothing to do with you owning a gun. It's

949
00:58:14.400 --> 00:58:16.760
not prescribing you to do anything. It's prescribing what they

950
00:58:16.760 --> 00:58:19.360
were to do in their historical context versus what they

951
00:58:19.400 --> 00:58:22.280
had been instructed to do prior back in Luke nine.

952
00:58:24.480 --> 00:58:27.119
It contradicts everything else taught in the Bible. There's no

953
00:58:27.800 --> 00:58:31.000
example of what Christians try to argue for. There's none.

954
00:58:31.639 --> 00:58:33.639
If you want it, here's what you know, what we

955
00:58:33.639 --> 00:58:36.119
should say. And I know Christians don't like this, but

956
00:58:36.199 --> 00:58:39.559
this is what we should say. Here's the deal. The

957
00:58:39.599 --> 00:58:43.079
Bible seems to teach an ideal and an idea that

958
00:58:43.159 --> 00:58:45.880
I just can't support. I can't support loving my enemy,

959
00:58:45.880 --> 00:58:48.679
turning the other cheek, resisting not evil. I can't understand.

960
00:58:48.719 --> 00:58:52.159
I can't accept a passive, nonviolent approach. I'm going to

961
00:58:52.239 --> 00:58:54.960
own a gun. Someone breaks into my house, I'm going

962
00:58:55.039 --> 00:58:57.360
to shoot them, and if they die, they die. If

963
00:58:57.400 --> 00:58:59.320
someone comes into my church and tries to harm someone,

964
00:58:59.400 --> 00:59:02.360
we're gonna kill them, because that's what we're going to do.

965
00:59:02.519 --> 00:59:04.280
We're not going to try to justify it. It's what

966
00:59:04.280 --> 00:59:06.880
we're going to do because here's the reality. I don't

967
00:59:06.880 --> 00:59:08.440
want to die. I don't want to see anybody I

968
00:59:08.440 --> 00:59:10.719
love wouldn't want to die. And I do not trust

969
00:59:10.760 --> 00:59:12.840
God is going to intervene to stop it. I don't

970
00:59:12.840 --> 00:59:15.039
believe God's going to stop someone from breaking into my house.

971
00:59:15.079 --> 00:59:17.079
If they do, I don't believe God's going to supernaturally

972
00:59:17.119 --> 00:59:18.960
intervene to stop it. So I'm going to have a

973
00:59:19.000 --> 00:59:21.119
gun and I'm going to stop it in a practical,

974
00:59:21.320 --> 00:59:23.840
physical way. And if that means they die, they die.

975
00:59:23.880 --> 00:59:25.800
I don't want them to die, but I'm going to

976
00:59:25.880 --> 00:59:27.960
do everything I can to protect myself, my family, and

977
00:59:27.960 --> 00:59:30.199
my church. And if that means people have to get shot,

978
00:59:30.239 --> 00:59:34.320
they have to get shot. The end. Just be honest

979
00:59:34.360 --> 00:59:44.199
with it. I've said it a million times. If I

980
00:59:44.360 --> 00:59:49.159
owned a gun and someone broke into my house and

981
00:59:49.280 --> 00:59:52.760
was gonna harm family, me, whatever, I'm going to take

982
00:59:52.800 --> 00:59:56.280
that gun and I'm probably gonna unload the entire clip

983
00:59:56.360 --> 00:59:58.920
into the person, and I may reload and shoot some more.

984
00:59:59.079 --> 01:00:01.039
You say that's horrible, I'm just being honest with you.

985
01:00:01.320 --> 01:00:03.719
That's probably what I would do. If I had a

986
01:00:03.800 --> 01:00:05.760
gun and someone broke into my church to try to

987
01:00:05.840 --> 01:00:08.639
kill people, I would unload the clip and probably keep shooting,

988
01:00:09.000 --> 01:00:19.840
and we'll reload and keep shooting. The thing I will

989
01:00:19.840 --> 01:00:25.639
not do is then turn around and justify that action

990
01:00:26.639 --> 01:00:29.360
by trying to rip some verse out of context or

991
01:00:29.480 --> 01:00:33.880
second do that and then say, some trust in chariots,

992
01:00:33.960 --> 01:00:36.760
some trust in horses, but I trust in God. God

993
01:00:36.840 --> 01:00:39.679
is my shield, Here is my defender, Here's my rock.

