THE NEW COMMUNITY JOURNAL
FRIDAY MARCH 8, 2013
Is The Second Amendment More Important Than The Bible?
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the American citizenry. The assumption of the second amendment was that it was created for White Male land owners and not for the people that White Male landowners had oppressed themselves, Native American and African Americans. We should also not forget that any time that African Americans, in particular, sought to exercise their second amendment rights, such as in the case of Nat Turner of the 19th Century or the Black Panthers in the mid 1960’s, some of the same advocates for gun rights today were
By Bishop Andy C. Lewter, D. Min. Nobody who has watched television, listened to the radio or read a newspaper over the last several weeks can say that the debate over gun control is not front and center. Without a doubt, this issue has consumed more ink, airtime and space than any other issue in recent memory. On the one hand, we have advocates of the second amendment who feel strongly that any attempt to limit, or even monitor the movement of fire arms is an infringement on the rights guaranteed by the American Constitution and the Second Amendment. While on the other hand, those who have lost loved ones over armed violence, whether its Newtown, CT, Aurora, CO or the city of Chicago, IL feel that the time has come for the government to take definitive action in response to what seemingly appears to be a social epidemic in our country. Those of us in the faith community are in a real dilemma and are torn between two opinions that swing between American rights and violent mayhem. When the American Constitution was drafted it was at a time when the country had just defeated one of the most powerful empires in all of human history, The British Empire. Few people worldwide would have given the American Colonies any chance of defeating the more powerful and experience British military who had expanded their holdings and territory in the 18th century to the point that it was said that the Sun did not set on the British Empire. It is true and without a doubt that the ability of American Colonist to be competitive and combat British forces was because the Colonial Militia were not forced to face British soldiers with pitchforks and shovels, but rather with weapons that were the equal of the soldiers that they were meeting on the field of battle. As a result, birthed in the core of Colonial thinking was the attitude that “the right to bear arms” was absolutely necessary to repel oppressive attempts to subjugate the general public. Early Americans were not convinced at the close of the War for Independence that they had faced the tyranny and attacks of Great Britain and that the only defense that they, the colonialist, had against such actions from across the sea was the permanent ability for local citizens to take up arms for themselves. The thinking at the time was that the newly created American government was too new and fragile to seriously protect American citizens from any attack from a foreign power. In recent years, there has been less concern about defending local citizens from foreign powers and a greater concern that local citizens have to defend themselves from the American government itself. It should be pointed out that back then as well as now the cry for gun rights and any other rights for that matter did not include all of NASSAU COUNTY EDITION
quick to outlaw and take away those gun rights for those persons whom they considered to be a threat to the peace and tranquility of society. But members of the faith community have another problem, in addition to that of history. That challenge has to do with what the Bible says in contrast to what the Second Amendment says. In the final hours of Jesus’ life he is physically apprehended in the Garden of Gethsemane. Startled and surprised, Peter, the chief disciple of Jesus overtakes one of the soldiers, obtains his sword and proceeds to cut off the ear of the soldier he has overtaken. Before he is able to do more injury and harm, Jesus instructs him to put up the sword because “he who lives by the sword shall die by the sword”. At the very foundation of who Christians are is the historic assumption that God intended his people to be non-violent and resist any efforts to take up arms. On another occasion Jesus says to his disciples, “Blessed are the peacemakers”. It is this Christo-centric understanding of what the Bible says and what the Bible means that guided the actions of Dr. Martin Luther King to call for “passive resistance” any the face of obvious mistreatment and the need for self-defense against racism and bigoted behavior on the part of the Ku Klux Klan and other White Supremist groups. In the end, there is no practical reason for any assault weapon, or any other weapon designed for combat, to be found on the streets of our country where they can be used to terrorize and take the lives of innocent people. While being fully aware that it is not guns that kill people, but people do, we as a faith community still have a responsibility to place what Jesus said and what the Bible teaches, above any document drafted by men, even if that document is the American Constitution. PAGE 8