Now, I don’t mean to call Doug a liar, and certainly not a damned liar. It was Mark Twain who said, “there are lies, damned lies, and statistics.” Statistics certainly have a place in the discussion, but they must be used with great caution and with studious attention to any other possible statistic that could augment or confront the statistic used to support your view. Trust me, I’ve learned the hard way! 

I want to point out up front that the stuff Doug and I keep discussing—violence in self defense—lives at the fringes of the main topic. It’s common for people to race to the “killer at the door” scenario (and its variations) without stopping to consider the main problem of militarism in the church.

In Doug Wilson’s recent Q talk, he referenced this famed saying, and, no joke, integrated it as part of his defense. “The only way to stop a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun.” 

Last Friday, pastor Doug Wilson and I gave talks on guns and violence at the Q conference in Denver. 

I just finished James Atwood’s book America and Its Guns: A Theological Exposeand I’m sitting here stunned. The statistics, the stories, the indifference, the political power plays in the face of innocent deaths, the role of money in the whole debate—even when lives are at stake. 

Gun control. If you ever want to spark a massive debate in your next Bible study, just mention those two words—gun control. As an owner of several guns myself (a 12 gauge, 20 gauge, .270, and .22), I’d be a hypocrite to say that Christians shouldn’t own guns. 

Luke 22 will come up. Supposedly, this passage supports the view that Jesus wants his followers to pack some heat while they go about preaching the kingdom of God. Jerry Fallwell Jr. recently used this passage to show that Christians should arm themselves so that "we could end those Muslims before they walked in..." Better think twice before bringing your muslim friends to hear the gospel at a Liberty chapel.