How The Religious Right’s Second Amendment Rhetoric Has Pervaded The Gun Debate

BY Herschel Smith
5 years, 12 months ago

RightWingWatch:

Earlier today, Kyle wrote about right-wing pastor Chuck Baldwin’s recent assertion that it is a “biblical requirement” that every person own an assault weapon like an AR-15 and that Christians who don’t do so “have denied the Christian faith.”

Baldwin’s comments were eyebrow-raising, but fit in a pattern of the Religious Right’s attempts to rewrite American history and reinterpret the Bible to argue that not only the Constitution but God Himself requires unrestricted access to weapons of war.

We’ve put together a video showing some people who have made this argument, from Gordon Klingenschmitt, who insists the Bible says “all the citizens ought to be armed so they can defend themselves against left wing crazies,” to Family Research Council official Jerry Boykin, who has said that when Jesus returns he’ll be carrying an AR-15.

And of course the video includes David Barton, the Religious Right’s favorite purveyor of bogus historical arguments, claiming that the Founding Fathers called the Second Amendment “the biblical right of self defense.” (Barton also believes that the Second Amendment guarantees every citizen’s right to own a fighter jet.)

As Americans debate gun law reform after the mass shooting at a Florida school earlier this year, the Religious Right’s influence on the conservative movement’s rhetoric about guns is often overlooked. But as the NRA’s Wayne LaPierre made clear when he spoke at CPAC this year about the unrestricted right to bear arms being “granted by God to all Americans as our American birthright,” the Religious Right’s language on guns has become a pervasive part of the Right’s rhetoric around the Second Amendment.

Well, Mr. Baldwin wasn’t careful enough.  I’d say that defense of home and family is a Biblical requirement, but I wouldn’t say that the Scriptures dictate what weapon you use.  We mustn’t go past the Holy Writ in our pronouncements.

As for the notion that the founders believed that self defense was a Biblical idea, they certainly did.  We’ve seen already how the Calvinian doctrine of covenant was pervasive in the founders’ charges against the King and the early days of the colonies.  All this “Right Wing Watch” has to do is a little study and they can come up with something better than this silly article.  We have also seen how the Scriptures support, and even demand self defense as the apex of obedience to God’s law of love.

So if you need scholarship, don’t turn to something like the Right Wing Watch, whatever that is.  Hey, now that I think about it, how do I draw the attention of these creeps?


Comments

  1. On April 4, 2018 at 8:13 am, Fred said:

    I don’t know, Herschel, This seems like pretty sound reasoning to me:

    “a duty to provide for your family, but you cannot provide protection for your family without being equipped to do so.”…“Therefore, you must have the means of self-defense,” Baldwin said. “And in our society today, that means a firearm in the similitude of an AR-15. Without that, you are not in a position, you are not even able to protect not just your family and your house, but your neighbors, your community around you; that we, as a community of people—that’s the militia—are given the God-given responsibility to protect our communities. That is a biblical requirement.”

    Jesus didn’t say to the apostles to sell their coat for a mace or a garrote or a sling shot, He told them to get the common and most practical weapon of defense of that day, a sword. I think Pastor Baldwin does a fair job of explaining the responsibilities of a thinking man in todays America. The “not even able to protect” without an AR is a little hyperbole so yeah, there’s that. But he’s not a gun guy nor self defense advocate, he’s a pastor and political commentator. I use a rifle at home although it’s not my primary waking hours weapon. So I concede your point there, with qualifiers.

    He has also said that “When the AR-15 is outlawed, I will be an outlaw.” I’m certain that you’re pretty good with that statement, no?

    If you’re new to guns or self defense and this seems like a dumb inside argument, you’re right, it is. As 2A activists and self defense advocates we never tell somebody who is compelled to say, take karate, that they should get a gun instead but I would point out the advantages of a stand off weapon. So, if you feel a need for a certain type of defense training we say that you should pursue it. Start where you are.

    The writer of the article however, thinks his readers are retarded. He throws out so much misdirection, mis-information, and half truths in a few short paragraphs it’s simply stunning. He should move right up the gubmint propagandist ladder rather quickly I would think.

  2. On April 4, 2018 at 9:34 am, Herschel Smith said:

    But Fred,

    What if a man doesn’t happen to like the idea of shooting a rifle inside the house and opts instead for a fatter, slower round like the .45 ACP shot from an FN .45 tactical flat dark earth finish with a tac light on the rail?

  3. On April 4, 2018 at 10:40 am, Fred said:

    NOT nearly tacticool enough. Try again, sir. It’s neither scary, nor black, nor does it have a shoulder thingy, and I would always recommend a rail mounted rusty chainsaw especially for beginners.