994
01:00:39.800 --> 01:00:42.760
I'm gonna say, obviously, I don't believe he's my shield,

995
01:00:42.880 --> 01:00:46.159
my defender, and my rock. Obviously I do trust. Maybe

996
01:00:46.199 --> 01:00:48.280
not in a chariot and a horse, but I trust

997
01:00:48.320 --> 01:00:51.559
in my AR fifteen, whatever gun I have, That's what

998
01:00:51.639 --> 01:00:53.639
I'm going to trust in. And I'm just gonna be

999
01:00:53.679 --> 01:00:56.960
blunt and honest about it. I'm not gonna sit there

1000
01:00:57.000 --> 01:00:58.920
and play this little game where I talk all these

1001
01:00:58.920 --> 01:01:02.440
big spirit o. God's my protector, he's my defender. He's

1002
01:01:02.480 --> 01:01:07.559
gonna do this, He's gonna oh okay, good, oh oh,

1003
01:01:07.719 --> 01:01:11.679
back to trusting God. I'm just gonna be honest. Push

1004
01:01:11.760 --> 01:01:13.960
comes to shove. I trust in me, I trust in

1005
01:01:14.039 --> 01:01:16.679
what I can do. I trust in my gun. That's

1006
01:01:16.719 --> 01:01:23.800
what I would have to say. See, it's one thing

1007
01:01:24.119 --> 01:01:28.440
to go man. What does the Bible teach a man?

1008
01:01:29.079 --> 01:01:30.519
I don't know if I can live according to that.

1009
01:01:31.199 --> 01:01:32.519
I don't know if I would do that. I don't

1010
01:01:32.519 --> 01:01:35.400
know if I'm gonna turn the other cheek. Resist not evil.

1011
01:01:35.679 --> 01:01:40.880
I'm gonna resist. Love my enemy, you out of your mind.

1012
01:01:41.360 --> 01:01:43.480
I'm not gonna love them, depending on what they're trying

1013
01:01:43.480 --> 01:01:44.760
to do to me. I'm gonna fight back them and

1014
01:01:44.880 --> 01:01:48.199
punch them in the face, kick them, choke them whatever.

1015
01:01:48.440 --> 01:01:51.400
I'm just gonna be honest. See, it's one thing to

1016
01:01:51.440 --> 01:01:55.559
just acknowledge to sometimes when God commands and the laws

1017
01:01:55.599 --> 01:01:58.199
that he gives, let's let's again. This comes back to

1018
01:01:58.360 --> 01:02:00.920
a basic understanding of law and gospel. God gives us

1019
01:02:01.000 --> 01:02:03.800
laws where we're never going to keep ladies and gentlemen,

1020
01:02:03.840 --> 01:02:06.679
We're gonna fall short and thought word. Indeed, he tells

1021
01:02:06.719 --> 01:02:08.119
us to be holy as He is holy. We're never

1022
01:02:08.159 --> 01:02:10.360
going to do that. We're always in a perpetual state

1023
01:02:10.400 --> 01:02:12.320
of sin. We're just going to have to acknowledge that

1024
01:02:12.400 --> 01:02:16.400
he gives us laws that are so above our even

1025
01:02:16.559 --> 01:02:19.719
ability that the law is to reveal our inability to

1026
01:02:19.800 --> 01:02:21.480
keep it. So then we have to trust in the

1027
01:02:21.519 --> 01:02:24.360
one who kept it. And what did Jesus do. He resisted,

1028
01:02:24.400 --> 01:02:26.920
not evil, he turned the other cheek. He loved his enemy,

1029
01:02:27.000 --> 01:02:31.519
and he suffered and died. He fulfilled all of those

1030
01:02:31.559 --> 01:02:36.519
commands perfectly well by faith in him. His perfect righteousness

1031
01:02:36.840 --> 01:02:41.000
is imputed to my account. So what we want to

1032
01:02:41.039 --> 01:02:43.639
do is water down these commands and find a way

1033
01:02:43.679 --> 01:02:47.480
to make them fit. Are our ability fit what we

1034
01:02:47.559 --> 01:02:49.599
can do and will do and may do and should do.

