The Targeting of Christians and How Christians Respond: Reflections on the Oregon Shootings

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Wounded survivor of a gunshot, 18-year-old Anastasia Boylan, reportedly told her father the gunman entered the class and said before shooting the professor, “I’ve been waiting to do this for years.”
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Boylan also told her family he used reload time to ask for student’s religion. “And they would stand up and he said, ‘Good, because you’re a Christian, you’re going to see God in just about one second.’”
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After being shot Boylan played dead to survive.
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Survivor Rand McGowan, who was shot in the hand, said the shooter asked “Do you have God?” If the victim said “yes,” Mercer reportedly responded “This won’t hurt much,” or “This won’t hurt for long.”
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I’ve written a post for USAToday this morning, geared toward their audience and with the caveat that these reports often turn out to be incorrect. However, I’ve expanded on those thoughts here, specifically writing for Christians, with things that are true in all tragedies like this.
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christianitytoday.com/edstetzer/2015/october/targetingofchristians.html
 
No one in America seems to be doing anything effective in getting rid of guns in the wrong hands. Do Americans love guns so much that they are willing to have schoolchildren gunned down while in class?
 
Tomdstone said:
No one in America seems to be doing anything effective in getting rid of guns in the wrong hands. Do Americans love guns so much that they are willing to have schoolchildren gunned down while in class?
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Unfortunately, yes.

I think most “pro-gun” Americans have this false notion that guns can give them true safety when the opposite is true. These people use the notion that the second amendment will keep us free from a hostile government infringing on our rights when the opposite is true. If you point a gun at a cop, or even less maybe just have a gun on your person, it is over for you and you may most likely lose your life. For example look at the late Jeremy Dole.

Several weeks ago I was sitting outside with many other people as police officers recklessly shot up a city block because they saw a man adjust his waist band and assumed there was a gun in it. Where will the madness stop? I think as Christians we should stay away from guns, unless they are used for hunting for survival and very carefully stored at that.

DISCLAIMER-THESE ARE MY OPINIONS, IF YOU DO NOT AGREE FINE. GIVE YOUR OPINION BUT THERE IS NO NEED TO BE RUDE OR BELITTLE. THANK YOU, GOD BLESS.
 
Tomdstone said:
No one in America seems to be doing anything effective in getting rid of guns in the wrong hands. Do Americans love guns so much that they are willing to have schoolchildren gunned down while in class?
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The problem is that there are so many people in authority who hate guns that they refuse to allow people to arm themselves against these kinds of threats. Bear in mind that in this particular case, the average age of the students at this college is in the mid- to late-20s. In other words, we’re talking about responsible adults here, not a classroom full of 18-year-olds. One of the victims is a 10-year Army veteran.

I am completely flabbergasted by the mindset of people that KNOW that there are hundreds of thousands of criminals and crazies out there who have guns and aren’t afraid or ashamed to use them, but the don’t want the good guys to arm themselves in self-defense. It’s like these people actually want all the good guys to be killed off and the bad guys to win.
 
Tomdstone said:
No one in America seems to be doing anything effective in getting rid of guns in the wrong hands. Do Americans love guns so much that they are willing to have schoolchildren gunned down while in class?
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It is sxtremely difficult in the US to get a mentally ill adult under the authority of someone competent so as to keep guns out of their hands. We value our liberty so much that we refuse to see that some are simply incapable of dealing with it and require support from others.
 
cnn.com/2015/10/02/us/oregon-umpqua-community-college-shooting/

According to this article all the weapons in the shooters possession as well as at his residence were obtained legally.

Personally, as a Christian, I would be willing to be martyred rather than take another person’s life(I would get into a physical altercation though if it meant possibly saving the lives of others), I can only pray that I would have that much courage.

Lets all keep them in our prayers. I think that should be our first response.
 
St_Francis said:
It is sxtremely difficult in the US to get a mentally ill adult under the authority of someone competent so as to keep guns out of their hands. We value our liberty so much that we refuse to see that some are simply incapable of dealing with it and require support from others.
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Do Americans value guns more than the lives of a few college students and the lives of schoolchildren?
 
Tomdstone said:
No one in America seems to be doing anything effective in getting rid of guns in the wrong hands. Do Americans love guns so much that they are willing to have schoolchildren gunned down while in class?
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Oh please! guns don’t kill people. People kill people. Especially deranged people and criminals who get weapons regardless of any law. Please focus on the evil actions of the person who pulled the trigger the same as the wielder of the ax or the rope or the brick.
 