    All joking aside guess what the right gun is? It’s the gun that YOU feel comfortable with, it’s the gun the fits YOUR hand, it’s the gun that YOU love enough to practice with regularly, it’s the gun that YOU trust enough to leave chambered always, it’s the gun that by God’s grace YOU never have to use but that YOU are willing to deploy.

    A man shouldn’t like the idea of shooting anything in the house but Cain killed Able and here we are.

  4. On April 4, 2018 at 11:05 am, moe mensale said:

    “So if you need scholarship, don’t turn to something like the Right Wing Watch, whatever that is.”

    Right Wing Watch is a socialist website dedicated to exposing us deplorable, intolerant, extremist, bible reading, gun owning dirt peoples. :)

  5. On April 4, 2018 at 11:07 am, Herschel Smith said:

    @moe,

    Outstanding! Now they know who I am. I invite the traffic. It gives me more Google power.

  6. On April 4, 2018 at 1:31 pm, H said:

    I know you don’t share this opinion, but I can see America being harshly judged for so pervasively adopting a direct impingement design….

  7. On April 4, 2018 at 1:35 pm, Herschel Smith said:

    @H,

    Oh poppycock and balderdash! Mine works fine, and it does so hundreds and hundreds of rounds before cleaning. The problem always has to do with poor machining tolerances, weak buffer springs and poorly made BCGs.

    ; – )

  8. On April 4, 2018 at 8:31 pm, Ned said:

    H – is this what you mean? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kzfm4pYhIyY

  9. On April 4, 2018 at 8:37 pm, Ned said:

    Or this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xlL-uRkJ0yA

  10. On April 4, 2018 at 10:57 pm, Ned said:

    To be fair, this one ran much better: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EwSJiAwoMpY

RSS feed for comments on this post. TrackBack URL

Leave a comment


You are currently reading "How The Religious Right’s Second Amendment Rhetoric Has Pervaded The Gun Debate", entry #18936 on The Captain's Journal.

This article is filed under the category(s) Religion and was published April 3rd, 2018 by Herschel Smith.

If you're interested in what else the The Captain's Journal has to say, you might try thumbing through the archives and visiting the main index, or; perhaps you would like to learn more about TCJ.

