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‘Religiously-Repugnant’: Progressive Preacher Jim Wallis Blasts the NRA for Its ‘Dangerous Theology’

Jan. 18, 2013 8:23am Billy Hallowell

Jim Wallis Lambastes the NRAs Dangerous Theology & Calls for More Gun Control

Jim Wallis, president and CEO of Sojourners, speaks during a press conference at the United Methodist Building January 15, 2013 in Washington, DC. Credit: AFP/Getty Images

Jim Wallis, a well-known, progressive faith leader, is no fan of the National Rifle Association (NRA). In fact, he’s an outspoken advocate for more gun control and, on Wednesday, he publicly joined other left-of-center faith leaders to push fervently for government intervention in cracking down on firearms. In an article published yesterday on his web site, Sojourners, Wallis continued to air his views about the nation’s most prominent gun-rights group, taking specific issue with the NRA’s so-called “dangerous theology.”

“As an evangelical Christian, I’m going to make this theological,” wrote the Christian leader, going on to call a recent statement from Wayne LaPierre, executive vice-president of the NRA, “morally mistaken, theologically dangerous, and religiously-repugnant.”

The comment at the center of Wallis’ contempt? LaPierre‘s statement in the wake of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting that, “The only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun.” The faith leader proceeded to delve into the apparent moral and theological issues inherent in the NRA staffer’s views on the matter.

“The world is not full of good and bad people; that is not what our scriptures teach us. We are, as human beings, both good and bad,” Wallis wrote. “This is not only true of humanity as a whole, but we as individuals have both good and bad in us.”

It is with this bad that the progressive faith leader contends negativity can arise — particularly when it pertains to firearms and the availability of certain guns.

“When we are bad or isolated or angry or furious or vengeful or politically agitated or confused or lost or deranged or unhinged — and we have the ability to get and use weapons only designed to kill large numbers of people — our society is in great danger,” he continued.

Jim Wallis, president and CEO of Sojourners, and Sayyid Syeed(R) of the Islamic Society of North America, smile at each other after speaking during a press conference at the United Methodist Building January 15, 2013 in Washington, DC. The group of religious leader organized by Faiths United to Prevent Gun Violence held the news conference to speak out against gun violence and call for gun law reform including a ban on assault style weapons and universal background checks. Credit: AFP/Getty Images

Wallis decried the notion that ensuring that there are more guns than bad people is a good idea and he advocated for advancing policies that will protect America’s children. In order to keep kids safe, the faith leader argued that firearms must be contained and curtailed. Then, his’ op-ed quickly turned from the NRA to race and the impact of gun violence on blacks and Hispanics:

Let me be personal and theological again, this time with Rev. Phil Jackson, a young pastor from Chicago who I talked with earlier this week. A young, dynamic street pastor, he told me that Chicago had 2,400 shootings in 2012 — 505 of them resulting in death. More than 100 of them were children from elementary to high school. Almost all of the murdered ones were people and children of color — African-American and Latino. That’s more gun deaths in Chicago than American troop deaths in Afghanistan last year. One city.

Rev. Jackson thinks that God cares as much about murdered children of color in Chicago as God cares about murdered white children in Connecticut. But it seems that mostly the white children get our attention and break our hearts. He thinks those murdered black and brown kids also get God’s attention as much as murdered white kids. But he wonders why they don’t get ours. It’s morally mistaken and also religiously repugnant.

Wallis concluded the piece by calling upon religious people to act based upon their faith and not their politics or personal views on gun advocacy. He also implored parents to call for “a national conversation on guns.” Then, he invoked his 9-year-old son, Jack, and the young boy’s views on gun control — sentiments Wallis said that he agrees with.

“I think that they ought to let people who, like licensed hunters, have guns if they use them to hunt. And people who need guns — who need guns for their job like policemen and army,” Jack recently told his father. “But I don’t think that we should just let anybody have any kind of gun and any kind of bullets that they want. That’s pretty crazy.”

