Should Christians Own Guns? What the Bible Says About Self-Defense

In a recent episode of his podcast, Kirk Cameron opens the conversation with his son and co-host James by naming the tension head-on: Christians and guns. Their aim isn’t to stir a culture-war pot; it’s to ask what Scripture actually teaches about defending life, how “turn the other cheek” fits with self-defense, and where humility belongs in a gun owner’s heart. As Kirk puts it, the world is getting “crazier and hairier,” which makes the Bible, not partisan feelings, the place to start.

The Pacifist Pull vs. the Protective Instinct

James admits the topic first hit home after watching an Amish documentary and noticing many Christians share a pacifist instinct: if Jesus says to turn the other cheek, does that mean never using force – even to protect your family? He doesn’t wave that away; he goes to the text. James contrasts that pacifist reading with the reality of break-ins and lethal threats, raising the honest question that many fathers and mothers feel in their bones: what do I do when my loved ones are in danger?

“Turn the Other Cheek” in Context

Kirk reads the famous line from Matthew 5 – “If someone slaps you on the right cheek, offer the other also” – and James immediately presses the context. A slap is an insult; a violent home invasion is an existential threat. Their point is not to lower the bar on Christian meekness but to locate Jesus’s teaching inside its moral category. Insults invite forbearance; life-threatening evil demands something else.

Exodus 22 and the Night-Day Distinction

James brings in Exodus 22:2-3: if a thief is killed during a nocturnal break-in, “the defender is not guilty of bloodshed,” but if the sun has risen, killing the thief brings guilt. Kirk unpacks the logic: nighttime introduces uncertainty and danger – you can’t assess intent or the extent of the threat. Daylight removes ambiguity; if the threat is neutralized, lethal force is no longer necessary. Together, they argue the passage is not a license to kill but a boundary line: when life is credibly threatened, you may use lethal force; when it’s not, you must not. God values life – yours, your family’s, and yes, even the intruder’s.

Restraint Is a Biblical Virtue, Not a Political Slogan

Both hosts keep returning to proportionality. James warns against the swaggering posture that treats a legal right as carte blanche. The moral question isn’t “Can I?” but “Must I?” Their reading of Exodus presses Christians toward the narrow path: defend life decisively when necessary and refuse excessive, unnecessary force when it isn’t.

“Sell Your Cloak and Buy a Sword” – But Why?

Kirk turns to Luke 22, where Jesus tells the disciples to buy swords. Minutes later, Peter uses a sword to cut the high priest’s servant, and Jesus rebukes him and heals the wound. The apparent contradiction collapses, Kirk argues, when you consider motive and authority. Jesus equips his followers for a dangerous world but forbids vigilante revenge that fights against God’s redemptive plan. In short: the presence of arms isn’t the problem; the posture of the heart is.

Modern Application: Tools, Intent, and Preserving Life

James then maps swords to firearms. He’s explicit: he supports carrying, women included, not to “flaunt your rights,” but to preserve life. His examples are familiar but pointed: a trained good guy with a gun stopping a would-be assassin or a police response that neutralizes a school shooter before more innocents die. For James, the through-line is clear: the right tool, in trained, prudent hands, deployed as a last resort to save image-bearers.

The Heavy Cost of Pulling the Trigger

Kirk slows the conversation to the heart-level cost. He shares from friends in law enforcement: the legally justified use of lethal force can still wound the soul. He insists a Christian should never fantasize about “the day” they get to use a gun. If the thought of taking a life doesn’t grieve you, you may not be morally ready to carry one. That sobriety check is not weakness – it’s wisdom.

Training, Prudence, and Non-Lethal Options

Both hosts emphasize competence and judgment. Know your firearm. Train until safety is second nature. Understand the legal and moral standard for “imminent lethal threat.” And be honest with yourself: if you are not prepared, in the rare extreme, to use lethal force to stop a lethal threat, consider non-lethal tools and better layers of prevention. The hope, James says, is that your gun “stays in your holster” forever.

Second Amendment, Romans 13, and Christian Conscience

Kirk links the American right to keep and bear arms to the classical Christian suspicion of tyranny: arms are not about squirrel season; they are a safeguard of a free people. At the same time, he grounds the conversation in biblical limits: “Vengeance is mine, says the Lord.” Civil authorities “do not bear the sword in vain,” which means Christians should not confuse personal payback with just defense or the rule of law. The framework that emerges is distinctly Christian: protect life, honor lawful authority, resist vengeance, and never dehumanize your neighbor – even a criminal one.

Pop Culture and the Temptation to Glamorize Violence

James throws a flag on the field of imagination. Movies and games can desensitize us; a thousand cinematic headshots numb the conscience. Real violence isn’t a dopamine hit – it’s tragedy, trauma, and a lifetime of consequences. If our media diet makes us daydream about “being the hero” with a gun, our hearts need a recalibration toward compassion and gravity.

A Christian Ethic of “Last-Resort Love”

I think Kirk and James are sketching what you could call a Christian ethic of last-resort love. It holds three truths together: life is sacred, evil is real, and vengeance is forbidden. From Exodus 22 to Luke 22, the Bible allows force to stop a lethal threat while binding the conscience against excess, cruelty, and swagger. In practice, that means cultivating character before capacity. The Christian gun owner’s first questions aren’t tactical – they’re theological: Do I love my neighbor enough to avoid unnecessary harm? Do I fear God enough to refuse revenge? Am I disciplined enough to train, de-escalate, and only act when life is truly on the line?

A Pastoral Conclusion: Courage with Tears

Kirk closes with a balance worth carrying into Monday: God gives families the right and responsibility to protect life and property, and He also gives us civil government to pursue justice. Christians can support both. If you carry, carry humbly; if you train, train diligently; if you ever act, act only to stop a lethal threat – and let it break your heart that a human soul’s story ended that way. As James puts it, see firearms as tools that, in the right hands, preserve life. That is not a loophole around “turn the other cheek”; it’s a faithful application of Scripture’s fuller counsel in a fallen world.

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