The world is increasingly becoming insecure. We hear of burglaries, home invasions, mass shootings, car- jackings and many other criminal activities. There is a lot of pressure for men to arm themselves to protect their families, and for vulnerable groups such as women to protect themselves. The bible calls us to peace, but we cannot ignore the presence of evil around us. While as Christians we may have peaceful intentions, there are those around us intent to commit crimes. This has raised a lot of debate in the Christian circles- can a believer own a gun?
Guns were invented long after bibles were written, so there will be no explicit passage either encouraging or prohibiting ownership of guns. However, warfare was a common occurrence during those times, and other weapons were in use. They were also used for personal protection when people travelled since robbers were common (Luke 10: 30). At some point, Jesus also encouraged the carrying and use of weapons for self- defense (Luke 22: 35- 38).