Thanks Mr. Murchinson for your thoughtful and touching comments. So sorry for the loss of your nephew.
@philnewberry8072
2 жыл бұрын
I'm not a pro-gun, I don't own any, I've been a Quaker for 12 years, and I am truly sorry about your nephew. The situation is terrible and the schools are unsafe. But the fact is, the USA isn't like Japan or Ireland, where there are virtually no guns to begin with. NO meaningful gun legislation can be enacted without putting innocent people in prison, and unfortunately, our existing gun laws already do that. The truth is, NO meaningful gun laws (or any other laws, for that matter) can be enforced WITHOUT the threat, or actual use, of physical FORCE. It's an irrefutable fact that all laws and government authority are based on the idea that one central organized is empowered by the public to use force (i.e. commit violence) with impunity. So we'd be petitioning an organization based on legitimized violence to use courts & police to seize weapons, arrest & incarcerate. We'd basically be using people with GUNS to go take GUNS away from people who HAVE GUNS. If you're okay with that, consider: Strictly speaking, violence is defined as "the use or threat of PHYSICAL force". Simply possessing a weapon is NOT, IN ITSELF, an act of actual violence...but ARRESTING someone, or even threatening to, IS, UNDENIABLY, AN ACT OF VIOLENCE. If you're okay with using ACTUAL violence to prevent merely POTENTIAL violence, and you don't care who goes to prison, you're anything but "non-violent". I've done advocacy work since 2013, and I assure you, the gun laws we have already send people to prison that don't belong there (BTW, the USA incarcerates more people than ANY other country on the planet). The sad truth is, there is NO non-violent way to fix this situation, except changing public opinion. We are vulnerable, there are millions of weapons, ANYONE can buy one privately, and anyone who sends their child to public school in the USA at this point is basically guilty of child endangerment.
@conrad4667
2 жыл бұрын
Anyone who wants power or control over someone else...is wrong.
@jasonadams8549
2 жыл бұрын
Unfortunately, due to this broken world, people who don't desire to do evil, must be armed to prevent or stop violence from those who are evil. Evil doesn't stop because of a lack of a specific tool. This is evident in the fact that the murder in a gun-free zone, also known as a school tragically happened.
@vegasgeorge
2 жыл бұрын
I don’t think a lot of these folks understand. I own guns, I have and have had carry licenses, and I carried my gun with me, on a daily basis back when I thought I might need it. I had no special need for a gun, it was just that I lived in a big city that had bad neighborhoods, and I was marginally fearful. Now, I still own guns, still have the license to carry, but the gun stays home. I now live in rural Texas, and the threat level is very much reduced. And, I think my actions are typical of the great majority of gun owners. Hey, in the first place, no sensible person likes carrying a gun. They’re heavy and uncomfortable, not to mention inconvenient to manage in a lawful manner. So, I think all you anti gun nuts can relax a bit. It isn’t as if all of us gun owners are humping the durn things around all the time. We aren’t. I suggest y’all forget about the gun aspect of this problem, and start concentrating on the mental health and anger management aspects of identifying and controlling potential aggressors. That’s where y’all are most likely to do some good.
@herbb8412
2 жыл бұрын
People have decided how they want to behave. Unfortunately, many have decided to behave badly
@jeffcokenour3459
2 жыл бұрын
While I love the Quaker heart pacifism is not a biblical idea. Jesus himself warned the apostles to our the apostles to arm themselves with swords because he was not there to protect them any longer. (Luke 22:36)
@alexemmert9208
2 жыл бұрын
A few responses: This is a bit of a hot topic even today and from what I understand there is still scholarly debate on the exact "Biblicality" of pacifism. The Bible tells us not to murder, Jesus tells us to turn the other cheek, and Jesus Himself even practiced a lack of self-defensive behavior during his beating and ultimate crucifixion. In any case, general Quaker thought is not necessarily bound by the Bible (at least not today) as some Meetings no longer (or never have) rely solely on the Bible as a source of spiritual guidance. Even in my home meeting there are practicing Buddhists, agnostics, and people who self-describe as atheistic.
@philnewberry8072
2 жыл бұрын
Balderdash. That's a common misinterpretation. He was warning them they'd be hunted like dogs, become outlaws overnight after He was arrested, and the free wine and open doors they'd been enjoying were going to be over. Think of the CONTEXT: The disciples weren't taking the situation seriously. Jesus was about to be arrested, and they just didn't "get it". He was telling them things were about to change, they would have to run, hide...they'd be scared, sp paranoid they'd be selling their very CLOAKS off their backs for a sword (and your cloak was your primary possession back then), scared shitless, despised just for being His friends. Jesus was ADMONISHING THEM for not seeing the big picture, and trying to warn them, but they had no "ears to hear". He told Peter to but the sword away when he drew it. Jesus was NON-VIOLENT. The sermon on the mount proves this.
@mesquijoanpius5644
2 жыл бұрын
When Jesus orders that, He does not say that they had to used them to their protection. It was just because of the compliment of the prophecy of Issaiah. The non-resistence from evil by violence is a command present many times in the Gospels, and it is the reason of quakers' pacifism.
@atyra4506
2 жыл бұрын
Quakers interpret pacifism in different ways. To some, that pacifism just means to never start violence, but to defend in arms against it, which is entirely in line with Jesus' teachings.
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