1035
01:02:49.920 --> 01:02:52.159
That's not the way we approach it. We approach the

1036
01:02:52.199 --> 01:02:54.880
scripture as it gives me a morality that I will

1037
01:02:54.920 --> 01:02:57.760
never keep. It doesn't excuse my enn morality, but it

1038
01:02:57.920 --> 01:03:00.559
just to point out it gives a standard which we

1039
01:03:00.599 --> 01:03:02.800
will never keep, but we want to water it down.

1040
01:03:05.800 --> 01:03:07.800
We always want to water it down because we don't

1041
01:03:07.920 --> 01:03:11.760
like it. Anytime, if I preach in Matthew about Jesus'

1042
01:03:11.760 --> 01:03:14.880
standard about loving your enemy turning the other cheek, immediately

1043
01:03:14.920 --> 01:03:17.639
people will be like, well, it can't mean that. I mean,

1044
01:03:17.800 --> 01:03:19.800
I mean, come on, I mean logically, I mean we

1045
01:03:19.840 --> 01:03:22.239
need to use common I always thought we need to

1046
01:03:22.360 --> 01:03:24.760
use common sense. Well, if we're gonna go with that,

1047
01:03:25.079 --> 01:03:27.039
then let's just do that. With everything in the Sermon

1048
01:03:27.079 --> 01:03:29.559
on the Mount. Let's not just do it with love

1049
01:03:29.559 --> 01:03:31.800
your enemy turn the other cheek, resist, not even no, no, no, no,

1050
01:03:32.039 --> 01:03:33.920
let's hey, if you look at a woman with lust,

1051
01:03:33.960 --> 01:03:37.239
I mean, come on, let's be reasonable. Everyone's going to

1052
01:03:37.280 --> 01:03:39.800
do that. That's not what Jesus I mean. Come, let's

1053
01:03:39.840 --> 01:03:42.079
just we could do it with divorce. We could do

1054
01:03:42.119 --> 01:03:43.679
it with it. We could just say but by the

1055
01:03:43.679 --> 01:03:45.880
time we're done, we could just make the entire Sermon

1056
01:03:45.920 --> 01:03:48.000
on the Mount. Well, we're just gonna use common sense

1057
01:03:48.039 --> 01:03:50.239
and it's not what Jesus really meant. Well, then you're

1058
01:03:50.239 --> 01:03:52.519
gonna so water down the law. Then you don't even

1059
01:03:52.519 --> 01:03:54.719
need the Gospel because you can obey it. The whole

1060
01:03:54.719 --> 01:03:56.559
point when you see the law is that shows your

1061
01:03:56.559 --> 01:04:00.119
inability to do so don't water it down, acknowledge it.

1062
01:04:02.440 --> 01:04:05.079
All I'm saying is if you're pro gun, fine, go

1063
01:04:05.119 --> 01:04:09.400
buy a couple more guns tonight. Get ten, fifteen, twenty

1064
01:04:09.519 --> 01:04:12.960
forty fifty, have seventy five thousand rounds of ammunition if

1065
01:04:12.960 --> 01:04:15.559
you want. I'm not here to argue with you. What

1066
01:04:15.599 --> 01:04:18.159
I'm going to argue with is stop using the Bible

1067
01:04:18.159 --> 01:04:21.880
to justify your position because you don't have anything in

1068
01:04:21.920 --> 01:04:24.679
the Bible to justify that. And Luke twenty two thirty

1069
01:04:24.679 --> 01:04:26.719
six has nothing to do with what you're trying to

1070
01:04:26.719 --> 01:04:30.239
make it say, it's hermoneutically. If you can twist the

1071
01:04:30.239 --> 01:04:32.400
scriptures that way, then I can twist the scriptures anyway.

