On Guns and Jesus, Lauren Boebert Is a Complete Ignoramus

BY Herschel Smith
2 years, 4 months ago

Matt Lewis writing at Daily Beast.

If you think Rep. Lauren Boebert’s conservative political philosophy is perverse, wait until you get a load of her version of Christian theology.

Speaking at a Christian Family Camp Meeting last weekend, Boebert revealed her mangled interpretation of Christ’s crucifixion: “On Twitter, a lot of the little Twitter trolls, they like to say, ‘Oh, Jesus didn’t need an AR-15, how many AR-15s do you think Jesus would have had?’” The Colorado congresswoman added, “Well, he didn’t have enough to keep his government from killing him.”

First, he writes like a second grader, and additionally, he blasts out how much he detests her conservative political philosophy right off the bat.  This doesn’t set the foundation for good analysis.

This might be one of the most un-Christian things a person could say—and not just because guns are bad, or whatever else might viscerally repel secular progressives. Consider the biblical account of Jesus’s arrest, after he was betrayed by Judas (as recounted in the Book of Matthew):

“[O]ne of those who were with Jesus stretched out his hand and drew his sword and struck the servant of the high priest and cut off his ear. Then Jesus said to him, ‘Put your sword back into its place. For all who take the sword will perish by the sword. Do you think that I cannot appeal to my Father, and he will at once send me more than twelve legions of angels? But how then should the Scriptures be fulfilled, that it must be so?’”

Now, compare the Gospel of Jesus to the Gospel of Boebert.

First, Boebert assumes that Jesus wanted to prevent his own crucifixion. Of course, this is true—in a sense. Before his arrest, Jesus prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me.” But he hastened to add, “Yet not as I will, but as you will.”

Second, as Jesus told his disciples, he could have summoned “twelve legions of angels” to save himself and kill his captors. He didn’t. And the idea that Jesus simply needed more firepower denies one of the central tenets of Christianity—which is Christ’s divinity and omnipotence.

What is more, Boebert (and everyone else who claims to be a believer) should be thankful that Jesus did not take the easy way out of an excruciating death. As Jesus said, “how then should the Scriptures be fulfilled?”

Christians believe that God sacrificed his only son to atone for our sins. No sacrifice, no atonement. Sure, a bloody Tarantino-esque revenge scene might have felt very satisfying for his disciples, at the moment. But consider the eternal consequences.

Now, maybe you think this entire crucifixion story (never mind the resurrection) is one big absurd fairy tale—and that’s your right. But for those claiming to be Christians—as Boebert ostensibly does—getting this fundamental part of the story so badly wrong suggests it was either (a) a sacrilegious joke meant to score political points about the need to use guns against one’s government, or (b) evidence Boebert has a fundamental misunderstanding of basic Christian theology.

Either possibility should exclude Boebert from speaking publicly before a Christian audience.

But there’s something else here, too. By botching the events after Jesus was betrayed, Boebert betrays a worldview that has become ubiquitous during the Trump era: the hunger for a political savior.

It’s important to understand that the desire for a political savior (who will smite your enemies), while simultaneously overlooking the spiritual savior (who will change your heart and crucify your flesh), is a major theme of the New Testament.

“My kingdom is not of this world,” Jesus told Pontius Pilate during his trial. “If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jewish leaders. But now my kingdom is from another place.”

Yet, what we see time and again in the Gospels—as evidenced by Peter cutting off the ear of an arresting officer—is that Jesus’s own disciples constantly struggled to understand this.

Indeed, most of Jesus’s disciples were anticipating a savior who would rule over Israel and liberate them from Rome. Instead, they got a “servant leader” who washed other people’s feet, and told them to turn the other cheek. They got a king who was forced to wear a crown of thorns.

Someone with a Trumpian ethos might even look at Jesus and conclude that he preaches weakness. “What a sap,” they might think.

Today, a lot of evangelicals are making the same mistake. They are so desperate for a political savior that they are missing the real-life spiritual savior.