Read Wallis’ entire story here.

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Related:

In CONTROL, Glenn Beck presents a passionate, fact-based case for guns that reveals why gun control isn’t really about controlling guns at all; it’s about controlling us. Find out more HERE.

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Comments (190)

Frederick_Douglass_Republican
Posted on January 18, 2013 at 12:23pm
The NRA has no theology. This guy is the kind of dangerous theologist who brings death to millions if he is payed attention to. And is his theology that caused me to become a Life Member of the NRA earlier this week

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DissenterKnight
Posted on January 18, 2013 at 12:20pm
Mr. Wallace, I won’t call him Reverend, as I can see nothing more than book work and degree to make him worthy of such –he’s never served as pastor of a congregation- is letting his liberal politics influence his theology; assuming he truly has a theology. It should be noted that while Mr. Wallis grew up under the Plymouth Brethren tradition, which ordains no clergy, I have never seen any mention of his ordination by any church or denomination and he is general referred to in articles as a “faith leader”. That he avoids terms like liberal or progressive in describing himself means little, when you consider his close association with leaders of the Christian Left.

We are not both good and bad; we are fallen, totally depraved in that we are wholly unable to bridge the gap our fallen nature places between us and G-d. Even in our fallen state we have the capacity to do that which can be called good; but we are not ourselves good. The idea that we are somehow able to help ourselves, that all roads lead to the same god and thus the path we chose is rooted in the Unitarian theology that has grafted itself into the heart of American Marxism. And that notion, the universal nature of faith and the irrelevance of Christ’s suffering and sacrifice, that is what dangerous theology truly looks like.

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Ghandi was a Republican
Posted on January 18, 2013 at 12:16pm
This guy will burn in helll. He uses the Lord’s name in vane like a bad habit., And his muslim alliance, while obama arms the muslim brotherhood to the teeth? Arms jihadists while trying to strip grandma’s AK away?

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searching for the Truth
Posted on January 18, 2013 at 12:09pm
I believe what you guy’s are trying to do, is to trick these guy’s into reading the Bible – that is a very old trick.

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raderby
Posted on January 18, 2013 at 12:01pm
somebody track this thing’s life. What did this thing do during the 60′s and 70′s.

SDS? Acid eating love child?

this thing is a commie p-rick. period.

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- DissenterKnight
  Posted on January 18, 2013 at 12:29pm
  I believe that he was “asked to leave” Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, not sure why, but as such it would put a damper on service in most denominational pulpit. He either started or moved to a commune after Trinity; and there is a radio interview floating around in which he cops to having “been” a Marxist. He’s heavily invested in the social justice movement, which is less about the Gospel and more about putting a faith linked face on Marxism. There is at least one wiki entry that states that he was arrested multiple times, but offers no citation to support the claim.
  
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no messing around
Posted on January 18, 2013 at 11:51am
I am tired of “religious” or “evangelical” types that not only don’t really know the Word of God but act like experts on it. Wallis is ignorant that Jesus told his disciples at the conclusion of the Passover meal to go out and get swords (the guns of their day) [read Luke 22:35-52] and if they didn’t have the money to buy a sword, they should sell their clothes (“garments”) and buy one! Peter replied that they already had two swords (guns). Now unless Peter wore a sword on each hip another disciple had one too – already! The only reason that Jesus told Peter to sheath his sword after whacking off the ear of Malchus was that Jesus had to go to the cross and for Peter not to try to stop that. He told them to buy swords – probably for protection from the Romans or just bad people who would try to kill them.

Wallis seems ignorant also that “There is not one who does righteousness … there is not one who does good, not so much as one….For all have done wrong and are far from the glory of God.” (Rom. 3:10-23). Only the New Birth changes that and then the person is made righteous by God (John 3:15-18, 2 Cor. 5:17-21) He does not seem to realize that evil resides in everyone without the New Birth.

