Gundamentalism and The Idolatry of Weapons

U.S.  Congressperson Lauren Boebert is one of the most malevolent of Republican politicians which is saying something given the stiff competition. Boebert is a gun rights advocate who with her husband founded Shooters Grill, a restaurant in Rifle, Colorado, where staff members are encouraged to openly carry firearms. If I'd made this up you'd scoff at my silliness

Boebert is a staunch member of the Trump cult which means she spews an endless stream of falsehoods and bizarre statements. She also claims to be a Christian, and this past Saturday she was in what appears to be a substantial sized church speaking about Jesus and guns. She "joked" that if Jesus had access to AR-15 rifles, the weapon of choice for many mass murderers in the States, including the school gunman in UvaldeTexas, the Romans wouldn't have been able to arrest him and put him to death. 

So much for "blessed are the peacemakers" or Jesus' choice in the Garden of Gethsemane to stop his disciples from defending him with force, saying, "for all who take the sword will die by the sword."  It's obvious that Boebert follows the Donald Trump bible-reading plan, which is to brandish it without actually opening it, let alone take it to heart. She seems to have totally missed how central the crucifixion of Jesus is to the Christian story, but that probably doesn't matter to Boebert or to lots of the people who chuckled appreciatively at her bizarre contention.

Make no mistake, gun worship is a form of idolatry in the United States, with the misrepresentation of the Second Amendment as part of the "scripture twisting" which enables the carnage. Of course there have been plenty of Christian responses to her terrible comments, decrying a message which is antithetical to the gospel. Diana Butler Bass notes that ten years ago Presbyterian pastor James Atwood warned of the growing theological dimensions of gun culture which he termed "gundamentalism."

Thank God for these voices of reason. Still, even recognizing the manifold faults of this country I count it a blessing that I'm a Canadian.