Over at Joshua Claybourn's Domain, guest blogger John Adams asks the question, "Would Jesus Own a Gun?" I posted a comment there that I'd like to post here as well.
I said:
I too own a gun, and I do not believe Jesus would own one. In my mind, the question "Would Jesus own a gun?" is irrelevant - His mission was different than mine. He was sent to preach, teach, heal, and die and be raised again -- all in order to save the world, just like John 3:16-17 say.Besides, questions like "Would Jesus drive a SUV?" or "would Jesus bomb Iraq?" or "would Jesus own a gun?" are irrelevant in another way -- Jesus was not sent into our time where SUVs, guns, and bombs exist. He was sent into a different time, with a different mission. It's like Gandalf said to Frodo in FOTR, "All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us."
A more appropriate question than "What Would Jesus Do?" is "What would Jesus Have Me Do?" We all have unique roles in the body of Christ. If we all did only what Jesus would do, we would all be doing the same thing, what the head would do. But as Paul says in 1 Corinthians (12 I think), we all form a different part of the body. Some are hands, some are feet, some are eyes, ears, and mouths. While we should endeavor to be like Christ, I think it is misguided to apply the WWJD question to every action we take.
UPDATE: The FOTR quotation was wrong in my original comment to John Adams's post. I've corrected it here.
Posted by joelfuhrmann at February 22, 2003 11:40 AM