It helps for “religious” experts to read the Word of God.

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LimitedLiabilityUser
Posted on January 18, 2013 at 11:50am
Actually, no, the Scriptures teach that all humans are inherently evil. We are all absolutely fallen and wicked, and each one of us is in our true nature is just as wicked and evil as Adam Lanza. The difference is the Lord’s grace restraining the evil and wickedness in each of us. Our ability to be righteous and come to the Lord is purely by His grace.

Do Christians have a biblical right to have weapons? No. Christians are to submit to the governing authorities, no matter what they are. We should be extremely careful not to make guns into idols. The question becomes whether or not you submit to laws that are by definition unlawful. This requires prayer, wisdom, and faith in the Lord. All I know is, I serve Jesus Christ, and my true protection and salvation in this life isn’t a gun or a sword. For all those who live by the sword, die by the sword. May our thoughts and minds focus on Your eternal Kingdom o Lord, and thy will be done.

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barber2
Posted on January 18, 2013 at 11:40am
Wallis is just another Political Preacher who has twisted Christ’s spiritual message into a New Age Material Government message. Wallis’ God, like all of these political preachers, is Big Daddy Government who will take care of all of your material needs if you sell your soul to Big Daddy. Unfortunately, you will lose your spiritual soul and your individual rights in the process. Jesus did not come to put a chicken in every pot .

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paperpushermj
Posted on January 18, 2013 at 11:30am
As an evangelical Christian, I’m going to make this theological,”
______________________________________.
Hahaha get it ….as an “Evangelical Christian”

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RaydocX
Posted on January 18, 2013 at 11:30am
it is shameful for a pastor to use his pulpit to suggest that any parishone or Christian (or Jew or Muslim) who believes that protecting themself, their family, or for that matter a stranger is contrary to Christian teaching.

Christ indicated an awareness that his ‘turn the other cheek’ position could not be maintained in all cases. He did not expect us to be perfect even were that so. And believing in a better after death in no way means religious people should be anxious to be done with this life.

In truth, the shift in Christian teaching after the conversion of Saul has pushed the ‘other cheek’ ‘all inclusive’ attitude of the early Christian church aside in favor of the more regimented theologies that favor organized church. Considering that there is security at the Vatican, that churches lock their doors when there are not services, and that I suspect this pastor has locks on his doors, the awareness of evil in the world should DEMAND that believers stand up against it, including, when necessary, the use of firearms.

And the truth that firearms in schools could protect or at least limit needless deaths seems to be ignored by this man’s selfish OPINION… push your blame where it belongs, sir, to the perpretrators of gun crime, and the politicians who are using the victims as their platform for unrelated, unConstitutional legislation and ‘executive orders.’

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ferggie
Posted on January 18, 2013 at 11:27am
The left feels we do not need AR’s since we can use other guns for protection and hunting. They claim that because it doesn’t say anything about AR’s in the constitution it is perfectly legal to outlaw them. Abortion was declared to be constitutionally legal but nowhere in the constitution does it say when it is legal. I assume the left wouldn’t have a problem if a law was passed that mandated that any and all abortions can only be performed between 11:00 PM and 11:10 PM on the 4th Friday of every odd numbered month. Any attempt to perform an abortion before or after this time frame will be subject to fine and imprisonment. You can still kind of get an abortion right.

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smash44
Posted on January 18, 2013 at 11:24am
Unfortunately, or fortunately, depending how you choose to look at it, the overwhelming vast majority of those “black and brown kids” and “children of color” that have been murdered in Chicago were victims of their own self-imposed culture of violence and gangs. So basically he’s right. Who really cares? I don’t.

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ExtremeRight
Posted on January 18, 2013 at 10:54am
I believe that their is something a God perhaps. A creator of some kind. You guys are funny with all this religious BS. Seriously are you listening to yourselves. This guy is just and idiot and so are the people that spend Sundays in church. Just my opinion.
I know you need to believe that you are just not going in hole and worms are going to eat you. That’s ok I understand. It’s so scary… You poor babies. If you need something to believe in you can send your tax deductible donations to me and I will sit you at the right hand of the father upon your deaths. The more you donate the closer your will be. huh IDIOTS !

