Evangelical ethicist David Gushee pens an anguished lament in the Associated Baptist Press, railing against opposition to common sense gun control and reports that gun sales increased in the wake of the Arizona shootings:
This is the classic definition of a vicious cycle — deeply enmeshed in a pattern of gun violence and deeply afraid of becoming victimized by gun violence, we buy more guns while loosening rather than tightening gun laws, thus actually increasing the chances that we or our loved ones will die a gun death.
All of which has to lead to the conclusion that there is a spiritual reality underneath this social sickness. Is it too much to say that we are in the grip of “principalities and powers” that delight in the suffering they incite us to inflict on one another?
Meanwhile, at the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention, guns are pushed aside as a real issue to debate. Shannon Royce writes that the tragedy “is not about ideologies, parties or guns. At its core this is an issue of how we help those who suffer serious brain disorders.”
But other religious folks would care to differ with that, and seem to be more in the Gushee camp. Faiths United to Prevent Gun Violence, launched yesterday, is an interfaith group of 24 organizations advocating for “effective public policy measures” to prevent gun violence, including closing gun show loopholes and banning large capacity ammunition magazines, such as the one used by the Arizona shooter. According to a statement released by the group, its “member organizations will call upon their local congregations in every state to rally support for gun violence prevention policies and reach out to other faith organizations to join the effort.”