Some are attempting to Trumpify Jesus—to change Him instead of letting Him change their hearts. Others are steering their passionate adoration toward an earthly king: Donald Trump. This, of course, is a form of idolatry.

This trend is being perpetuated by Trump disciples like Boebert, who advance this perversion of the faith—and by Christian organizations who baptize this warped worldview when they give it a platform.

We should all be thankful the Gospel of Boebert didn’t end up in biblical canon. Simply put, it’s a sin.

Second, readers here are no stranger to the notion that no politician will save us.  Only the King of King and the Lord of Lords can do that, both individually and nationally.

But Matt’s analysis has run off the rails, and badly so.  His bias has so clouded his judgment that he isn’t perceptive enough to notice it.

Ms. Boebert’s silly statement is a rehash of what has been seen and available over various blogs, Twitter accounts and elsewhere for months now.  She didn’t make it up.  It’s an attempt – a poor one – to cast weapons ownership in the light of self defense.

I am a Calvinist.  The events that surround the Crucifixion were ordained from before the foundation of the world, and could not have happened any other way.  God was saving His people from their sins.

That’s why I have never used this silly one-liner, and never will.  But I assume that Matt isn’t a Christian.  He gives me nothing in this article to assume that he is.  It’s always amusing to me to see non-Christians try to hold Christians accountable for living within the framework of their own world and life view.

They rarely accomplish that task because they don’t really understand the world and life view of the Christian.  To say that God’s kingdom is not of this world has absolutely nothing whatsoever to do with whether the rulers of the world are to “Do homage to the Son, lest He become angry, and you perish in the way” (Ps 2:12).  It has nothing to do with whether God expects His people to pursue righteousness in their vocations, witnessing, and laws they help enact.  It has nothing to do with whether He will hold accountable those rulers who make ungodly laws and lead men and women in ungodly ways.

By 325 AD (anno Domini), Christianity had so conquered the known world that Constantine the Great convened the Council of Nicea to address the Arian heresy and affirm Athanasian doctrine.  There was sitting no back and quietly praying among Christians.  They worked to change the culture.  Nero was throwing them to the lions.  By 325 AD they had taken the Roman empire.

Another mistaken notion with Matt is that he conflates weapons with evil, or Trumpian doctrine, or something (we don’t know what).

Trump has nothing to do with this, and isn’t in Boebert’s statement.  We consider Trump to have been a failure because of all the awful people with which he surrounded himself, and his failure to root out the rot in the bureaucratic state.  Boebert’s statement has much to do with something entirely different than what Matt assumes, and his dragging a past-president into the conversation is weird and bizarre.

Finally, he of course thinks that Jesus is supposed to be a long haired, Bohemian, peacenik, flower child hippie, like so much of today’s Christians and non-Christians alike.

Remember though, it was Jesus who ordered His own disciples to go get themselves swords, in complete violation of the Roman laws of the times.  Jesus quite literally ordered His own disciples to become law breakers in order to effect self defense.

Our history of Christians and weapons is extensive (see here for one of hundreds of such examples).  We won’t recapitulate that here.  But suffice it to say when Matt decides to sus out Christian doctrine again, he needs to hire someone who is actually a Christian and believes Christian doctrine.  He also needs to learn quite a bit about Christian theology before weighing in again.

This article was a complete failure, and Matt is as much an ignoramus on Christian doctrine as Boebert (if in fact she wasn’t just trying to be cute with her response).


Comments

  1. On June 20, 2022 at 11:10 pm, Eric said:

    I agree the joke is distasteful. However I put it in the category of “answer a fool according to his folly.”
    The question was not theologically serious.
    I don’t think the Twitter trolls act as if Jesus is devine. So she answered according to their premises and still showed the use of arms.

    Alternatively, perhaps she meant Jesus Barabbas. (Not really).

  2. On June 21, 2022 at 4:02 am, Joe Blow said:

    Thanks for sharing and having this discussion. I find these articles of a digestible length, and the topic enlightening. Not only am I ignorant about the scripture, but discussing its deeper meaning and historical context provide a much richer understanding than just reading the lines in King James. Thanks for keeping it short and sweet. With all thats swirling in the world these days, a light and easy balloon is sometimes best.