1072
01:04:32.760 --> 01:04:34.880
Before we're done, let's just all twist scriptures and we

1073
01:04:34.880 --> 01:04:43.360
can do whatever we want. The reality is, we love

1074
01:04:43.480 --> 01:04:47.159
this life. The reality is nobody wants to die, Nobody

1075
01:04:47.159 --> 01:04:50.400
wants to go to heaven. Now, we want to go

1076
01:04:50.440 --> 01:04:51.960
to heaven when we're at the end of our life

1077
01:04:51.960 --> 01:04:54.159
and we're like eighty eighty five and now we're suffering

1078
01:04:54.400 --> 01:04:56.639
be old age or some disease. Now we're ready to

1079
01:04:56.679 --> 01:04:58.519
go to heaven, But the rest of the time we

1080
01:04:58.599 --> 01:05:00.840
don't want to go, and we're gonna protect ourselves that

1081
01:05:00.880 --> 01:05:06.920
we're going to defend ourselves. Now, somebody say, well, how

1082
01:05:06.920 --> 01:05:09.280
does this fit the just war doctrine. Well, that's a

1083
01:05:09.280 --> 01:05:11.039
whole different issue, and I don't have time to get

1084
01:05:11.039 --> 01:05:16.880
into the just war doctrine. And Augustine, even though Augustine

1085
01:05:16.880 --> 01:05:20.440
did not interpret Luke twenty two thirty six is for

1086
01:05:20.519 --> 01:05:22.960
me to own a weapon to fight back, he did

1087
01:05:23.000 --> 01:05:29.960
believe in a just war doctrine. Now I want if

1088
01:05:30.000 --> 01:05:36.559
you want a scriptural argument for guns, don't go to

1089
01:05:36.639 --> 01:05:40.320
Luke twenty two. That's just ridiculous to me. The one

1090
01:05:40.320 --> 01:05:48.639
I would go to, I would go to Romans thirteen.

1091
01:05:50.079 --> 01:05:53.840
Romans thirteen, Let every soul be subject under the higher powers,

1092
01:05:53.880 --> 01:05:56.119
For there is no power but of God. The powers

1093
01:05:56.119 --> 01:05:58.840
that be are ordained of God. This is us submitting

1094
01:05:59.159 --> 01:06:03.320
to God for mental leadership and to governmental laws. Who

1095
01:06:03.400 --> 01:06:06.119
therefore resisteth the power resists that the ordinance of God.

1096
01:06:06.320 --> 01:06:09.199
And they that resist or receive to themselves damnation. For

1097
01:06:09.280 --> 01:06:11.800
the rulers are not a terror to good works, but

1098
01:06:11.880 --> 01:06:15.239
to evil. Will thou then not be afraid of the

1099
01:06:15.280 --> 01:06:18.719
power which do that which is good? And thou shall

1100
01:06:18.719 --> 01:06:21.000
have praise for the name, for he is the minister

1101
01:06:21.079 --> 01:06:23.719
of God to thee for good. But if thou do

1102
01:06:23.880 --> 01:06:26.360
that which is evil, be afraid, for he beareth not

1103
01:06:26.440 --> 01:06:29.280
the sword in vain. We are to submit to the

1104
01:06:29.480 --> 01:06:32.559
governmental law, we are to follow it, because they do

1105
01:06:32.639 --> 01:06:34.599
not bear the sword in vain. And they're there just

1106
01:06:34.599 --> 01:06:39.480
supposed to be to punish evil and to stop evil. Okay, Well,

1107
01:06:39.599 --> 01:06:44.960
according to the American system, our laws then states and

1108
01:06:45.119 --> 01:06:50.159
allows then you, as a citizen, according to the law,

1109
01:06:50.679 --> 01:06:56.159
to have basically use a sword to punish or stop

1110
01:06:56.280 --> 01:07:00.320
evil who's trying to inflict bodily harm upon you someone

1111
01:07:00.400 --> 01:07:03.239
in your family, or and enters into your home. Whatever

1112
01:07:03.239 --> 01:07:05.960
the state laws are in your particular state when it

1113
01:07:06.000 --> 01:07:08.199
comes to self defense, whether it stand your ground or

1114
01:07:08.199 --> 01:07:11.599
whatever the laws have. So then you could argue, well,

1115
01:07:11.679 --> 01:07:15.360
according to Romans thirteen, I'm following the law, and in

1116
01:07:15.400 --> 01:07:18.519
a sense, by their authority of the state, they have

1117
01:07:18.639 --> 01:07:21.599
granted me that authority to then be able to use

1118
01:07:21.639 --> 01:07:23.599
a firearm. If you want to use an argument, you

1119
01:07:23.599 --> 01:07:27.400
could use it that the state has allowed me, has

1120
01:07:27.480 --> 01:07:31.440
granted me the authority to protect myself and have a weapon.

