God, Guns, and Goofiness

Escaping from an out-of-control discussion on my Facebook page on well-regulated gun rights (calm down, nobody is taking away your hunting, target, even self-defense guns). I am actually pleased that the principal gun advocate in that discussion has referred to the "puppet masters" leading the morally corrupt liberal mob, and of course, tied the whole discussion to:

. . . it is about a sick society that denies faith in God, promotes violence, immorality, self absorbsion [sic], instant gratification, and a free lunch

The last refuge of a scoundrel is to pull the "God" card. So here I go. You are free to choose to believe whatever you want but here's my own big picture view of what is going on here.

With regard to "puppet masters," I see them more as the military-industrial complex and the NRA that promote guns and weapons of death for profit - the first human sin (not sex, by the way). It was the murder of Abel by his brother Cain because he had been taught the Master Mahan principle - "your life becomes my property" as Hugh Nibley put it. It is the same principle as the Divine Right of Kings and Slavery. 

It reminds me of the Good Lord who never promoted arming for self-defense or overthrowing the Romans or anything like that. Rather, it was "render unto Caesar" and live by the sword, die by the sword. I think it doesn't take too much of a stretch on original intent to replace "sword" with "gun." Besides, the First Amendment uses the generic "arms" anyway. 

Anonymous D has started a discussion with me with one good point I will share already that the well-regulated militia in the Second Amendment was intended to establish a citizen militia rather than a standing army - which we now have of course for good or ill. So I wonder why we would even need a well-regulated militia? I also now see a possible connection with the Third Amendment about the oppression (of a king) to quarter troops in private homes. We don't do that at all any more, so the Third Amendment seems rather moot. Except that we do have that military-industrial complex that Ike warned us about. We pay a lot to government contractors to house our standing army in expensive military bases all over the world! (and W. Bush and Rove thought it fine to borrow money for this because "deficits don't matter."

But whatever the Second Amendment means, the conservative linkage of God and Guns bothers me. I know  I have lots of things to repent of, but I offer my conservative friends this little reminder from the Good Lord Himself. He was concerned about the unrighteousness of the people around him who thought they were "special" and the "righteous of the righteous." And I think He was also concerned about their condemnation of others who didn't meet up to their standards:

Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone.

Ye blind guides, which strain at a gnat, and swallow a camel.

Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess.

Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also.

Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men’s bones, and of all uncleanness.

Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity.

Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because ye build the tombs of the prophets, and garnish the sepulchres of the righteous,

And say, If we had been in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets.

Wherefore ye be witnesses unto yourselves, that ye are the children of them which killed the prophets.

Fill ye up then the measure of your fathers.

Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell?

Wherefore, behold, I send unto you prophets, and wise men, and scribes: and some of them ye shall kill and crucify; and some of them shall ye scourge in your synagogues, and persecute them from city to city: 

That upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zacharias son of Barachias, whom ye slew between the temple and the altar.  Matthew 23:23-35 KJV.

So, the Lord was still concerned about that murder of Abel - probably all those young children in Connecticut too. Life before property rights - or weird "rights" to kill others.

Oh, and by the way, way to go New York!

Addendum:
January 16, 2013
Here's the link to the article Karen referenced below.

Addendum:
January 17, 2013
And, for more about Guns & God with less Goofiness, click here.