  3. On June 21, 2022 at 7:02 am, Fred said:

    “They got a king who was forced to wear a crown of thorns”

  4. On June 21, 2022 at 7:22 am, mind4usa said:

    Wow, talk about blowing up a semi- flip answer into discussing theology. Overblown somehow doesn’t quite describe that amateur fisking. These people are evil.

  5. On June 21, 2022 at 8:30 am, 41mag said:

    Boebert is a phony and a loose cannon. Her alleged days in a isreali Talent Agency must have been how she got noticed. She’s got a criminal record too (look it up). Not a Proverbs 31 woman.

  6. On June 21, 2022 at 9:49 am, Mountain Rat said:

    41 mag is right, she is a phony. Your take on this is also spot on.

  7. On June 21, 2022 at 10:29 am, George 1 said:

    Boebert is a product of the talent searches that the political organizations conduct today. Obama was brought about in a similar fashion as was AOC. Boebert can be counted on to vote the way the neocons want her to while saying all the right buzz words for the normie conservatives.

    As far as the AR15 and Jesus comments. I can see the point. The people who use that phrase are speaking to non-Christians so they try to make the point about self defense vis the government murdering people.

    My opinion is that the phrase is disrespectful when applied toward the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. So I would not repeat it. That is MHO.

  8. On June 21, 2022 at 11:02 am, blake said:

    Lauren Boebert is being targeted by the left in CO. I don’t know if CO has open primaries, or, if there’s a concerted effort for people to change registration so they can vote for her primary opponent, but, from what I’ve seen, it’s going on.

    Obviously, the GOP is complicit, otherwise, why would Boebert have a primary opponent?

  9. On June 21, 2022 at 11:03 am, blake said:

    Shoot, I forgot to add, the Matt Lewis hit piece is obviously part of the effort to oust Boebert.

  10. On June 21, 2022 at 1:51 pm, MTHead said:

    On Guns and Jesus, Lauren Boebert Is a Complete Ignoramus. And then Matt doubles down with his own brand of theological ignorance!
    Proving once again one can read the bible all you like. But without the Holy Spirit to guide you? You ain’t getting far.
    As Solmon wrote. There is a time for everything under the sun. It appears the time of reason has passed.

  11. On June 21, 2022 at 2:23 pm, Mike said:

    MSM pundits like Matt Lewis are forever wagging their fingers in the faces of Christians, basically telling them that they should turn the other cheek and roll over and take whatever FedGov dishes out to them (‘render unto Caesar’). It’s straight out of Alinsky’s Rules for Radicals – make the other side live up to their standards.

    Notice how not one of those pious pundits ever says one word against/about Islam?? It’s because Muslims won’t take that kind of abuse from anybody and will hunt down ‘blasphemers’ and render earthly judgement.

    The pundits, correctly, know that Christians can be blasphemed/maligned all day long and nobody will ever touch them for that.

  12. On June 21, 2022 at 3:07 pm, Red Man said:

    As in the best quote in Charlie Wilsons War-
    “Your not stupid, your just in congress”

  13. On June 23, 2022 at 8:15 am, luke2236 said:

    “render unto caesar”… then Jesus specifically states that ALL things have been given unto Him. Therefore, logically, you owe caesar NOTHING.
    I tire of morons who misuse Romans 13 also; simply ask them, “where was Paul when he wrote this?”
    “in prison”.
    “Why was Paul in prison?”
    “For disobeying the government.”
    “then go think about that, moron.”
    Paul describes righteous government that is legitimate according to God. I see not one single such entity anywhere on this earth right now, do you? Therefore…

  14. On June 23, 2022 at 12:34 pm, JAMES said:

    People will get their “political savior,” when Christ returns in His glory, and assumes His rightful kingship over the whole world.

RSS feed for comments on this post. TrackBack URL

Leave a comment


You are currently reading "On Guns and Jesus, Lauren Boebert Is a Complete Ignoramus", entry #30737 on The Captain's Journal.

