What do the supreme court ruling on guns and the martyrdom of missionaries have to do with each other?
Noël and I watched Beyond Gates of Splendor, the documentary version of End of the Spear, the story of the martyrdom of Jim Elliot, Peter Fleming, Ed McCully, Roger Youderian, and Nate Saint in Ecuador in 1956. That same day we heard that the Supreme Court decided in favor of the right of Americans to keep firearms at home for self-defense.
Here's the connection. The missionaries had guns when they were speared to death. One of them shot the gun into the air, it appears, as he was killed, rather than shooting the natives. They had agreed to do this. The reason was simple and staggeringly Christlike:
The natives are not ready for heaven. We are.
I suspect the same could be said for almost anyone who breaks into my house. There are other reasons why I have never owned a firearm and do not have one in my house. But that reason moves me deeply. I hope you don't use your economic stimulus check to buy a gun. Better to find some missionaries like this and support them.
3 comments:
So are you saying that you would not defend your wife and children if a rapist or murderer where in your home?
Where would our country be if everyone refused to protect themselves and others around them from those who have purposed to destroy?
No, I certainly would defend them, but I think Piper just makes a jarring point in the whole "they are not ready to go meet God yet" argument.
I had never thought it of like that. I think I am pro guns.
z
Francis,
I have never used a gun, and don't intend to. Although I happen to agree with the Supreme Court's ruling in this instance, if guns were banned, it would not bother me one bit (I can't say that I spend much time worrying about being attacked).
In my opinion, Piper makes an excellent point--a biblically-informed one, at that--that Christians would do well to keep in mind.
Again, I'm not opposed to people owning guns (after all, I don't intend to break into anyone's home or business, or commit any other crime). But, we should remember, gun ownership isn't a Christian duty or right. We certainly can't make a case for self-defense from Matthew 5:38-39. And, we're told by the Lord to "not fear those who kill the body, and after that have nothing more that they can do" (Luke 12:4). That's the point, isn't it? All they can do is kill you. Nothing more. They can't touch your soul.
Just a thought.
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