"Dark hearts" and dangerous guns: Have guns changed or have people changed?

I’d like to think that all forms of evil and violence (including guns & war) could be contained within certain borders … it that were true everyone could avoid living in those places ;~)

“Isn’t it pretty to think so” ~Earnest Hemingway (an avid hunter who expertly used guns)

Without question the world would be more paradise-like without evil or violence (which includes gun violence) … and greed & corruption (which is everywhere)

Gun violence is not an easy topic to write about and what I offer is human-opinion.

… This post is a result of a response in a post by @PDScullin

https://www.bebee.com/producer/@patrick-scullin/hannity-presents-common-sense-solutions-to-mass-shootings

… to my comment "it's not guns that have changed it's our culture" … replied to by@PaulWalters

Countries are complex … cultures are complex … people are complex…this issue is complex

As regards the USA: It is important to study our rich and providential history which includes The Second Amendment

“Before a standing army can rule, the people must be disarmed, as they are in almost every country in Europe. The supreme power in America cannot enforce unjust laws by the sword; because the whole body of the people are armed, and constitute a force superior to any band of regular troops.” ~ Noah Webster, An Examination of the Leading Principles of the Federal Constitution, October 10, 1787

“The right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed. A well regulated militia, composed of the body of the people, trained to arms, is the best and most natural defense of a free country.” ~ James Madison, I Annals of Congress 434, June 8, 1789

“…the ultimate authority, wherever the derivative may be found, resides in the people alone…” ~ James Madison, Federalist No. 46, January 29, 1788

More importantly to examine further & assess how American culture has changed … and how that change is reflected in gun violence

I’ve had enough laps around the “cornfield of life” to recognize the changes & the decline in values in the American Culture … changes unique to our moment in history

I have been saying for many years that:

Physical problems require physical cures

Spiritual problems require spiritual cures

The root cause of the changes & the decline in our culture is spiritual … (more here-2nd half)

https://www.bebee.com/producer/@fay-vietmeier-pennsylvania/a-time-for-prayer-reflection-thoughts-about-the-shootings-in-dayton-el-paso

People get so focused on & bound up in the externals that they miss the internals entirely… as result they are looking for answers in all the wrong places.

The root and the fruit:

I maintain… guns are not the real problem or the root of the problem. People are.

(Although I recognize the types of guns which are available have changed- which includes the AR15’s … and much more could be said about making them less available)

The heart of behavioral problems is the human heart. “As a man thinks in his heart so he is” There is something very broken ... something radically wrong in the hearts of people who use guns for violence. I sometimes wonder if people change a culture or if a culture changes the people in it? There is something to be said about the power of influence (positive or negative)

A society that does not value life is a society bent on self-destruction.

The increase in mental health problems, drug dependence & gun violence reflects that decline:

… decline in understanding of right & wrong/disregard of the precepts of a Sovereign God

… decline in moral values (which includes not valuing human life)

... decline in personal values (family & faith)

... decline in personal responsibility

… decline in citizenship

… increase in the “god of self"

... increase in "Amusing ourselves to death" ~ Neil Postman (book)

... increase in political correctness (which is the "sameness" written about in The Giver by Lois Lowry/more in this post)

https://www.bebee.com/producer/@fay-vietmeier-pennsylvania/be-a-student-of-history-value-the-lessons-don-t-erase-the-past-199154

I mentioned in the “Be a student of history" post:

Right-thinking produces right actions & good outcomes
Wrong-thinking produces wrong actions & bad outcomes
…these principles are as sure as gravity…

@AliAnani responded: “dark hearts shall refute these basic principles” …
To which I replied: “Dark hearts are “darkened in their understanding” (“wrong-thinking”) 

Darkness hates truth (“dark hearts” prefer delusion which is unreality)

The battle between darkness and light is an ancient war.

Any person wielding a gun for violence … including mass-shootings has a “dark heart” and is knowingly or unknowingly cooperating with the evil one (Satan) … they are assuredly not in possession of a right-mind (i.e. a “dark heart” & “wrong-thinking" result in evil actions)

As regards being a Christ-one and possessing a gun … I grew up on a farm where my parents and brothers were hunters … I do not own a gun but know how they work … I’m that life-honoring person who escorts ants and spiders outside when I happen upon them inside ;~)

“There is a time and a season for everything” ~Ecclesiastes 3

Another weapon … common in the Bible … and common in the time of Christ was the “sword”

(“Sword” is mentioned in the Bible 404 times)

He (Jesus) said to them, “But now if you have a purse, take it, and also a bag; and if you don’t have a sword, sell your cloak and buy one.” ~ Luke 22 (not saying this is an endorsement of gun ownership … “just saying”@PaulWalters)

In all times and all seasons … regarding the use and/or “support of guns” … vigilance & discernment are required

~fem-v

If my words make you think … Great ;~) Please let me know your thoughts because “iron sharpens iron” ... Feel free to share this post and if my words resonated in some way … click “Like or Relevant” … your feedback is an encouragement

A glimpse of this writer ;~) I’m a heart-to-heart communicator.

My curious nature makes me a “queen of questions” … but gifted with the ability to listen ;~) I'm a woman of deep faith, a blessed mother, a voracious reader, a blossoming writer, a grateful person, a grateful citizen and a lover of beauty … I treasure family, true friendships and my loyal clients ... enjoy traveling, learning, good movies, good wine and golf.

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