Silent Night: Assault Weapons No Place in Christian Home

  "All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing." - Edmund Burke

Sitting in the front row of my local Catholic church on Christmas Eve, I eagerly anticipated the Father's sermon on the meaning of Christ's birth on modern day events. Since the Newtown massacre has been a ratings hit, I had no doubt it would be front and center on the sermon talking points. But the major talking point was the priest's concern about who was having sex with whom. For the Catholic church, which is drowning in debt to settle lawsuits filed by sex-abused victims,  to have this talking point, in a word, was Awkward. There were several references to the Christian view on protecting children from evil and the importance of displaying the crucifix in every room of a Christian home to remind US of Christ's sacrifice, but NOT ONE WORD was mentioned about the place of assault weapons in a Christian home. Twenty delightful, innocent first graders slaughtered. Six administrators and teachers slaughtered as they tried to save the children. It was not enough for the killer to shoot a child once. It was reported that one child had eleven bullet wounds. It was discovered the mentally disturbed son obtained the assault weapon from his mother, who was described as a good Christian. I wanted to hear from the priest what Jesus would say about the place of assault weapons in a Christian home. Silence.

I can understand the silence of most representatives in the U.S. Congress, as they accept blood money from the NRA to oppose any legislative ban on assault rifles.  With blessing of Congress we live in a society where almost anyone, no matter how mentally unbalanced or how threatening that person is, can go into a store and buy an assault rifle that can kill enormous numbers of children or adults in a few minutes. But the silence of Christians, and particularly fundamentalists and evangelical Christians, on the subject of assault rifles is a disgrace. It is more than that. It is a betrayal of Christ, and it is high time somebody said it. How in the world can a person read the New Testament and think that Jesus Christ would oppose a ban on these horrible weapons?


Silent Night: While your Congressman may be a lost sheep on the issue, let your religious leaders know they will not receive one cent of contribution from you if they are silent on the issue of guns in the Christian home. Ask your pro-assault rifle minister to cite one verse in the New Testament that supports his position. Let your friends and acquaintances know what you think. It is time for this insanity to stop. It is time for common sense and decency and real Judeo-Christian values to prevail. Of course, we cannot save everyone, but let's save some. All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men, and women, and children to do nothing.