Used2beSherryG said:
Oh please! guns don’t kill people. People kill people. Especially deranged people and criminals who get weapons regardless of any law. Please focus on the evil actions of the person who pulled the trigger the same as the wielder of the ax or the rope or the brick.
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What I wrote stands.
 
Doesn’t it seem odd to you that gunmen pick gun free zones in which to shoot people? There must be a reason. Shooting fish in a barrel comes to my mind. How are the statistics for gun deaths in Chicago? New York? any of the other cities that have tried to stifle the ability for people to defend themselves? Are the statistics better in those places where guns are outlawed or where they are not?

If we valued their lives as much as we should, they wouldn’t be in gun free zones. There would be armed guards, and armed citizens such that a shooter would think twice about entering a school to do violence.
 
Tomdstone said:
No one in America seems to be doing anything effective in getting rid of guns in the wrong hands. Do Americans love guns so much that they are willing to have schoolchildren gunned down while in class?
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What you have is sick people doing these killings. Probably something went wrong in their life. Then they decided they will make a statement and make people pay by killing them. if it was not a gun, it could have easily been a bomb or other device used to kill.

In this society we don’t want to think we have screwed up individuals out there. This country can no longer deal with the evil and sick society we are becoming.

If you think this country is not doing it right for keeping guns out of the wrong hands then do something about it and stop blaming it on the guns.

I am suppose to be a good Christian, but I have no use for people that want to kill like this. I am a protector of my Faith, Country and my family. :mad:
 
HungerNThirst4R said:
cnn.com/2015/10/02/us/oregon-umpqua-community-college-shooting/

According to this article all the weapons in the shooters possession as well as at his residence were obtained legally.

Personally, as a Christian, I would be willing to be martyred rather than take another person’s life(I would get into a physical altercation though if it meant possibly saving the lives of others), I can only pray that I would have that much courage.

Lets all keep them in our prayers. I think that should be our first response.
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Speaking for myself, as long as my wife is alive, I am inclined to protect myself, even at the cost of taking an assailant’s life, because my wife is disabled, and without me around her life would be a disaster. If she predeceases me, then the necessity for me to stay alive would be considerably reduced, and the prospect of martyrdom would be . . . somewhat less unattractive.
seagal said:
True. But guns make it easier to kill people. Lots and lots of people.
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Guns also make it easier to protect against people who are killing people. There’s a reason why it is said, “Never bring a knife to a gunfight.”
 
Tomdstone said:
Do Americans value guns more than the lives of a few college students and the lives of schoolchildren?
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Lots more people die in traffic accidents; do we care more about our cars than we do them?
 
Tomdstone said:
Why do Americans make it so easy for these people to buy guns? Don’t Americans realize that it is dangerous to do so?
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Are you in a nation other than the US?

Way more people die in traffic accidents, but anyone can buy a car… even more easily than they can buy a gun!
 
St_Francis said:
Are you in a nation other than the US?

Way more people die in traffic accidents, but anyone can buy a car… even more easily than they can buy a gun!
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What a stupid argument! The clue is in the word accident. Cars are designed to get people from A to B, guns are designed to kill, but among western nations only in the US are they used so liberally to kill their fellow citizens.
 
Tomdstone said:
Why do Americans make it so easy for these people to buy guns? Don’t Americans realize that it is dangerous to do so?
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I see your point, I really do, and although I’m a conservative I don’t have a problem with keeping guns out of the wrong hands. And personally there are certain types of guns that I think should be illegal.
But here’s the thing. I’m nearing 60, and when I was in high school, and college, things like this NEVER happened, or were extremely rare. And people had guns and hunting rifles around then. I can’t remember one single instance prior to 1980, and I lived in Los Angeles. yes we didn’t have 24 hour news cable channels then, but still-it would have become known(as the Manson murders were,ect)yes there were domestic incidences with guns back then -but not the random crazy stuff that happens now.
Now it seems it’s almost routine.
We need to address the underlying root cause of WHY this is happening.
I have some theories, including what one poster mentioned about mental illness, among others. Also a breakdown of families, and morals and parenting.
Also, it was mentioned up the thread, and is true, that cities and D.C. which have the tightest gun laws-also have the highest crime and shooting rates.
Also, it doesn’t always require a gun to kill lots of people(though I do admit it helps)
The Oklahoma City bombing of 1995 is an example-this guy used fertilizer.
We, as a society, need to be asking what is the underlying root cause.
Why do we have these lone rangers that all of a sudden go off the deep end and think it’s the thing to do to commit mass murder?
 
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