This question is for everyone involved in any way – making, selling, buying, enabling, encouraging, Etc. the use of assault weapons for “personal” use. I mean – please!
Assault weapons are not for hunting. Especially when they’re in full automatic mode. That’s more like full mince-meat mode when hunting. There won’t be anything left to eat. And don’t even try to talk about “sport” – in any mode. There’s nothing “sporting” about it.
Assault weapons are not for target practice either. Unless the goal is to shred the target, it’s way overkill. And if you can’t hit a target with a fully automatic weapon – well – I don’t think we even need to go there.
And personal defense? Seriously? You’re claiming that you need an assault weapon – possibly fully automatic – for personal defense? Are you really going to keep it safely locked up, and then make it ready for an unexpected intruder – before you’re already overwhelmed by the intruder? Get real.
And then there’s the ever popular myth that we need it for something like the militias in Revolutionary War times. Honestly? Fully automatic assault weapons are among the least lethal weapons that the government can use against you if you’re planning something like that. Unless you’re like the guy in Texas who just brought over a WW II tank and parked it in his front yard – your fully automatic weapon isn’t going to help you. At all. Even the guy with the tank – is it really a match for someone sitting thousands of miles away – remote control flying an unmanned drone – carrying a GPS guided bomb?
There’s only one functional use for these weapons – to kill people. Lots of people. Quickly.
The religious right?
Things get weirder though. Those favoring our “right” to own, carry and use assault weapons – and fight to protect our right to make them fully automatic – are generally the Republicans, including the part that’s called the religious right.
Here are some questions for you if you’re in that group.
Do you really think the God you claim to believe in and follow would be pleased about the part you play in this whole assault weapon industry? Maybe you make them for sale to individuals. Maybe you sell them. Maybe you protect the right for people to have them – at the same time protecting our “right” to be killed by them? Maybe you own one, claiming one of the reasons above for having it. Would God be pleased with you?
Maybe it’s the money – not the actual weapon. You like the money you get from making, selling, “protecting” rights, whatever. Would God be pleased with you?
In the end
At some point, we all die.
At some point we all face Jesus.
Will it be a problem for you that there aren’t any assault weapons in Heaven? Actually – that question may not even be relevant. If assault weapons are as important to you as they seem to be to many people – maybe you’ll never make it to Heaven.
Another question. If you play a part in allowing, promoting, using assault weapons, when you face Jesus after your death – do you really expect Him to say (Mt 25:21 “His master replied,) ’Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’”
Or – are you not more likely to hear (Mt 7:21-23) “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’”
Conclusion
If you’re part of this assault weapon issue – allowing it to continue – whether you actively participate or passively do nothing to stop it – you’ve got one advantage over the people who’ve been killed by these weapons.
The ones who’ve died, in part because of your actions or non-actions, who were not saved – did not know Jesus – they’re doomed to Hell.
But you – you’re still alive. You still have a chance. You can still listen to these words from Jesus – and take them to heart –
Mt 4:17 … “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.”
I think it would be wise to define “assault weapon.” Full auto weapons have been illegal since 1986. The last year i could find info for, only 2% of homicides were caused by rifles of any kind. Semi-auto rifles and shotguns ARE used for hunting, I personally like them as it reduces recoil for my wimpy shoulders. Plus, it gives you the chance for a second shot as the dove flys away, something less likely with my pump shotgun – but they ARE also used for killing people at times, most often in mass shootings. So, I might agree with your blog, but without defining “assault weapon,” and making statements about target practice and hunting which may not be true, it needs more work before i can agree or disagree. It’s just confusing.
I wonder if you’re over thinking it. It’s vague on purpose. The idea is for the reader, especially one who believes in God, to examine what they are doing – and ask themselves whether they think God would be OK with that – and would He even say “Well done, good and faithful servant!” If I get too specific, then it offers an excuse for someone to say – :this doesn’t apply to me, so I don’t need to think about it”.
OK, a great question to ask. But, for us gun owners, the term “assault weapon” carries a lot of baggage, as it isn’t a gun term, but a news term. It seems to mean a semi-automatic firearm with a couple add-ons, like an adjustable stock or handle. Mostly it seems to mean “a black mean looking gun.” AS a result, instead of getting us to ask the question “would God be OK with that,” it makes us ask the question, “would God be OK with what, exactly?” Maybe the question is what is wise for self-defense, how do we defend our families, at what point are we losing trust in God, a lot of deep stuff you have uncovered here. As for no weapons in Heaven, Jesus comes back on a white horse with a double edged sword, the deadliest weapon in His day. Rather semi-auto if you think about it. Of course, I assume we will need none once He is done setting up His kingdom, but it looks like He and his angelic armies have weapons in Heaven now. An odd thought….
I don’t want to get into me defining any of the details and make room for a way out for someone. It’s quite simple – do you think God would be OK with what you’re doing in this area? It’s not my definition of anything. It’s a self-examination question – an opportunity to see if your beliefs match the way you live. That’s all. It’s between the reader and the God each reader claims to believe.
A knife a club ,car plane, train well anything you use to assault with can be an assault weapon. Thousands more are killed and injured by knives and other weapons than by law abiding citizens what are you doing about that?? And cars 10000 yearly by drunk drivers
Hi – thanks for your comment. But, I need to turn your question back to you, since the point was for the reader to think about it. Do you think those things you listed will be used, for those purposes, in Heaven? After all, the goal was to imagine the differences between this life and life in Heaven.