For everyone who hasn’t heard, there was recently a shooter who went on a killing spree at a YWAM base and then later at a church in Colorado. A church member who had a gun took the shooter down and is being called a hero by many, including her pastor. As someone who holds that violence and discipleship are mutually exclusive, this episode is loaded with room for reflection. I thought about writing something, but I’ll link to Greg Boyd’s take on things instead. Here’s a taste:
Every person who has pledged to live in the way of Jesus, rather than the way of the world, but who nevertheless carries (and is willing to use) a gun, for any reason, has to wrestle with this New Testament teaching. For my two cents, I confess I cannot see how the two are compatible. The use of lethal force may at times be justified and heroic by ordinary kingdom of the world standards. But I cannot see how it’s compatible with being a citizen of the Kingdom of God.
One response to “Questioning Heroism”
Hmmmm…
This is food for thought. Personally I feel that the woman who took down the shooter is not a hero, but rather a person who was forced to make a difficult decision in the heat of the moment and chose one. Who knows if it was the right one (I personally think it was). The issues of violence and carrying weapons are thick with controversy and I’m still not positive where I stand on it.