Is the right to bear arms God-given? That question was posed to 25 attendees at the National Rife Association’s national convention in Dallas, Texas this past weekend. The second part of the question, for those who said yes to the first part, was could the person identify a place in the Bible to support that claim. The attendees included NRA members and other participants, such as vendors who worked in the booths or were there in similar capacities.
Not surprisingly, all the NRA people who responded to the question indicated strongly that they believed the right to bear arms was a fundamental right, but fewer than half of them knew it was God-ordained and, of those, only a couple indicated they knew of any place in the Bible that affirmed the right to bear arms.
After answering, all who participated were shown a slip of paper with the following:
Luke 11:21 — “When a strong man armed keepeth his palace, his goods are in peace.”
Luke 22:36 — “Then said He unto them, But now, he that hath a purse, let him take it, and likewise his scrip; and he that hath no sword, let him sell his garment and buy one.”
The New American writers then visited a tent near the convention center where four anti-gun protesters were holding a prayer vigil. Unlike the day before, the participants were not willing to be interviewed this day. The New American writers furnished them with a copy of the Scripture quotations above. Also, because one of the prayer protesters introduced herself to The New American writers as a Rabbi the day before, she was offered an opportunity to discuss her opinion of the effects that gun control had on the Jewish people in Nazi Germany via a copy of Stephen P. Halbrook’s Gun Control in the Third Reich. She, like the other prayer-protesters, declined to participate.
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A study of American history clearly shows America was founded on Judeo-Christian principles. It was well understood in early America that our rights came from God — and that the U.S. Constitution, as well as the constitutions of the states, were not the sources of our rights, but rather the written guarantees of rights that had been granted by God. The book Political Sermons of the American Founding Era, edited by Ellis Sandoz, contains a copy of the tract “Defensive Arms Vindicated and the Lawfulness of the American War Made Manifest.” This tract, believed by many to have been authored by Stephen Case, has a reference to biblical justification for the use of arms when principles are involved. It states,
There is a command given by the blessed Jesus to his disciples, to provide themselves with weapons for their defence [sic] against them that should attempt their lives, as well as with other things necessary for their sustenance. Luke xxii, 36. Now he that hath a purse, let him take it, and likewise his scrip; and he that hath no sword, let him sell his garment and buy one.
It is a sad commentary on the loss of God-given rights in America to note how little is known by the American people regarding the sources and backgrounds of our rights. Why is it that the churches are either not noticing or noticing but not acting? John Birch Society CEO Arthur Thompson wrote in the November 2015 JBS Bulletin:
In your opinion, what would be the most potent aspect of American society that could be used against the conspiracy? We offer the answer of religion. The illuminati began infiltrating religion in America no later than 1785.
Thompson added:
Look around you. In the beginning of our country, the pastors of America were very active in politics. Today, even to speak from the pulpit against government evil is asking most pastors to do something they find very uncomfortable. Why? We believe the answer rests in the seminaries. Conservative seminaries taught that pastors should not get involved in politics for many reasons, while the liberal or even communist-controlled seminaries taught exactly the opposite.
The results of this informal survey at the NRA National Convention are in agreement with Thompson’s assessment of how many of the churches of America have been neutralized.
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