This article is filed under the category(s) Religion and was published June 20th, 2022 by Herschel Smith.

If you're interested in what else the The Captain's Journal has to say, you might try thumbing through the archives and visiting the main index, or; perhaps you would like to learn more about TCJ.

26th MEU (10)
Abu Muqawama (12)
ACOG (2)
ACOGs (1)
Afghan National Army (36)
Afghan National Police (17)
Afghanistan (704)
Afghanistan SOFA (4)
Agriculture in COIN (3)
AGW (1)
Air Force (40)
Air Power (10)
al Qaeda (83)
Ali al-Sistani (1)
America (22)
Ammunition (284)
Animals (297)
Ansar al Sunna (15)
Anthropology (3)
Antonin Scalia (1)
AR-15s (378)
Arghandab River Valley (1)
Arlington Cemetery (2)
Army (87)
Assassinations (2)
Assault Weapon Ban (29)
Australian Army (7)
Azerbaijan (4)
Backpacking (3)
Badr Organization (8)
Baitullah Mehsud (21)
Basra (17)
BATFE (229)
Battle of Bari Alai (2)
Battle of Wanat (18)
Battle Space Weight (3)
Bin Laden (7)
Blogroll (3)
Blogs (24)
Body Armor (23)
Books (3)
Border War (18)
Brady Campaign (1)
Britain (38)
British Army (35)
Camping (5)
Canada (17)
Castle Doctrine (1)
Caucasus (6)
CENTCOM (7)
Center For a New American Security (8)
Charity (3)
China (16)
Christmas (16)
CIA (30)
Civilian National Security Force (3)
Col. Gian Gentile (9)
Combat Outposts (3)
Combat Video (2)
Concerned Citizens (6)
Constabulary Actions (3)
Coolness Factor (3)
COP Keating (4)
Corruption in COIN (4)
Council on Foreign Relations (1)
Counterinsurgency (218)
DADT (2)
David Rohde (1)
Defense Contractors (2)
Department of Defense (210)
Department of Homeland Security (26)
Disaster Preparedness (5)
Distributed Operations (5)
Dogs (15)
Donald Trump (27)
Drone Campaign (4)
EFV (3)
Egypt (12)
El Salvador (1)
Embassy Security (1)
Enemy Spotters (1)
Expeditionary Warfare (17)
F-22 (2)
F-35 (1)
Fallujah (17)
Far East (3)
Fathers and Sons (2)
Favorite (1)
Fazlullah (3)
FBI (39)
Featured (190)
Federal Firearms Laws (18)
Financing the Taliban (2)
Firearms (1,798)
Football (1)
Force Projection (35)
Force Protection (4)
Force Transformation (1)
Foreign Policy (27)
Fukushima Reactor Accident (6)
Ganjgal (1)
Garmsir (1)
general (15)
General Amos (1)
General James Mattis (1)
General McChrystal (44)
General McKiernan (6)
General Rodriguez (3)
General Suleimani (9)
Georgia (19)
GITMO (2)
Google (1)
Gulbuddin Hekmatyar (1)
Gun Control (1,672)
Guns (2,338)
Guns In National Parks (3)
Haditha Roundup (10)
Haiti (2)
HAMAS (7)
Haqqani Network (9)
Hate Mail (8)
Hekmatyar (1)
Heroism (5)
Hezbollah (12)
High Capacity Magazines (16)
High Value Targets (9)
Homecoming (1)
Homeland Security (3)
Horses (2)
Humor (72)
Hunting (38)
ICOS (1)
IEDs (7)
Immigration (114)
India (10)
Infantry (4)
Information Warfare (4)
Infrastructure (4)
Intelligence (23)
Intelligence Bulletin (6)
Iran (171)
Iraq (379)
Iraq SOFA (23)
Islamic Facism (64)
Islamists (98)
Israel (19)
Jaish al Mahdi (21)
Jalalabad (1)
Japan (3)
Jihadists (81)
John Nagl (5)
Joint Intelligence Centers (1)
JRTN (1)
Kabul (1)
Kajaki Dam (1)
Kamdesh (9)
Kandahar (12)
Karachi (7)
Kashmir (2)
Khost Province (1)
Khyber (11)
Knife Blogging (7)
Korea (4)
Korengal Valley (3)
Kunar Province (20)
Kurdistan (3)
Language in COIN (5)