1121
01:07:31.599 --> 01:07:34.079
So I am obeying this law. Now you could argue, well,

1122
01:07:34.320 --> 01:07:37.920
does jesus law contradict this where he says love your

1123
01:07:38.000 --> 01:07:39.880
enemy turn the other cheek. Now you can try to

1124
01:07:39.920 --> 01:07:42.960
reconcile those two, but at least you would be like, well,

1125
01:07:43.559 --> 01:07:45.960
Jesus said, I can follow the laws of the government

1126
01:07:46.039 --> 01:07:48.000
because God is the one who put that government in place.

1127
01:07:48.239 --> 01:07:51.840
Our government has given us the authority and a sense

1128
01:07:51.920 --> 01:07:54.639
giving you the right, maybe not the authority, but in

1129
01:07:54.679 --> 01:07:56.840
a sense the authority you have, the authority, you have

1130
01:07:56.920 --> 01:08:01.320
the right in order to defend yourself, even by taking

1131
01:08:01.360 --> 01:08:08.280
another person's life in certain situations. So then you can say, well,

1132
01:08:08.480 --> 01:08:11.039
that I'm doing I'm following the authority over me, and

1133
01:08:11.079 --> 01:08:13.079
that authority it gives me the authority to do this,

1134
01:08:13.280 --> 01:08:15.400
if you want to make that is at least a

1135
01:08:15.760 --> 01:08:20.520
more logically consistent argument than taking because this is this

1136
01:08:20.800 --> 01:08:25.239
is prescriptive, where you're taking a look twenty two thirty six,

1137
01:08:25.279 --> 01:08:28.520
which is descriptive, and what it's describing has nothing to

1138
01:08:28.560 --> 01:08:31.680
do with you buying a gun. So if you want

1139
01:08:31.680 --> 01:08:34.920
an argument, use Romans thirteen, and you could probably flesh

1140
01:08:34.920 --> 01:08:36.279
that out a little bit better and make it a

1141
01:08:36.359 --> 01:08:38.239
little bit better, but that would make a little bit

1142
01:08:38.279 --> 01:08:42.079
more sense. Now you've got to then in your own mind,

1143
01:08:42.119 --> 01:08:50.760
you've got to reconcile that with everything else. You have

1144
01:08:50.800 --> 01:08:53.039
to reconcile that with everything else, which is basically love

1145
01:08:53.039 --> 01:08:55.399
your enemy turned the other cheek, resists not evil. Put

1146
01:08:55.399 --> 01:08:57.800
away the sword. The man who lives by the sword

1147
01:08:57.840 --> 01:09:00.720
dies by the sword. Stop it. Don't do this. Even

1148
01:09:00.800 --> 01:09:06.520
in Romans, the specific instructions to individuals is don't overcome

1149
01:09:06.560 --> 01:09:09.640
evil with evil, Overcome evil with good. Love your enemy,

1150
01:09:10.520 --> 01:09:14.680
do good unto them. That's the message. And the entire

1151
01:09:14.720 --> 01:09:17.600
Early Church was very passive. The Early Church was pacifistic

1152
01:09:19.000 --> 01:09:22.399
and nonviolent is what they taught. You may not like it,

1153
01:09:23.960 --> 01:09:26.079
but see that doesn't make one a liberal or make

1154
01:09:26.119 --> 01:09:28.920
one woke, or make one a democrat. That maybe make

1155
01:09:28.960 --> 01:09:38.000
one trying to be more consistent with the overall scriptural teaching. Now, woo,

1156
01:09:38.760 --> 01:09:42.840
that was seventy minutes. That was a lot. I went

