Though the Bible and church historian Eusebius both tell of early Christians gleefully accepting death in the face of persecution, American Family Association's Bryan Fischer said Tuesday that Jesus instructed his followers to use deadly force to defend themselves.
"This whole concept of using a weapon for self-defense is rooted in the teaching of Christ. There was a time, the night he was betrayed, he told his disciples, 'look, I'm going to be numbered with the transgressors, you're identified with me so you're going to numbered with the transgressors, you are going to be thought of as a criminal, there may be a time when you have to defend yourself with lethal force," he said, referring to Luke 22.
"Jesus Christ said this to his own disciples, 'my recommendation to you is if you don't have a weapon of lethal force that you can use in self-defense, sell your cloak and go buy one,'" Fischer added. "Now, it wasn't an offensive weapon. Jesus wasn't telling them to get this weapon so you can go rip off the Nazareth 7-11 or so you can go to war in my name. This is for self-protection. So our Second Amendment is rooted in the teachings of Jesus Christ."
Fischer fails to note that later in The Gospel According to Luke, Jesus rebukes his disciple for using a sword during his arrest. In the version of the same story recounted by The Gospel According to Matthew, Jesus tells his disciples, "for all who draw the sword will die by the sword."
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