Language in Statecraft (1)
Language Interpreters (2)
Lashkar-e-Taiba (2)
Law Enforcement (6)
Lawfare (14)
Leadership (6)
Lebanon (6)
Leon Panetta (2)
Let Them Fight (2)
Libya (14)
Lines of Effort (3)
Littoral Combat (8)
Logistics (50)
Long Guns (1)
Lt. Col. Allen West (2)
Marine Corps (280)
Marines in Bakwa (1)
Marines in Helmand (67)
Marjah (4)
MEDEVAC (2)
Media (68)
Medical (146)
Memorial Day (6)
Mexican Cartels (41)
Mexico (61)
Michael Yon (6)
Micromanaging the Military (7)
Middle East (1)
Military Blogging (26)
Military Contractors (5)
Military Equipment (25)
Militia (9)
Mitt Romney (3)
Monetary Policy (1)
Moqtada al Sadr (2)
Mosul (4)
Mountains (25)
MRAPs (1)
Mullah Baradar (1)
Mullah Fazlullah (1)
Mullah Omar (3)
Musa Qala (4)
Music (25)
Muslim Brotherhood (6)
Nation Building (2)
National Internet IDs (1)
National Rifle Association (97)
NATO (15)
Navy (30)
Navy Corpsman (1)
NCOs (3)
News (1)
NGOs (3)
Nicholas Schmidle (2)
Now Zad (19)
NSA (3)
NSA James L. Jones (6)
Nuclear (62)
Nuristan (8)
Obama Administration (221)
Offshore Balancing (1)
Operation Alljah (7)
Operation Khanjar (14)
Ossetia (7)
Pakistan (165)
Paktya Province (1)
Palestine (5)
Patriotism (7)
Patrolling (1)
Pech River Valley (11)
Personal (73)
Petraeus (14)
Pictures (1)
Piracy (13)
Pistol (4)
Pizzagate (21)
Police (656)
Police in COIN (3)
Policy (15)
Politics (980)
Poppy (2)
PPEs (1)
Prisons in Counterinsurgency (12)
Project Gunrunner (20)
PRTs (1)
Qatar (1)
Quadrennial Defense Review (2)
Quds Force (13)
Quetta Shura (1)
RAND (3)
Recommended Reading (14)
Refueling Tanker (1)
Religion (495)
Religion and Insurgency (19)
Reuters (1)
Rick Perry (4)
Rifles (1)
Roads (4)
Rolling Stone (1)
Ron Paul (1)
ROTC (1)
Rules of Engagement (75)
Rumsfeld (1)
Russia (37)
Sabbatical (1)
Sangin (1)
Saqlawiyah (1)
Satellite Patrols (2)
Saudi Arabia (4)
Scenes from Iraq (1)
Second Amendment (685)
Second Amendment Quick Hits (2)
Secretary Gates (9)
Sharia Law (3)
Shura Ittehad-ul-Mujahiden (1)
SIIC (2)
Sirajuddin Haqqani (1)
Small Wars (72)
Snipers (9)
Sniveling Lackeys (2)
Soft Power (4)
Somalia (8)
Sons of Afghanistan (1)
Sons of Iraq (2)
Special Forces (28)
Squad Rushes (1)
State Department (23)
Statistics (1)
Sunni Insurgency (10)
Support to Infantry Ratio (1)
Supreme Court (62)
Survival (201)
SWAT Raids (57)
Syria (38)
Tactical Drills (38)
Tactical Gear (15)
Taliban (168)
Taliban Massing of Forces (4)
Tarmiyah (1)
TBI (1)
Technology (21)
Tehrik-i-Taliban (78)
Terrain in Combat (1)
Terrorism (96)
Thanksgiving (13)
The Anbar Narrative (23)
The Art of War (5)
The Fallen (1)
The Long War (20)
The Surge (3)
The Wounded (13)
Thomas Barnett (1)
Transnational Insurgencies (5)
Tribes (5)
TSA (25)
TSA Ineptitude (14)
TTPs (4)
U.S. Border Patrol (6)
U.S. Border Security (19)
U.S. Sovereignty (24)
UAVs (2)
UBL (4)
Ukraine (10)
Uncategorized (99)
Universal Background Check (3)
Unrestricted Warfare (4)
USS Iwo Jima (2)
USS San Antonio (1)
Uzbekistan (1)
V-22 Osprey (4)
Veterans (3)
Vietnam (1)
War & Warfare (419)
War & Warfare (41)
War Movies (4)
War Reporting (21)
Wardak Province (1)
Warriors (6)
Waziristan (1)
Weapons and Tactics (79)
West Point (1)
Winter Operations (1)
Women in Combat (21)
WTF? (1)
Yemen (1)

