Mayonaze
New member
Educating a "Distant Relative" regarding America's fascination with firearms and how
I had a distant relative in the UK post on my Facebook page and question how Americans are fascinated with handguns, why we shoot targets that represent humans, and how a Christian could ever use deadly force. Here is her question and my reply to her. How do you think I did? she thanked me for explaining my position!
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Charlie,
we look at the USA from a distance and we find it difficult to understand the passion Americans have for guns. However, I appreciate the skills involved (I am not a bad shot myself) but why do all your targets have to be placed on the silhouettes of people? The message seems to be clear - guns are made to shoot people, through the heart if possible. Not sure how you square this with a true Christian approach?
Hilary,
I do understand your questions regarding Americans’ fascination with firearms as well as your concern that a “true Christian” mindset may not permit a person to use deadly force. I could go on for hours to try to convince you of my opinions, I understand that you may not feel the way that I do….. and you do have the right to feel that way.
First, let me explain that the people in the photos on my website and Facebook page have just completed a DEFENSIVE class in which they’ve learned to shoot a person that is posing a deadly threat, center mass, until the threat is neutralized and no longer is a threat. Those photos create a legal record for me, as their instructor, to be able to refer to a specific student’s qualification on a specific date with a specific weapon. Please don’t misinterpret those photos as pictures of “plinkers” or general gun enthusiasts that are just out target practicing. These students are learning to wrap their heads around the facts that in a DEFENSIVE situation, they may need to protect the lives of a stranger, their loved ones, or maybe themselves from serious injury, sexual assault, or death by using justified self defense. NC Law will allow these students, once they pass an FBI background investigation, to carry weapons concealed so that they protect themselves or others if the need arises. 38 other states in the USA also recognize the NC Concealed Handgun Permits in their states as well.
Unfortunately, the crime rate here in Rocky Mount, NC has propelled us into having the rank of 41st most violent city in the United States of America. I do not leave my home without carrying my weapon(s) concealed. That is my right, and I do exercise that right daily. Am I paranoid? No…. I am prepared. I think of my weapon(s) as something that I hope that I will never have to use….. like the fire extinguisher or the first aid kit in my car…. I hope that I never need them, but they are there if I need them. That is the “first rule to winning a gunfight.” RULE #1: Have a gun. My students, after completing the entire concealed handgun permitting process will be the armed citizens that are certified as sane, sober, and competent. Violent crime is not typically committed by persons with concealed carry permits, but by the criminal element that by definition, don’t obey laws.
Now to answer your “true Christian” conundrum: There is a Biblical obligation to preserve life. Our bodies belong to God. They are His property and should not be destroyed. That being said, we also have an obligation to protect others who are in danger. Psalm 82:4 “Rescue the weak and needy; Deliver them out of the hand of the wicked.” Also consider Ezekiel 33:6 “But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet, and the people are not warned, and a sword comes and takes a person from them, he is taken away in his iniquity, but his blood I will require from the watchman’s hand.” In Luke 22:35-39, Jesus tells the disciples to go buy swords. He evidently wanted them for protection as they traveled. Jesus did say that 2 swords were enough. (Incidentally, I usually have 2 concealed handguns on me at any given time. Ha! WWJD?)
Several years ago, I was riding in my car with my sales manager and he looked in the console of my car, being nosey. He discovered a holstered snub-nosed stainless steel Smith & Wesson .357 Magnum. He asked me almost the same thing you did: “Charlie, why would a “Christian” carry such a deadly weapon?” I replied: “Well, Dave…. I guess that, as a Christian, I am not afraid of telling someone about the saving Grace of Jesus Christ. As an armed citizen, I am not afraid to introduce them to each other if I need to.”
Hilary, I know that we could go on-and-on with this. I respect your right to have a different opinion, and I hope that you respect my right to have the ability to protect my life and the lives of my loved ones if the need to do that ever arises. If you ever visit Eastern NC, please look me up. Even though you aren’t a citizen of NC, I am inviting you to sit in on one of my classes, at no charge, so that you can see the perspective from my side after the full eight hour required classroom training in addition to the range time.
Now that we got that settled, how about let’s have a “Tea Party”! And back to the original “fascination by Americans with firearms”, I could’ve answered you with a “mere sentence.” Amendment II: “A well-regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.”
As Ever,
Charlie Mayo
"just keepin', and bearin'....."
"Praise the Lord, pass the ammunition!"