26th MEU (10)
Abu Muqawama (12)
ACOG (2)
ACOGs (1)
Afghan National Army (36)
Afghan National Police (17)
Afghanistan (704)
Afghanistan SOFA (4)
Agriculture in COIN (3)
AGW (1)
Air Force (40)
Air Power (10)
al Qaeda (83)
Ali al-Sistani (1)
America (22)
Ammunition (275)
Animals (282)
Ansar al Sunna (15)
Anthropology (3)
Antonin Scalia (1)
AR-15s (373)
Arghandab River Valley (1)
Arlington Cemetery (2)
Army (86)
Assassinations (2)
Assault Weapon Ban (28)
Australian Army (7)
Azerbaijan (4)
Backpacking (2)
Badr Organization (8)
Baitullah Mehsud (21)
Basra (17)
BATFE (218)
Battle of Bari Alai (2)
Battle of Wanat (18)
Battle Space Weight (3)
Bin Laden (7)
Blogroll (3)
Blogs (24)
Body Armor (23)
Books (3)
Border War (18)
Brady Campaign (1)
Britain (38)
British Army (35)
Camping (5)
Canada (17)
Castle Doctrine (1)
Caucasus (6)
CENTCOM (7)
Center For a New American Security (8)
Charity (3)
China (16)
Christmas (16)
CIA (30)
Civilian National Security Force (3)
Col. Gian Gentile (9)
Combat Outposts (3)
Combat Video (2)
Concerned Citizens (6)
Constabulary Actions (3)
Coolness Factor (3)
COP Keating (4)
Corruption in COIN (4)
Council on Foreign Relations (1)
Counterinsurgency (218)
DADT (2)
David Rohde (1)
Defense Contractors (2)
Department of Defense (210)
Department of Homeland Security (26)
Disaster Preparedness (5)
Distributed Operations (5)
Dogs (15)
Donald Trump (27)
Drone Campaign (4)
EFV (3)
Egypt (12)
El Salvador (1)
Embassy Security (1)
Enemy Spotters (1)
Expeditionary Warfare (17)
F-22 (2)
F-35 (1)
Fallujah (17)
Far East (3)
Fathers and Sons (2)
Favorite (1)
Fazlullah (3)
FBI (39)
Featured (189)
Federal Firearms Laws (18)
Financing the Taliban (2)
Firearms (1,758)
Football (1)
Force Projection (35)
Force Protection (4)
Force Transformation (1)
Foreign Policy (27)
Fukushima Reactor Accident (6)
Ganjgal (1)
Garmsir (1)
general (15)
General Amos (1)
General James Mattis (1)
General McChrystal (44)
General McKiernan (6)
General Rodriguez (3)
General Suleimani (9)
Georgia (19)
GITMO (2)
Google (1)
Gulbuddin Hekmatyar (1)
Gun Control (1,633)
Guns (2,298)
Guns In National Parks (3)
Haditha Roundup (10)
Haiti (2)
HAMAS (7)
Haqqani Network (9)
Hate Mail (8)
Hekmatyar (1)
Heroism (4)
Hezbollah (12)
High Capacity Magazines (16)
High Value Targets (9)
Homecoming (1)
Homeland Security (3)
Horses (2)
Humor (72)
Hunting (31)
ICOS (1)
IEDs (7)
Immigration (106)
India (10)
Infantry (4)
Information Warfare (4)
Infrastructure (4)
Intelligence (23)
Intelligence Bulletin (6)
Iran (171)
Iraq (379)
Iraq SOFA (23)
Islamic Facism (64)
Islamists (98)
Israel (19)
Jaish al Mahdi (21)
Jalalabad (1)
Japan (3)
Jihadists (81)
John Nagl (5)
Joint Intelligence Centers (1)
JRTN (1)
Kabul (1)
Kajaki Dam (1)
Kamdesh (9)
Kandahar (12)
Karachi (7)
Kashmir (2)
Khost Province (1)
Khyber (11)
Knife Blogging (7)
Korea (4)
Korengal Valley (3)
Kunar Province (20)
Kurdistan (3)
Language in COIN (5)
Language in Statecraft (1)
Language Interpreters (2)
Lashkar-e-Taiba (2)
Law Enforcement (6)
Lawfare (14)
Leadership (6)
Lebanon (6)
Leon Panetta (2)
Let Them Fight (2)
Libya (14)
Lines of Effort (3)
Littoral Combat (8)
Logistics (50)
Long Guns (1)
Lt. Col. Allen West (2)
Marine Corps (280)
Marines in Bakwa (1)
Marines in Helmand (67)
Marjah (4)
MEDEVAC (2)
Media (67)
Medical (146)
Memorial Day (6)
Mexican Cartels (41)
Mexico (61)
Michael Yon (6)
Micromanaging the Military (7)
Middle East (1)
Military Blogging (26)
Military Contractors (5)
Military Equipment (25)
Militia (9)
Mitt Romney (3)
Monetary Policy (1)
Moqtada al Sadr (2)
Mosul (4)
Mountains (25)
MRAPs (1)
Mullah Baradar (1)
Mullah Fazlullah (1)
Mullah Omar (3)
Musa Qala (4)
Music (25)
Muslim Brotherhood (6)
Nation Building (2)
National Internet IDs (1)
National Rifle Association (95)
NATO (15)
Navy (30)
Navy Corpsman (1)
NCOs (3)
News (1)
NGOs (3)
Nicholas Schmidle (2)
Now Zad (19)
NSA (3)
NSA James L. Jones (6)
Nuclear (62)
Nuristan (8)
Obama Administration (221)
Offshore Balancing (1)
Operation Alljah (7)
Operation Khanjar (14)
Ossetia (7)
Pakistan (165)
Paktya Province (1)
Palestine (5)
Patriotism (7)
Patrolling (1)
Pech River Valley (11)
Personal (72)
Petraeus (14)
Pictures (1)
Piracy (13)
Pistol (4)
Pizzagate (21)
Police (648)
Police in COIN (3)
Policy (15)
Politics (969)
Poppy (2)
PPEs (1)
Prisons in Counterinsurgency (12)
Project Gunrunner (20)
PRTs (1)
Qatar (1)
Quadrennial Defense Review (2)
Quds Force (13)
Quetta Shura (1)
RAND (3)
Recommended Reading (14)
Refueling Tanker (1)
Religion (491)
Religion and Insurgency (19)
Reuters (1)
Rick Perry (4)
Rifles (1)
Roads (4)
Rolling Stone (1)
Ron Paul (1)
ROTC (1)
Rules of Engagement (75)
Rumsfeld (1)
Russia (37)
Sabbatical (1)
Sangin (1)
Saqlawiyah (1)
Satellite Patrols (2)
Saudi Arabia (4)
Scenes from Iraq (1)
Second Amendment (668)
Second Amendment Quick Hits (2)
Secretary Gates (9)
Sharia Law (3)
Shura Ittehad-ul-Mujahiden (1)
SIIC (2)
Sirajuddin Haqqani (1)
Small Wars (72)
Snipers (9)
Sniveling Lackeys (2)
Soft Power (4)
Somalia (8)
Sons of Afghanistan (1)
Sons of Iraq (2)
Special Forces (28)
Squad Rushes (1)
State Department (23)
Statistics (1)
Sunni Insurgency (10)
Support to Infantry Ratio (1)
Supreme Court (52)
Survival (185)
SWAT Raids (57)
Syria (38)
Tactical Drills (38)
Tactical Gear (14)
Taliban (168)
Taliban Massing of Forces (4)
Tarmiyah (1)
TBI (1)
Technology (21)
Tehrik-i-Taliban (78)
Terrain in Combat (1)
Terrorism (96)
Thanksgiving (13)
The Anbar Narrative (23)
The Art of War (5)
The Fallen (1)
The Long War (20)
The Surge (3)
The Wounded (13)
Thomas Barnett (1)
Transnational Insurgencies (5)
Tribes (5)
TSA (24)
TSA Ineptitude (13)
TTPs (4)
U.S. Border Patrol (6)
U.S. Border Security (18)
U.S. Sovereignty (23)
UAVs (2)
UBL (4)
Ukraine (10)
Uncategorized (98)
Universal Background Check (3)
Unrestricted Warfare (4)
USS Iwo Jima (2)
USS San Antonio (1)
Uzbekistan (1)
V-22 Osprey (4)
Veterans (3)
Vietnam (1)
War & Warfare (412)
War & Warfare (41)
War Movies (4)
War Reporting (21)
Wardak Province (1)
Warriors (6)
Waziristan (1)
Weapons and Tactics (79)
West Point (1)
Winter Operations (1)
Women in Combat (21)
WTF? (1)
Yemen (1)

