Gun Control vs. Alcohol Abstinence

There are many in the SBC who are quite adamant about abstaining from alcohol consumption and making sure that everyone else is forced to abandon this God-given gift and right despite what Jesus and the rest of the Scriptures so teach.

I began to think of all those Southern Baptists that I know who are all gung-ho about enforcing complete alcohol abstinence upon every living Christian leader, etc. What many of these particular Southern Baptists have a common interest: they all really like GUNS.

So I began to think about this: what are the arguments for Southern Baptist leaders, trustees, seminary presidents and professors, pastors and seminary students abstaining from the use and ownership of guns.

1) While the Bible mention that it is okay to use alcohol, the Bible does not say that it is okay to use guns.

2) While the Bible teaches that alcohol consumption should be done in moderation, the Bible and Jesus in particular are very clear that non-violence should be life of a Christian (Matt 5:38-39).

3) Of course, if alcohol is properly used then a person enjoys this natural gift from God. If a man-made gun is properly used the something either gets hurt or dies.

4) Jesus drank alcohol, but would Jesus carry a gun? Prince of Peace, anyone? (Isaiah 9:6)

5) In fact, the whole gospel message is antithetical to using guns. But that, of course, is just what the Bible says and, as we now know since the recent SBC in Greensboro, is a relative and cultural document which has very little to say about how we should behave today.

6) In a society torn apart by violence both in reality and in Hollywood films, shouldn’t Southern Baptists make a good example by abstaining from the use and ownership of guns?

7) Of course, the 2nd Amendment to the U.S. Constitution guarantees a right to have a gun (and for many Southern Baptists, that is a better source than the Bible if my recent experience at the Greensboro SBC is any indication). But, of course, the 21st Amendment to the U.S. Constitution guarantees a right to have a drink, so what are Southern Baptists to think?

8) Then there are the facts:

In the U.S. for 2001, there were 29,573 deaths from firearms, distributed as follows by mode of death: Suicide 16,869; Homicide 11,348; Accident 802; Legal Intervention 323; Undetermined 231. This makes firearms injuries one of the top ten causes of death in the U.S.

The number of non-fatal injuries is considerable--over 200,000 per year in the U.S. Many of these injuries require hospitalization and trauma care. A 1994 study revealed the cost per injury requiring admission to a trauma center was over $14,000. The cumulative lifetime cost in 1985 for gunshot wounds was estimated to be $911 million, with $13.4 billion in lost productivity.

The rates of firearms deaths in the U.S. vary significantly by race and sex. The U.S. national average was 10.3 deaths per 100,000 population in 2001. The highest rate was 34.5/100,000 for African-American males, more than double the rate of 16.3/100,000 for white males and well above the rate of 2.7/100,000 for white females.

In one survey, 10% of families admitted to having unlocked and loaded firearms within easy reach of children. Another study showed that two-thirds of accidental firearms injuries occurred in the home, and one-third involved children under 15. 45% were self-inflicted, and 16% occurred when children were playing with guns. A study from 1991-2000 showed that twice as many people died from unintentional firearm injuries in states in the U.S. where firearm owners were more likely to store their firearms loaded.

The issue of "home defense" or protection against intruders may well be misrepresented. Of 626 shootings in or around a residence in three U.S. cities revealed that, for every time a gun in the home was used in a self-defense or legally justifiable shooting, there were four unintentional shootings, seven criminal assaults or homicides, and 11 attempted or completed suicides. Over 50% of all households in the U.S. admit to having firearms. It would appear that, rather than being used for defense, most of these weapons inflict injuries on the owners and their families.

Hunting accidents with firearms, despite the large gun ownership in this country and numerous game seasons in most states, remain relatively rare and do not appear to be increasing. A study in Sweden indicated a rate of 0.074/100,000 and that, when hunting big game, most accidents resulted from a mistaken target. When hunting small game, accidents occurred most frequently as a result of mishandling the gun. Hunting accidents did not increase with increasing gun ownership or numbers of hunters.

9) Certainly guns are far more dangerous that alcohol. Those millions of people who died in WWI, WWII, the Korean and Vietnam Wars, Desert Storm, the Cold War, the Killing Fields of Cambodia and in Rwanda did not die of one too many gin and tonics.

10) Certainly no tragic industry was supported by the selling and buying of swords. This latter point is crucial for the believer. A believer in no way can justify gun-ownership if thereby he is contributing to the sustenance of an industry responsible for two-thirds of the violent deaths, most crimes, and untold millions of dollars in damage to private property. Such would violate all laws in the Bible, and especially the Corinthian principle on the effect of your choices and actions on you: “All things are lawful for me, but all things are not helpful: all things are lawful for me, but not all things edify” (1 Corinthians 10:23).

God has called us to be set apart, to be bringers of peace. How can we claim to be followers of the Prince of Peace in a world of gun violence when we will not even lay down our own weapons?

I submit that we Southern Baptists (who are Scripturally obliged to consume alcoholic beverages) should seek to abstain from using or even possessing guns (which we are not Scripturally obliged to use or own).

I challenge anyone to show me the superior wisdom of using or owning guns as opposed to not using or owning guns at all. This is not legalism but love. This is not being anti-biblical but pro-brother and sister. This is not working for evil but for good. Given the world in which we live, I believe such a lifestyle honors the Lord Jesus. I believe it pleases Him. Without question, it is the wise thing to do.

Remember:

“A violent man enticeth his neighbour, and leadeth him into the way that is not good.” (Pro 16:29)

"You send rain on the mountains from your heavenly home, and you fill the earth with the fruit of your labor. You cause grass to grow for the cattle. You cause plants to grow for people to use. You allow them to produce food from the earth; wine to make them glad, olive oil as lotion for their skin, and bread to give them strength." (Ps 104:13-15)