Surge Summary: Actress Alyssa Milano recently posed a question about the Bible and gun-ownership. Sen. Ted Cruz responded that, Yes! the notion of self-defense is supported by the Scriptures.
As teacher used to say: “There’s no such thing as a stupid question.”In that spirit, let’s assume actress and outspoken Progressive Alyssa Milano is sincere and deserves kudos for lately proposing a thought-provoking, discussion-stirring query.
Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) has issued a Twitter rebuttal to Alyssa Milano after the actress questioned those who claim a “God-given” right to bear arms.
“Can someone cite which passage of the Bible God states it is a god-given right to own a gun?” Milano asked, following news of yet another mass shooting in the state of Texas. [Source: Will Maule/Faithwire.com]
On Saturday, seven people were killed when a 36-year-old man drove through the Odessa, TX in a hijacked US Postal Service vehicle firing indiscriminately.
The atrocity has prompted more calls for gun control reform. Among those is actress Alyssa Milano, who raised an intriguing question on Twitter about “God-given” rights. Never one to shy away from dialogue, Ted Cruz answered Milano with a thoughtful and thorough thread.
This was a possible open door, at least, for instruction, enlightenment, explanation from a smart guy on the conservative side.
There have surely been lengthy essays and even books devoted to this crucial, life-and death topic. Senator Cruz stuck to a few tweets, but responded to Ms. Milano with typical instructiveness … and class. Notice: he didn’t snipe at her, no insults, no condescension. Instead? He answered her question.
An excellent Q, worth considering carefully w/o the snark of Twitter. It is of course not the right to a modern-day firearm that is God-give but rather the right to Life & the right to Liberty. Essential to that right to life is the right to DEFEND your life & your family. 1/x https://t.co/8pjstMGrGB
— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) September 1, 2019
Far there being a Biblical mandate to a “modern-day firearm,” Cruz asserted that the God-given aspect relates to “the right to Life & the right to Liberty.”“The right to self-defense is recognized repeatedly in the Bible,” he added, “eg Exodus 22:2: ‘If a thief is caught breaking in at night & is struck a fatal blow, the defender is not guilty of bloodshed.’ (Note, though, verse 3 says it IS murder if during daylight (ie, not self-defense).”
3/x The Declaration of Independence acknowledges our rights thusly: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”
— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) September 2, 2019
The Senator from Texas then proceeded to spotlight the courage of Stephen Willeford, the Texan civilian who returned fire against the shooter in 2017’s Sutherland Springs massacre. That man probably saved several lives.
9/x I’m a Texan. What happened in Midland-Odessa—and El Paso, Santa Fe & Sutherland Springs—was sick, deranged & horrifying. We need to do MUCH more to stop violent criminals & those w/ dangerous mental illness BEFORE they murder & I’m leading the fight in the Senate to do so.
— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) September 2, 2019
In conclusion, Cruz noted that “playing politics with these deranged crimes—and trying to use them as an excuse to violate the constitutional rights of law-abiding citizens—won’t make anybody safer. Forcible gun confiscation (as some 2020 Dems urge) won’t prevent mass-murders. But it would weaken our self-defense.”
Here’s to hoping the conversation continues …
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Image: Adapted from: Tom Sorensen – Alyssa Milano, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=26921076
Image: Adapted from: By U.S. Senate Photographic Studio – https://www.facebook.com/SenatorTedCruz/photos/a.315504525228521/2031200933658863/, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=77171719
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