The N.R.A - Testing the Spirits

Beloved, do not believe every spirit, 

but test the spirits to see if they are from God;

for many false prophets have gone out into the world.

I John 4:1

It is right and proper to sift all life events and organizations through the sieve of the Word.  The Word is the foundation for discerning what is True of God.  As Christians we are bound to the Word as the source of action.

The National Rifle Association needs a proper sifting.  The NRA is the number one defender of gun rights in America.  The NRA has enormous political clout.  The NRA strikes fear into all politicians: woe to the pol who criticises the NRA or supports gun control measures, as you will be opposed or primaried in the next election cycle.  The NRA is fiercely opposed to most gun safety, gun restriction measures: opposed to universal background checks, opposed to research on gun violence, opposed to bans on automatic and semi-automatic weapons, opposed to restrictions on purchase of "cop killer" bullets, opposed to restrictions on large capacity ammo magazines.  After all, "guns don't kill people, people kill people".  Furthermore, their appeal to the Second Amendment as the holy grail of gun liberty is blindly obsessive! 

Nearly all attempts at common sense gun violence prevention are opposed by the NRA.  Why?  They believe it will infringe on a person's right to bear arms.  They say it is in the Constitution.  They believe people need to have the right to protect themselves, and the government may come and take away your rights. They say a person has the right to protect themselves from government tyranny.

Yet, we have a problem in America.  The United States leads the world in mass shooting homicides.  According to the World Bank-Organization for Economic Cooperation and development, nations who are classified as high income, "...the United States has the highest homicide rate, the highest number of guns per capita, and the highest rate of deaths due to assault.  The USA has more homicides by gun than all other nations than all of the other high income countries combined". 

In spite of this tragic reality, the NRA's intimidation tactics, its blind arbitrariness to opposing nearly all gun violence prevention measures, its obsession with stoking fear of the enemy and vigilance of government tyranny, grind reform to a halt.  Even the massacres at Sandy Hook, Aurora, Virginia Tech, Columbine make no difference to their passion.  

The spirit of the NRA needs to be tested against the Spirit of Jesus.  I am beginning a series of blogs to "test the spirits".   As an introduction, here is a "Special Report" from the NRA leadership to its membership:

THE FINAL WAR HAS BEGUN

A DOCUMENT SECRETLY DELIVERED TO ME reveals frightening evidence that the full scale war to CRUSH your gun rights has not only begun, but is well underway.... What's more, dozens of federal gun ban bills suggest this final assault has begun - not just to ban all handguns or all semi-automatics but to ELIMINATE private firearm ownership completely and forever....

WHAT YOU MUST DO AT ONCE

1.  BURY CONGRESS WITH YOUR LETTERS! Write and ask your congressman to vote against these gun bans....

2.  DEAFEN CONGRESS WITH YOUR CALLS!  Tell your congressman about the secret anti-gun agenda to abolish gun ownership in America.

GET EVERY GUN OWNER YOU KNOW to send money to join the NRA or to renew or upgrade "Your Value-Packed NRA Menbership." 

CONFISCATE, DISARM, DESTROY

HARASSMENT, LAWSUITS, AND CRIMINALIZATION of lawful gun owners.  While armed, violent CRIMINALS rage through a defenseless society, the Second Amendment goes up in flames.  That's the tomorrow your children face.  Only you can stop it, through NRA membership....

GUN OWNERS, STAY FOCUSED

THE FIGHT FOR OUR FREEDOMS 

IS FAR FROM OVER!

(Source: Inside the NRA by Jack Anderson)

This apocalyptic spirit of the NRA needs to be tested.  Lives are at stake.  The character of our nation is  at a crossroads.  A Christian response cries out!

Stay tuned.

Peace!

Ron Letnes

  

Evil Redux

Linda and I watched all 13 episodes of "House of Cards", the American version of the original English work of the same name.  It is a political thriller of ambition, narcissism, retribution run amok. Sadly, the series seems appropriate for much of the dysfunction within many legislative leaders today. 

Francis Underwood is the key player.  He is the Democratic Majority Whip who supported the victorious Democratic candidate for President in hopes of being nominated for Secretary of State.  To Francis' chagrin the president nominated someone else, with the president explaining that he needed Francis in the House in order to pass his legislation.  This change of plans unleashes Francis' anger,  causing him to orchestrate the demise of political careers and the death of a House member.

The word describing Francis' character is evil.  Yes, we all do evil. His actions, so dramatically portrayed by Kevin Spacey, can help us recognize evils in Washington, DC and within ourselves. Recognition is necessary for transformation with the caveat that we cannot know all of the evil within. It is God's grace that reveals evil and God's grace transforms our hearts of evil and makes us new. God's grace  "knows" our hearts completely, readies us for renewal, and transforms us to new life. Psalm 139:23-24 lifts up God's microscope of the heart.  "Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my thoughts.  See if there is any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting."

What is evil?  In The City of God, Augustine defines evil as "a perversion or destruction of a previous good" as it seeks to dissolve or destroy what is.  Francis' goal is to dissolve and destroy the good of people's lives to satisfy his ambition, to justify his ideology to achieve what he believes is his.  What "evils" does Francis do?  

A partial list would include: 1) Destroying others' legitimate careers;  2) Taking advantage of others' weaknesses;  3) Infidelity;  4) Harmfully using others;  5) Obsessively controlling others and limiting their legitimate actions;  6) Spirit of retribution and revenge;  7) Destructive manipulation;  8) Murder; 9) Sex for favors;  10) Betrayal of truth;  11) Harming the well-being of the nation by promoting one's ambition.

One scene captures his depth of evil.  Francis enters a church, walks to the chancel area, kneels, and defiantly confesses, not out of belief but of his personal credo: "I pray to myself, for myself," while acknowledging the insignificance of heaven and hell. His face is cold as he walks away from the cross.

At this moment in our nation's history, too much "evil" is poisoning our well-being and destroying the common good.  The sequester is denying necessary resources to the most needy.  The shutdown doubles down on squeezing those same vulnerable citizens. The movement to cancel the Affordable Care Act is unconscionable.  The demand for cuts to Social Security and Medicare "triples down" on the most vulnerable. The quest to destroy President Obama's presidency at the expense of the people's good is treasonous. And all the while the rich get richer and the rest of the country suffers. The list goes on.

What is the way through this evil morass?  Confession.  Acknowledgement of our evilness.  Naming the evil.  Kneeling before the transforming Christ and calling for mercy.  It is then that God's grace leads us forth as new people and prepares us for transformative actions for the common good.  Hymn 843 in the ELW sings:

Praise the One who breaks the darkness with a liberating light;

praise the One who frees the pris'ners, turning blindness into sight.

Praise the One who preached the gospel, healing every dread disease,

calming storms and feeding thousands with the very bread of peace.

Peace!