1157
01:09:42.880 --> 01:09:44.680
through a lot of stuff, and I know I did

1158
01:09:44.720 --> 01:09:46.920
a lot of heavy amount of reading and some of that,

1159
01:09:47.000 --> 01:09:53.319
and I apologize for that, but yeah, no excuses. I'm

1160
01:09:53.319 --> 01:09:55.520
the one to turn on the microphone. But yeah, today

1161
01:09:55.600 --> 01:10:04.079
from a neurological, my head, my seize your disorder. Yeah,

1162
01:10:04.119 --> 01:10:06.960
this is not I probably shouldn't even be broadcasting today,

1163
01:10:06.960 --> 01:10:08.239
but I felt like I had to get this out

1164
01:10:08.279 --> 01:10:10.079
of the way. So I was going to do something

1165
01:10:10.159 --> 01:10:15.439
short and it turned into seventy minutes. But it's very important.

1166
01:10:15.840 --> 01:10:17.680
So I want to make sure everyone understands I'm not

1167
01:10:17.760 --> 01:10:19.960
arguing with you about guns. What I'm arguing is your

1168
01:10:20.000 --> 01:10:24.800
misuse of scripture to support said guns. And if you're

1169
01:10:24.800 --> 01:10:27.039
going to go to the Bible about what can I do?

1170
01:10:27.319 --> 01:10:29.880
Stop reading it through the lens of the American Constitution.

1171
01:10:29.960 --> 01:10:32.640
Stop reading it through the lens of your Republican Party

1172
01:10:32.720 --> 01:10:36.279
or the National Rifle Association. Stop reading it through the

1173
01:10:36.319 --> 01:10:39.399
lens of being an American, because that's not The Bible

1174
01:10:39.479 --> 01:10:42.399
is not that context. Read it in the context in

1175
01:10:42.439 --> 01:10:44.960
which it was written, and it carries a whole different

1176
01:10:45.000 --> 01:10:47.680
mindset than Americans have. I know you don't like that,

1177
01:10:48.000 --> 01:10:50.000
but I'm sorry. The Bible doesn't really care if it

1178
01:10:50.000 --> 01:10:57.680
offends your American sensibilities or your Texan sensibilities. I live

1179
01:10:57.680 --> 01:11:01.600
here in Texas and I'm all he's been challenging this perspective,

1180
01:11:01.640 --> 01:11:05.840
and you trust me, it's never made me popular ever. Okay,

1181
01:11:06.520 --> 01:11:10.199
But people misunderstand. They're like, you're not gonna take my guns.

1182
01:11:10.279 --> 01:11:12.039
You're not gonna take it. And isn't it weird you

1183
01:11:12.039 --> 01:11:14.680
have dead kids in the classroom and all Christians care

1184
01:11:14.720 --> 01:11:16.680
about is you're not gonna take my guns. You're not

1185
01:11:16.720 --> 01:11:18.479
gonna take How about you worry about the kid that

1186
01:11:18.560 --> 01:11:24.119
died instead of worrying about your gun. It's so weird.

1187
01:11:24.279 --> 01:11:26.520
When you have a story about someone who's dead, it

1188
01:11:26.600 --> 01:11:31.520
turns into you're not gonna take my guns. Okay, thank

1189
01:11:31.560 --> 01:11:34.000
you so much for your worry and concern for the

1190
01:11:34.079 --> 01:11:37.199
kid who's dead. You're more worried about your gun. And

1191
01:11:37.239 --> 01:11:39.239
I've always lot to as if you could, if we

1192
01:11:39.359 --> 01:11:42.199
gave up our guns, if it helped saved any kid's life,

1193
01:11:42.279 --> 01:11:44.600
would you be willing to do so? They just immediately say, well,

1194
01:11:44.640 --> 01:11:46.680
it's never gonna work. It's never gonna work. It's never well,

1195
01:11:46.720 --> 01:11:50.359
all the guns aren't working. We got more guns, and

1196
01:11:50.399 --> 01:11:54.520
we have people in the United States of America. I'm

1197
01:11:54.520 --> 01:11:56.439
not saying getting rid of the guns is going to

1198
01:11:56.479 --> 01:11:58.680
work either, because ultimately the issue is sin and the

1199
01:11:58.720 --> 01:12:00.520
sin well that we all have a sin nature. So

1200
01:12:00.600 --> 01:12:03.359
Caane killed Abel and it's been going on ever since.