March 2024
February 2024
January 2024
December 2023
November 2023
October 2023
September 2023
August 2023
July 2023
June 2023
May 2023
April 2023
March 2023
February 2023
January 2023
December 2022
November 2022
October 2022
September 2022
August 2022
July 2022
June 2022
May 2022
April 2022
March 2022
February 2022
January 2022
December 2021
November 2021
October 2021
September 2021
August 2021
July 2021
June 2021
May 2021
April 2021
March 2021
February 2021
January 2021
December 2020
November 2020
October 2020
September 2020
August 2020
July 2020
June 2020
May 2020
April 2020
March 2020
February 2020
January 2020
December 2019
November 2019
October 2019
September 2019
August 2019
July 2019
June 2019
May 2019
April 2019
March 2019
February 2019
January 2019
December 2018
November 2018
October 2018
September 2018
August 2018
July 2018
June 2018
May 2018
April 2018
March 2018
February 2018
January 2018
December 2017
November 2017
October 2017
September 2017
August 2017
July 2017
June 2017
May 2017
April 2017
March 2017
February 2017
January 2017
December 2016
November 2016
October 2016
September 2016
August 2016
July 2016
June 2016
May 2016
April 2016
March 2016
February 2016
January 2016
December 2015
November 2015
October 2015
September 2015
August 2015
July 2015
June 2015
May 2015
April 2015
March 2015
February 2015
January 2015
December 2014
November 2014
October 2014
September 2014
August 2014
July 2014
June 2014
May 2014
April 2014
March 2014
February 2014
January 2014
December 2013
November 2013
October 2013
September 2013
August 2013
July 2013
June 2013
May 2013
April 2013
March 2013
February 2013
January 2013
December 2012
November 2012
October 2012
September 2012
August 2012
July 2012
June 2012
May 2012
April 2012
March 2012
February 2012
January 2012
December 2011
November 2011
October 2011
September 2011
August 2011
July 2011
June 2011
May 2011
April 2011
March 2011
February 2011
January 2011
December 2010
November 2010
October 2010
September 2010
August 2010
July 2010
June 2010
May 2010
April 2010
March 2010
February 2010
January 2010
December 2009
November 2009
October 2009
September 2009
August 2009
July 2009
June 2009
May 2009
April 2009
March 2009
February 2009
January 2009
December 2008
November 2008
October 2008
September 2008
August 2008
July 2008
June 2008
May 2008
April 2008
March 2008
February 2008
January 2008
December 2007
November 2007
October 2007
September 2007
August 2007
July 2007
June 2007
May 2007
April 2007
March 2007
February 2007
January 2007
December 2006
November 2006
October 2006
September 2006
August 2006
July 2006
June 2006
May 2006

about · archives · contact · register

Copyright © 2006-2024 Captain's Journal. All rights reserved.