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no messing around
Posted on January 18, 2013 at 10:45am
I am tired of “religious” or “evangelical” types that not only don’t really know the Word of God but act like experts on it. Wallis is ignorant that Jesus told his disciples at the conclusion of the Passover meal to go out and get swords (the guns of their day) [read Luke 22:35-52] and if they didn’t have the money to buy a sword, they should sell their clothes (“garments”) and buy one! Peter replied that they already had two swords (guns). Now unless Peter wore a sword on each hip another disciple had one too – already! The only reason that Jesus told Peter to sheath his sword after whacking off the ear of Malchus was that Jesus had to go to the cross and for Peter not to try to stop that. He told them to buy swords – probably for protection from the Romans or just bad people who would try to kill them.

Wallis seems ignorant also that “There is not one who does righteousness … there is not one who does good, not so much as one….For all have done wrong and are far from the glory of God.” (Rom. 3:10-23). Only the New Birth changes that and then the person is made righteous by God (John 3:15-18, 2 Cor. 5:17-21) He does not seem to realize that evil resides in everyone without the New Birth.

It helps for “religious” experts to read the Word of God.

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DeltaBravo193
Posted on January 18, 2013 at 10:37am
This guy is blasting NRA on dangerous theology? Ha! This man is far from a true preacher in my book. In fact, his theology is all wrong and it is leading people away from God! Again this is my opinion.

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landowner
Posted on January 18, 2013 at 10:36am
The stupid is strong with this one.

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vicsemprini
Posted on January 18, 2013 at 10:34am
Mr Wallis, your theological sophistry is constitutionally repugnant.

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zoro51
Posted on January 18, 2013 at 10:30am
yet another so called PREACHER.. dabbeling into what HE has no speaking about.. the CURCH does NOT dictate laws nor ANYTHING BUT THE GOSPEL… this preacher is a MEDIA WHRE spouting like sharpton jackson… pay NO attention to MEDIA WHORES they desire FAME glory for them selves not god…

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- DesertRose1960
  Posted on January 18, 2013 at 11:19am
  That’s a terrible thing to say about Glenn Beck on the website he provides….oh, wait, he gets his flock to pay for it.
  
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woodyee
Posted on January 18, 2013 at 10:27am
The NEXT time my Glenn Beck Radio goes off, I’m searching for a another source…

…first the website, now the radio…daggum young whipper-snappers can’t get their $h1t together for just one skid mark without fouling things up…

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garbagecanlogic
Posted on January 18, 2013 at 10:20am
Hey jimy, want to see something repugnant – look in the mirror!

Praise Be To Obama. Psalm 109:8

The U.S. Out Of The U.N.
The U.N. Out Of The U.S.

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longun45
Posted on January 18, 2013 at 10:20am
He is immoral. He claims that I am his slave and must surrender my blood volitionally or I am a “bad person”. Any person who claims that you must commit suicide in order to further their life is a vile creature fit only for their own extinction.

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uncleherbert
Posted on January 18, 2013 at 10:18am
Jim wallis is the big lie.

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Pat Alexander
Posted on January 18, 2013 at 10:08am
Christ would not look the other way while millions were murdered in the womb.

“There is going to be a payday someday” the old song says.

It won’t be pretty for these folks that think they are Christians. In reality they are as far from Christ as you could get.

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Frodo RinosBane
Posted on January 18, 2013 at 10:06am
I pray God will save Wallace from his lying covetous marxist heart.

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searching for the Truth
Posted on January 18, 2013 at 10:04am
The Constitution and the Second Amendment forbids any action taken on man’s Right to bear arms and I thank God for which jim is not for it.

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