1201
01:12:11.159 --> 01:12:15.600
All Right, I hope that was somewhat beneficial. I'm going

1202
01:12:15.640 --> 01:12:18.079
to go back and listen to some Yeah, no matter

1203
01:12:18.159 --> 01:12:19.560
what was going to happen today, I wasn't going to

1204
01:12:19.640 --> 01:12:21.239
be super happy with it, but I did the best

1205
01:12:21.279 --> 01:12:25.039
I could. And yeah, and again, please, I know I'm

1206
01:12:25.039 --> 01:12:29.199
gonna get emails and comments, and please keep your I'm

1207
01:12:29.239 --> 01:12:31.359
not telling you what to do. What I'm telling you

1208
01:12:31.479 --> 01:12:34.840
is just what Look, you do guns and you do

1209
01:12:34.880 --> 01:12:37.439
the NRA and Republicans, and you do everything you want

1210
01:12:37.439 --> 01:12:41.800
over there political your American Texan political ideology, you go

1211
01:12:41.920 --> 01:12:45.000
run wild. Where I get mad is when you come

1212
01:12:45.039 --> 01:12:46.880
over here and take the Bible and try to do

1213
01:12:46.960 --> 01:12:49.319
things with it. That's when I'm gonna get mad. That's

1214
01:12:49.319 --> 01:12:51.159
when I step in. Who wha, whoa, whoa, whoa whoa.

1215
01:12:51.279 --> 01:12:53.760
Keep your guns, but keep your hands off the Bible

1216
01:12:53.880 --> 01:12:56.760
and manipulating the text and twisting it and ripping it

1217
01:12:56.840 --> 01:12:59.680
out of any kind of context. And that's when I

1218
01:12:59.720 --> 01:13:03.199
get kicked off. You do whatever you want. I don't care.

1219
01:13:04.479 --> 01:13:08.039
Leave the Bible alone. Just admit you're gonna do what

1220
01:13:08.079 --> 01:13:11.319
you wanna do and you don't care. That's fine. We

1221
01:13:11.399 --> 01:13:14.119
all do that to some level. We all know what

1222
01:13:14.239 --> 01:13:17.359
the Bible says, and we all tend to live our

1223
01:13:17.399 --> 01:13:24.600
lives the way we want to. To some degree, we

1224
01:13:24.680 --> 01:13:27.560
all do the Bible says, be holy as he is.

1225
01:13:27.880 --> 01:13:29.960
You've never achieved that. You never come close to that,

1226
01:13:30.000 --> 01:13:32.119
and neither do I. So we always are living under

1227
01:13:32.159 --> 01:13:35.640
perpetual status sin. I'm not excusing anyone sin, just you

1228
01:13:35.720 --> 01:13:38.640
can't run to the Bible, twist it and do everything

1229
01:13:38.640 --> 01:13:40.920
you can do excuse what you want to do. Sometimes

1230
01:13:40.960 --> 01:13:42.680
you just got to be willing. Tomn Like, I don't

1231
01:13:42.680 --> 01:13:44.640
even know if this is consistent with the Bible, but

1232
01:13:44.720 --> 01:13:48.600
I know this. I'm not gonna change. And I'm walking low.

1233
01:13:49.479 --> 01:13:55.159
I've got my gun and I'm loaded and ready to go. Okay, Well,

1234
01:13:57.119 --> 01:13:59.560
carry wherever you want, go to Walmart carrying it, carry

1235
01:13:59.560 --> 01:14:01.439
it all all around, do whatever you want to do.

1236
01:14:01.520 --> 01:14:03.680
I'm not here to tell you what to do. Just

1237
01:14:03.800 --> 01:14:14.760
leave the Bible out of it, all right, Thanks for

1238
01:14:14.800 --> 01:14:16.960
listening everyone, Have a good evening. God bless