A Statement on Gun Violence

By Rev. Matthew Peterson, Great Lakes BIC Theologian-in-Residence

Sisters and brothers,

Our region has had much to grieve these past few weeks. By now you have likely heard about the mass shootings at a school in Nashville and a bank in Louisville that killed twelve people, including three children. These events, and the 144 other mass shooting events that have occurred across the United States this year, are fresh reminders of our nation’s continuing gun violence epidemic – an epidemic that claims the lives of 36,383 people annually.

In recent years mass shootings have occurred in Schools (Robb Elementary, 2022 – 21 victims; Stoneman Douglass High School, 2018 – 17 victims; Sandy Hook Elementary, 2012 – 27 victims; Virginia Tech, 2007 – 32 victims); Workplaces (San Bernardino, 2015 – 14 victims); Grocery Stores (Buffalo, 2022 – 10 victims; Boulder, 2021 – 10 victims; El Paso, 2019 – 23 victims); Entertainment Venues (Las Vegas, 2017 – 60 victims; Orlando, 2016 – 49 victims; Aurora, 2012 – 12 victims); and Places of Worship (Sutherland Springs, 2019 – 23 victims; Pittsburgh, 2018 – 11 victims).

Gun violence is also prevalent in American homes. Recent surveys indicate that 44% of Americans know someone who has been shot with a gun, and 58% claim to have witnessed or experienced gun violence in their lifetime. Each year more than 3 million children are exposed to gun violence in their communities. And nearly 4.5 million women report that they have been threatened with a gun by their domestic partner.[1]

As we hear these stories on the news and reflect on these sobering statistics, we are right to grieve – for those whose lives have been cut off, for those who have lost loved ones to gun violence, and for those who carry the fear of gun violence into traditionally safe spaces like schools or workplaces. Our society is suffering from a deeply rooted disease brought about by the intersection of countless social woes, a cavalier attitude about violence, and a firearms industry that stokes social conflict in pursuit of massive profits. In the face of these evils, it is more than right for us to grieve and to grieve together.

Such violence is not inevitable, nor ought it to be rationalized as something that God has decreed in pursuit of some unknowable cosmic goal. Our heavenly Father is not in the business of “making angels” out of our children by means of bullets. Just a few days ago we celebrated Easter Sunday – the glorious day on which God declared that life is his ultimate plan for his creation. And so, in the face of such death and violence, we continue to cry out to God, “Bring in your kingdom, so that your will is done on earth as it’s done in heaven” (Matthew 6:10, CEB). Friends, so long as this world continues to be plagued by gun violence, we can recognize that God’s will is not done on earth as it is in heaven. May our prayers continue until that day when God’s will truly is done upon the earth, and lives are no longer lost to guns.

Grieving Without Fear

We are right to grieve. But in our grieving we must resist the urge towards a fear that leads to self-armament. The “good guy with a gun” scenario repeated in countless movies, television shows, and news networks is not a sustainable response to gun violence. In fact, this myth only perpetuates cycles by placing our homes at increased risk of accidental shootings, homicide, and suicide. We call ourselves followers of the God who responds to violence with resurrection, and so we must channel our energy somewhere other than the nearest gun shop.

As an Anabaptist movement, the Brethren in Christ stresses that violence cannot truly be overcome through threats of further violence. Our denomination affirms that:

“Christ loved His enemies and He calls us as His disciples to love our enemies. We follow our Lord in being a people of peace and reconciliation, called to suffer and not to fight. While respecting those who hold other interpretations, we believe that preparation for or participation in war is inconsistent with the teachings of Christ. Similarly, we reject all other acts of violence which devalue human life. Rather, we affirm active peacemaking, sacrificial service to others, as well as the pursuit of justice for the poor and the oppressed in the name of Christ.”

(BIC U.S. Manual of Doctrine & Government, pg. 13)

The continued threat of gun violence and political inaction in our society might prompt us to harden our hearts, to choose the false sense of security-by-the-gun over the lasting (and challenging) love-of-neighbor peace to which Christ calls us. We are called to be a people of peace and reconciliation, not a people whose ability to love others is diminished by fear and ammunition. Hear these words of Jesus, who chose sacrificial love over fear-based use of force:

“Put the sword back into its place. All those who use the sword will die by the sword. Or do you think that I’m not able to ask my Father and he will send to me more than twelve battle groups of angels right away? But if I did that, how would the scriptures be fulfilled that say this must happen?” (Matthew 56:52-54, CEB)

Following our Savior’s example is indeed a challenge. It involves moving beyond our fear without growing cold-hearted to those around us and laying down political privileges in pursuit of the obligation to love one another more fully. How we can best respond as people of God to our society’s continuing tragedy will involve much discernment, and I hope that we in our Plowshares community can practice such discernment together. It may include advocacy about gun legislation and mental health services, it might also include having difficult conversations about gun idolization with loved ones or getting rid of weapons already in the home. At the heart of any such efforts must be the desire to promote peace and reconciliation, rather than violent escalation, as the Christ-following solution to the problem of gun violence.

For Further Reading on Gun Violence & Biblical Responses:

• God and Guns: The Bible Against American Gun Culture, Christopher B. Hays & C.L. Crouch (editors)

• Beating Guns: Hope for People Who Are Weary of Violence by Shane Claiborne & Michael Martin

• Accents & Issues: Violence BIC U.S. Position Statement. Available at: https://bicus.org/about/what-we-believe/positions

• Various issues of Shalom! A Journal for the Practice of Reconciliation. Accessible at: https://bicus.org/resources/publications/shalom. (Winter 2023: Teaching Peace; Spring 2022: Pursuing Peace in a World of Conflict; Spring 2013: Reducing Gun Violence)

• “What Do We Do With Sutherland Springs?” by Gary Mitchell and Brett Bever (pages 5-6 in Shalom! Winter 2018: Perspectives on Safety and Risk).

• “Guns and City Streets: Addressing the Epidemic of Gun Violence in Our Nation” by Glenn “Woody” Dalton Jr. Acces

[1] Statistics from “Guns in America, by the Numbers” by C.L. Crouch and Christopher B. Hays, the preface to their edited volume God and Guns: The Bible Against American Gun Culture.