Certified NRA Firearms Instructor
NCJA Certified NC Concealed Handgun Permit Instructor
GRNC.org Member
I had a distant relative in the UK post on my Facebook page and question how Americans are fascinated with handguns, why we shoot targets that represent humans, and how a Christian could ever use deadly force. Here is her question and my reply to her. How do you think I did? she thanked me for explaining my position!
--------------------------------------------------
Charlie,
we look at the USA from a distance and we find it difficult to understand the passion Americans have for guns. However, I appreciate the skills involved (I am not a bad shot myself) but why do all your targets have to be placed on the silhouettes of people? The message seems to be clear - guns are made to shoot people, through the heart if possible. Not sure how you square this with a true Christian approach?
Hilary,
I do understand your questions regarding Americans’ fascination with firearms as well as your concern that a “true Christian” mindset may not permit a person to use deadly force. I could go on for hours to try to convince you of my opinions, I understand that you may not feel the way that I do….. and you do have the right to feel that way.
First, let me explain that the people in the photos on my website and Facebook page have just completed a DEFENSIVE class in which they’ve learned to shoot a person that is posing a deadly threat, center mass, until the threat is neutralized and no longer is a threat. Those photos create a legal record for me, as their instructor, to be able to refer to a specific student’s qualification on a specific date with a specific weapon. Please don’t misinterpret those photos as pictures of “plinkers” or general gun enthusiasts that are just out target practicing. These students are learning to wrap their heads around the facts that in a DEFENSIVE situation, they may need to protect the lives of a stranger, their loved ones, or maybe themselves from serious injury, sexual assault, or death by using justified self defense. NC Law will allow these students, once they pass an FBI background investigation, to carry weapons concealed so that they protect themselves or others if the need arises. 38 other states in the USA also recognize the NC Concealed Handgun Permits in their states as well.
Unfortunately, the crime rate here in Rocky Mount, NC has propelled us into having the rank of 41st most violent city in the United States of America. I do not leave my home without carrying my weapon(s) concealed. That is my right, and I do exercise that right daily. Am I paranoid? No…. I am prepared. I think of my weapon(s) as something that I hope that I will never have to use….. like the fire extinguisher or the first aid kit in my car…. I hope that I never need them, but they are there if I need them. That is the “first rule to winning a gunfight.” RULE #1: Have a gun. My students, after completing the entire concealed handgun permitting process will be the armed citizens that are certified as sane, sober, and competent. Violent crime is not typically committed by persons with concealed carry permits, but by the criminal element that by definition, don’t obey laws.
Now to answer your “true Christian” conundrum: There is a Biblical obligation to preserve life. Our bodies belong to God. They are His property and should not be destroyed. That being said, we also have an obligation to protect others who are in danger. Psalm 82:4 “Rescue the weak and needy; Deliver them out of the hand of the wicked.” Also consider Ezekiel 33:6 “But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet, and the people are not warned, and a sword comes and takes a person from them, he is taken away in his iniquity, but his blood I will require from the watchman’s hand.” In Luke 22:35-39, Jesus tells the disciples to go buy swords. He evidently wanted them for protection as they traveled. Jesus did say that 2 swords were enough. (Incidentally, I usually have 2 concealed handguns on me at any given time. Ha! WWJD?)
Several years ago, I was riding in my car with my sales manager and he looked in the console of my car, being nosey. He discovered a holstered snub-nosed stainless steel Smith & Wesson .357 Magnum. He asked me almost the same thing you did: “Charlie, why would a “Christian” carry such a deadly weapon?” I replied: “Well, Dave…. I guess that, as a Christian, I am not afraid of telling someone about the saving Grace of Jesus Christ. As an armed citizen, I am not afraid to introduce them to each other if I need to.”
Hilary, I know that we could go on-and-on with this. I respect your right to have a different opinion, and I hope that you respect my right to have the ability to protect my life and the lives of my loved ones if the need to do that ever arises. If you ever visit Eastern NC, please look me up. Even though you aren’t a citizen of NC, I am inviting you to sit in on one of my classes, at no charge, so that you can see the perspective from my side after the full eight hour required classroom training in addition to the range time.
Now that we got that settled, how about let’s have a “Tea Party”! And back to the original “fascination by Americans with firearms”, I could’ve answered you with a “mere sentence.” Amendment II: “A well-regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.”
As Ever,
Charlie Mayo
"just keepin', and bearin'....."
"Praise the Lord, pass the ammunition!"
Certified NRA Firearms Instructor
NCJA Certified NC Concealed Handgun Permit Instructor
GRNC.org Member
