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Is firearm ownership sinful?


jeffboom

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5 minutes ago, jeffboom said:

I've been thinking about this for a long time. Is it sinful to own firearms?

Why would it be sinful?

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It's not a sin unless you commit sins (robbery, murder) with the firearm. But you can steal and kill without benefit of a gun, too.

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Unless you are going to use it as self-defense, then it is not a sin.  

Edited by elizabeth09
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Basilisa Marie

Nope. It's not sinful to own a knife. Or a bomb, for that matter. Guns are morally neutral objects. What matters is what you do with them. :)

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Interesting story:  the Catholic head chaplain of the Chicago Police Department said in a talk Tuesday that if we were comfortable with guns, he would encourage us to get our concealed carry permit.

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27 minutes ago, Basilisa Marie said:

Nope. It's not sinful to own a knife. Or a bomb, for that matter. Guns are morally neutral objects. What matters is what you do with them. :)

But it is pretty universally illegal to have a bomb. When the state creates laws, we do have a serious obligation to follow them. That is, we sin when we break laws that do not infringe on our moral rights and obligations. Where's @Nihil Obstat for the finer points?

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Basilisa Marie
1 hour ago, truthfinder said:

But it is pretty universally illegal to have a bomb. When the state creates laws, we do have a serious obligation to follow them. That is, we sin when we break laws that do not infringe on our moral rights and obligations. Where's @Nihil Obstat for the finer points?

When I said bomb I was thinking of a category that included fireworks. :)

@Nihil Obstat WHERE YOU AT?!1!

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3 minutes ago, Basilisa Marie said:

When I said bomb I was thinking of a category that included fireworks. :)

 

That makes more sense - but again, there are several places that have banned them (usually because people kept blowing body parts off or peoples houses catching on fire) - or are only permitted to be purchased at certain times of the year.  

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1 hour ago, Norseman82 said:

Interesting story:  the Catholic head chaplain of the Chicago Police Department said in a talk Tuesday that if we were comfortable with guns, he would encourage us to get our concealed carry permit.

You're a boxer if I remember correctly? Aside from the violence, I don't like guns as aesthetic weaponry. Nothing appealing to me about a machine that repeats a function. I appreciate a Bruce Lee and those kinds of martial arts, but to me a gun is as boring as car racing. Someone invited me to a gun range once...not my idea of fun lol. Maybe hunting I could ger into, but not for the gun. I'd rather wrestle alligators.

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4 hours ago, jeffboom said:

I've been thinking about this for a long time. Is it sinful to own firearms?

No.

3 hours ago, elizabeth09 said:

Unless you are going to use it as self-defense, then it is not a sin.  

Legitimate self-defense is not sinful.

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When you buy a gun, you are supporting the gun industry. Then it's up to you if you want to support the gun industry. The Pope said that people who make and sell guns are hypocrite if they call themselves christians. 

“It makes me think of ... people, managers, businessmen who call themselves Christian and they manufacture weapons. That leads to a bit of distrust, doesn’t it?” he said to applause.

He also criticised those who invest in weapons industries, saying “duplicity is the currency of today ... they say one thing and do another.”

http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/06/21/us-pope-turin-arms-idUSKBN0P10U220150621

In his adress to the congress : 
 

Being at the service of dialogue and peace also means being truly determined to minimize and, in the long term, to end the many armed conflicts throughout our world. Here we have to ask ourselves: Why are deadly weapons being sold to those who plan to inflict untold suffering on individuals and society? Sadly, the answer, as we all know, is simply for money: money that is drenched in blood, often innocent blood. In the face of this shameful and culpable silence, it is our duty to confront the problem and to stop the arms trade.
Is buying a gun - i.e giving monney to this industry - going to at the service of dialogue and peace ? The Pope called to "stop the arms trade". Is buying a gun going to stop the arms trade ? 

 

Edited by NadaTeTurbe
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