Do Guns Cause Crime?

    Many people claim that Jesus Christ taught pacifism, and they use this claim to promote gun control. The people that do this, however, are wrong. Jesus did not teach pacifism; he taught righteous personal conduct. The Bible, in fact, actually preaches against gun control, or, at least, preaches against the disarmament of law-abiding citizens.

    It makes sense, of course, to start at the beginning, and, thus, Genesis comes to mind. In the fourth chapter of Genesis, Cain offers a poor sacrifice to God while his brother, Abel, offers only the best of his crops to the Lord. Rather than getting right with God by giving a proper offering, he slays his brother. Common knowledge dictates that there was no gun to be used for that particular murder, but there may well have been a knife or a rock, though the Good Book does not say.

    The Bible tells, in Genesis 9, how God decided to deal with Cain’s guilt. Cain’s punishment was banishment from his home, but the Bible says nothing about banning the murder weapon. The reason for this is simply common sense. Whether Cain used a rock or a knife does not matter, for both are inanimate objects and do not do anything except lay still until someone picks them up for use.

    Both of those are tied together, and both are excellent examples of how the Bible does not teach gun control. People tend to misquote the Bible, and this can become unfortunate in certain cases. A good example of this would be the Sixth Commandment, which is often misquoted as saying, "Thou shalt not kill." That, however, is not entirely true, as the bible does allow for self-defense. That Commandment actually says, "Thou shalt not murder."

    There is a tremendous difference between killing someone in self-defense and murdering them in cold blood. Even the Good book recognizes this fact as Exodus 22:2-3 shows:

        If a thief is found breaking in and he is struck so that he          dies, there shall be no guilt for his bloodshed. But if the sun           has risen on him, there shall be guilt for his bloodshed. He          should make full restitution; if he has nothing, he shall be           sold for his theft.

    These verses essentially explain that an intruder can be killed at night because he cannot be identified later. IF, however, it is daytime, his death shall be a crime because he could have been taken alive and identified later.

    Defense of one's self is not the only thing the Bible supports. The Good Book also supports the defense of one's family, as 1st Timothy shows in chapter five:

        But if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for          those in his own household, he has denied the faith worse than           an unbeliever has.

    Providing for one's own not only includes ensuring that they are fed, clothed, and sheltered, but also includes allowing for their health and their defense. It is nearly impossible to defend one's family from an armed attacker if the defender is unarmed (with, of course, exception of those who are trained in the martial arts).

    As a matter of fact, anyone who will not arm themselves because they believe God will protect them is apparently uniformed as to the contents of Matthew 4:7 which states, "It is written again, 'You shall not tempt the lord your God.'" This could easily be taken to mean that if one does not arm himself, God will force an attacker upon them to teach a lesson.

    Back to the claim that Jesus taught pacifism, it is time to defuse that particular bombshell. The Book of Luke, chapter 22 shows the words Jesus spoke in verse 36, which went something like:

        But now he who has a moneybag, let him take it and likewise a          sack; and he who has no sword, let him sell his garment and buy           one.

    Christ told his followers to go buy the best defensive weapon of that time, which happened to be a sword. One should keep in mind, though, that Christ does not tell the followers to use the weapons, but to have them in the case that they are needed.

    The Bible even states that a determined people, though lacking the most high tech of weapons can and will fight for their rights. The 13th chapter of 1st Samuel, for example, tells of how the Philistines had banned blacksmiths from the land of the Israelites to keep them disarmed. Though they had not "sword nor spear," the Israelites still managed to rebel against their oppressors. Without the "assault weapon" of their times, the were forced to use plowshares and sickles. The fact remains, however, that the militia army of the Israelites did still rebel.

    It also becomes apparent that God is not necessarily against war if the cause is righteous. Moses, for example, said, in chapter 31 of Numbers, "Arm some of yourselves for war and let them go against the Midianites to take vengeance for the Lord on Midian."

    Another example of God expecting the people to defend themselves comes from Nehemiah. While the workers were rebuilding the walls of Jericho, every man was instructed to arm himself. With that order, every man girded a sword at his side as he worked on the wall.