November 2024
October 2024
September 2024
August 2024
July 2024
June 2024
May 2024
April 2024
March 2024
February 2024
January 2024
December 2023
November 2023
October 2023
September 2023
August 2023
July 2023
June 2023
May 2023
April 2023
March 2023
February 2023
January 2023
December 2022
November 2022
October 2022
September 2022
August 2022
July 2022
June 2022
May 2022
April 2022
March 2022
February 2022
January 2022
December 2021
November 2021
October 2021
September 2021
August 2021
July 2021
June 2021
May 2021
April 2021
March 2021
February 2021
January 2021
December 2020
November 2020
October 2020
September 2020
August 2020
July 2020
June 2020
May 2020
April 2020
March 2020
February 2020
January 2020
December 2019
November 2019
October 2019
September 2019
August 2019
July 2019
June 2019
May 2019
April 2019
March 2019
February 2019
January 2019
December 2018
November 2018
October 2018
September 2018
August 2018
July 2018
June 2018
May 2018
April 2018
March 2018
February 2018
January 2018
December 2017
November 2017
October 2017
September 2017
August 2017
July 2017
June 2017
May 2017
April 2017
March 2017
February 2017
January 2017
December 2016
November 2016
October 2016
September 2016
August 2016
July 2016
June 2016
May 2016
April 2016
March 2016
February 2016
January 2016
December 2015
November 2015
October 2015
September 2015
August 2015
July 2015
June 2015
May 2015
April 2015
March 2015
February 2015
January 2015
December 2014
November 2014
October 2014
September 2014
August 2014
July 2014
June 2014
May 2014
April 2014
March 2014
February 2014
January 2014
December 2013
November 2013
October 2013
September 2013
August 2013
July 2013
June 2013
May 2013
April 2013
March 2013
February 2013
January 2013
December 2012
November 2012
October 2012
September 2012
August 2012
July 2012
June 2012
May 2012
April 2012
March 2012
February 2012
January 2012
December 2011
November 2011
October 2011
September 2011
August 2011
July 2011
June 2011
May 2011
April 2011
March 2011
February 2011
January 2011
December 2010
November 2010
October 2010
September 2010
August 2010
July 2010
June 2010
May 2010
April 2010
March 2010
February 2010
January 2010
December 2009
November 2009
October 2009
September 2009
August 2009
July 2009
June 2009
May 2009
April 2009
March 2009
February 2009
January 2009
December 2008
November 2008
October 2008
September 2008
August 2008
July 2008
June 2008
May 2008
April 2008
March 2008
February 2008
January 2008
December 2007
November 2007
October 2007
September 2007
August 2007
July 2007
June 2007
May 2007
April 2007
March 2007
February 2007
January 2007
December 2006
November 2006
October 2006
September 2006
August 2006
July 2006
June 2006
May 2006

about · archives · contact · register

Copyright © 2006-2024 Captain's Journal. All rights reserved.