Questions Not for the Faint Hearted

It's June 22, and about a week and few days out from a mass shooting in Orlando Florida which claimed 49 lives at a nightclub.  Headlines for awhile.  Here in Kansas we've had a shooting recently at a manufacturing plant in Hesston.  And always, the subject of gun control comes around.

I, frankly, am not on either side of this issue.  I can see both sides, and I lean both directions, depending.  I am a partner in life with a man who is solidly in favor of no gun control, so we have had some interesting discussions.  I have a feeling we will never agree on this issue, so we try not to get into it very often.

Gun control is a complex issue, but often both sides will make statements which "nutshell" their positions and appear to offer platitudes regarding what we need to do.  Christians who expound on this topic, either sharing on Facebook or writing blogs or writing articles for Christian journals have widely varying opinions ranging from making all arms available to anyone who wants to buy them to outlawing all firearms everywhere.  And each side uses the Bible and the teachings of Jesus to make their respective points, which I find interesting.  Questions I've never been able to settle for myself on this issue include the following:  The constitution states we have a right to bear arms, but which arms?  Does that include me getting a cannon if my neighbor has a cannon and points it at my house?  Are semi-automatic/automatic guns used in hunting?  What is the purpose of a weapon of this nature?  Are there people better armed than what our police force is?  How would one in a practical way keep guns out of the hands of those who would misuse them, and who knows who that would be?  Would Jesus own a firearm?  If not, why do I need one?  If Jesus would own a firearm would He use it to kill someone if he was protecting a family member?  Would Jesus be a collector of guns? Would He kill a deer and eat it?  Owning a gun implies that you would use it in order to disarm/maim/kill someone who was threatening you in some way.  Can a person who is told to live at peace do that?

So there you go.  Questions about guns at 11:30pm.  I don't know what to do about undocumented immigrants ("illegal aliens") either, but it's too late to think about that.  Everything I think about and hold an opinion of has to go through my filter of - what does the Bible say, what would Jesus do, what do my Christian faith and values tell me, and how do I live as a resident of another kingdom but an alien here in this world - I'm someone who doesn't belong here - this is not my home.  But in the meantime, the question is, to quote philosopher and thinker Francis Schaeffer, "How Shall We Then Live?"