A Christian response to Newtown tragedy

The attention of an entire nation is focused on Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., and the 27 people (including the gunman) who senselessly died there. Amid the anguish and tears, a numbed society asks itself “how could this happen?” and “how can we prevent it from happening again?”

While the name of God will be invoked in most discussions, the exchanges will inevitably turn to the proposing of new laws, especially laws to control the private ownership of guns. The assumption is that if gun-control laws were tight enough and enforced vigorously, this kind of tragedy would disappear from our American society.

The United States was put together as a nation of law. Our founding fathers rejected authoritarian models of government and embraced a constitutional government, freely elected, that would operate a government according to law. It is very understandable that people in the context of Newtown are asking law questions, especially questions about the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and the right of U.S. citizens to bear arms.

Over the years, the Second Amendment right of Americans to own guns has been firmly established and has been protected by decisions of the nation’s highest courts.

Shooting in America is major sport. Hunting is as American as apple pie. Americans have shot their way through history. Many Americans feel safer when carrying a gun. Guns are a part of the U.S. Regulations will probably be tweaked in the context of the Newtown massacre. However, I doubt any significant changes in our gun-control laws will take place. Rights of gun ownership are too entrenched in American culture and law. Americans will continue to be heavily armed, and killings similar to Newtown will continue to take place.

As a Christian, I do not embrace the love affair Americans have with their guns. My model is Jesus himself. He told one of his disciples, “Put up your sword. Those who live by the sword will also die by the sword.” Violence was not a part of the prophet from Nazareth. Grace and forgiveness were central to the Jesus message. The Gospel of Luke reports that while hanging on the cross, Jesus appealed to God on behalf of his executioners. “Forgive them, Father, they do not know what they are doing.”

I hope thoughtful Americans will make a genuine effort to put in place laws that provide both constitutional freedoms and protection for our citizens, but my expectations are low. I do not believe even the best of laws will bring the Newtowns to an end. The Christian Gospel rejects the keeping of laws as the path to a just society. We are a part of God’s kingdom by grace through faith. Christian confidence is found not in laws, but in the practice of love and mercy. Law is an essential part of the American character. It is our fatal flaw. Love, grace, peace, patience, kindness and goodness are ideals of the Christian character. In America, the two traditions live in strained tension.

It is very difficult to be a follower of Jesus when times get tough, and Newtown creates a tough time for us all. It is all too easy for American Christians to join the chorus for tougher laws and stricter rules. However, it is in the tough times that our opportunities are greatest. Newtown has provided Christians an opportunity to display a kinder, gentler alternative to America.

Newtown has come at a time when the face of Christianity in America is undergoing a rapid change. The emergent church has become a part of our vocabulary. In the church’s marketplace, the presence of the emergent church is now well documented. Emergent Christians have left traditional church settings but not the faith. Emergents are young and heavily committed to living out a Jesus ethic. Emergent Christians have caught us all by surprise. No one expected their arrival. Very knowledgeable people were predicting an increasingly secular younger population in the future America. Emergent Christians are new on the religious scene, and are bringing with them the energy of a younger generation. They are emerging with high ethical commitments and a devotion to a life-style that is worthy of the name Christian.

Those who see stronger laws as the best response to Newtown may have a challenger in the emergent church. American Christianity may have birthed the needed challenger.

In his public speeches, President Lincoln made very good use of Christian images. At the end of his “Gettysburg Address,” he added a plea to God “that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom.” Lincoln knew the nation needed more than the emancipation proclamation. The nation needed a new birth.

Our nation’s history of violence is atrocious. The number of people killed in Newtown is a small fraction of the people who are killed each year with the use of guns in our major cities. We pile people into prisons for violent crimes. Only the monetary cost deters us from passing stricter laws and assigning longer penalties. I am not advocating forsaking laws that set the boundaries for acceptable public behavior. However, as a Christian I am pointing out the limitations of laws in the attaining of a healthy society.

I pray that our nation might have a rebirth of grace, peace and love that will show us a better way than gun-control laws.

The Rev. Howard Bess is a retired American Baptist minister, who lives in Palmer, Alaska. His email address is hdbss@mtaonline.net.

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