After two more mass-shootings last weekend (El Paso and Dayton), more innocent lives have been taken because of our inability as the American people to wrestle with the complex history of arms and rights here in our nation, and to take action that would minimize these sorts of events in which the lives of bystanders are taken. Within Christianity, although our scriptures say many things about violence, we have no distinctive Christian consensus on how to reduce gun violence .
I’m not one for banning guns altogether. Certain types of military weapons should be highly restricted, and we need tighter controls on who can access guns, and where they can do so. With the continuing death toll, I believe that this sort of sensible gun control is coming, but the lingering questions are when, and how many more innocent lives will be sacrificed before it does?
Here are some very helpful books for Christians that wrestle with the complex social and legal histories of guns and gun violence in America, and with the theological ramifications of our obsession with guns.
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Parkland. Las Vegas. Dallas. Orlando. San Bernardino. Paris. Charleston. Sutherland Springs. Newtown. These cities are now known for the people who were shot and killed in them. More Americans have died from guns in the US in the last fifty years than in all the wars in American history. With less than 5% of the world’s population, the people of the US own nearly half the world’s guns. America also has the most annual gun deaths–homicide, suicide, and accidental gun deaths–at 105 per day, or more than 38,000 per year. Some people say it’s a heart problem. Others say it’s a gun problem. The authors of Beating Guns believe it’s both. This book is for people who believe the world doesn’t have to be this way. Inspired by the prophetic image of beating swords into plows, Beating Guns provides a provocative look at gun violence in America and offers a clarion call to change our hearts regarding one of the most significant moral issues of our time. ^^^ Excerpt not readable on your device? Click the Google Books logo above to read on their site
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I am very disappointed, to say the least, to see such an unbalanced list of books on gun violence. I think your bias is showing.