God And Guns: People Of Faith Debate Solutions To America's String Of Mass Shootings
Weekend Plug-in 🔌
Editor’s note: Every Friday, “Weekend Plug-in” features analysis, fact checking and top headlines from the world of faith. Subscribe now to get this newsletter delivered straight to your inbox. Got feedback or ideas? Email Bobby Ross Jr. at therossnews@gmail.com.
TULSA, Okla. — God and guns.
After a string of mass shootings nationwide, conversations with people of faith inevitably turn to that subject.
Ken Factor and Lawson Vaughn are friends and fellow Christians. I met both while in Tulsa this past weekend to report on their church mourning the massacre of four people.
READ: Guns in Houses of Worship: Why American Churchgoers Are Packing Heat
I asked Factor and Vaughn about possible solutions following the recent attacks at a Buffalo, New York, supermarket, an Uvalde, Texas, school and a medical office in their own community.
Factor stressed that he has been a registered Republican for nearly 40 years.
But he said, “I think we need some kind of restrictions on guns. I don’t know that the Second Amendment applies to things like me deciding, ‘I’m going to go get an AR-15 today.’”
In Vaughn’s view, though, firearms aren’t the real problem.
“I think there’s something to be said just for the erosion of the home, the family,” he said. “I mean, it starts with raising kids to respect others and having families that go to church.”
As The Associated Press’ Deepa Bharath and Holly Meyer report, the recent shootings have exposed divisions on the gun issue in faith communities and raised this question: “Are you pro-life if you are pro-gun?”
At The Oklahoman, Carla Hinton offers in-depth coverage of religious views on gun control — including a letter signed by more than 50 leaders that was recently delivered to Tennessee’s Republican governor, Bill Lee.
Related coverage:
• ‘We must pray with actions’: Latino church leaders offer more than prayers after Uvalde shooting (by Hamil R. Harris, ReligionUnplugged.com)
• ‘What other studies do we need to do of dead bodies?’ Catholic leaders lament inaction on gun control (by Michael J. O’Loughlin, America)
• Are fatherlessness and societal breakdown to blame for mass shootings? (by Lois M. Collins, Deseret News)
• Meet the first minister of gun violence prevention (by Emily McFarlan Miller, Religion News Service)
• Pastor shot at by Uvalde gunman recounts terror in sermon (by Jay Reeves, AP)
• Minister issues apology for words at gun debate; Methodist officials turned off mic, tried to hide video (by Frank E. Lockwood, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette)
• Think piece: This love of guns: It’s way beyond our understanding (by Matthew Soerens, Christianity Today)
• Think piece: Abortion, guns and the ‘throwaway culture’ (by Timothy Dolan, Wall Street Journal)
Power Up: The Week’s Best Reads
1. How Christian nationalism paved the way for Jan. 6: Former President Donald Trump “seemed to frame himself as leading an existential fight against liberal foes, defending America from an attack on the Christian faith,” according to Religion News Service’s Jack Jenkins.
Jenkins’ report coincides with Thursday night’s prime-time hearing by a U. S. House panel investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.
As The Associated Press notes, the panel blames the Capitol violence on an “attempted coup” that came as “a direct result of the defeated president’s effort to overturn the 2020 election.”
2. Nigeria Owo church attack: Blood on the altar: “Grace was being shared when the first shot rang out,” BBC News’ Nduka Orjinmo reports. “For dozens of worshippers at the St Francis Catholic Church in Owo, south-western Nigeria, the Lord's prayer turned into a viaticum — the final prayer.”
See additional coverage of the Pentecost attack by ABC News’ James Bwala, Josh Margolin and Morgan Winsor, who quote sources putting the death toll at more than 80.
Others covering the story include Reuters’ Kazeem Sanni and Temilade Adelaja, The Guardian’s Jason Burke and the New York Times’ Ben Ezeamalu and Elian Peltier.
At Christianity Today, Jayson Casper suggests that the terrorist attack highlights Nigeria’s omission as a nation of concern in the the U.S. State Department’s latest international religious freedom report. The Deseret News’ Kelsey Dallas reports on “the good, the bad and the ugly” in the new report.
3. Southern Baptist Convention: Tennessee pastor returned to the pulpit after assaulting woman: “The pastor was on a list of accused ministers secretly maintained by members of the Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee,” The Tennessean’s Josh Keefe reports.
Here at ReligionUnplugged.com, Karen Swallow Prior has a viral opinion piece titled “The body of Christ is betrayed: Reflections on sexual abuse in the SBC.”
See Plug-in’s recent coverage of the bombshell SBC report, and look for a ton of headlines next week as thousands of Southern Baptists gather in Anaheim, California, for their annual meeting.
Related coverage:
• Pastors called for a report on sexual abuse in the SBC. Now, some say they want reform (by Katherine Burgess, Memphis Commercial Appeal)
• Calls for SBC to cut ties with Guidepost Solutions greet firm’s Pride month tweet (by Bob Smietana, Religion News Service)
• Abuse survivors call for more action than proposed by Southern Baptists’ task force (by Mark A. Kellner, Washington Times)
• Southern Baptist seminary admitted registered sex offender during high-profile leader's tenure (by Liam Adams, The Tennessean)
• Two Tennessee residents in active ministry on Southern Baptist Convention list of accused abusers (by Katherine Burgess and Liam Adams, Memphis Commercial Appeal)
• Bellevue Baptist reaches partial settlement in lawsuit over sex abuse of teen (by Katherine Burgess, Memphis Commercial Appeal)
More Top Reads
• Woman buoyed by support after viral pastor confrontation (by Peter Smith, Associated Press)
• Churches, pro-life centers attacked as Supreme Court abortion ruling looms (by Sean Salai, Washington Times)
• Oklahoma State University, Catholic church help fill gaps in finances, community for Afghan refugees (by Carla Hinton, The Oklahoman)
• Vatican’s Pius XII archives begin to shed light on WWII pope (by Nicole Winfield, AP)
• Why a Presbyterian elder defended Muslims building a mosque in Middle Tennessee (by Daniel Silliman, Christianity Today)
• The Twin Cities, a hot spot for labyrinths, ships portable paths around the U.S. (by Erica Pearson, Star Tribune)
• Asian American Christians see more work for the church to do to stop AAPI hate (by Emily McFarlan Miller, Religion News Service)
• Hollywood’s hidden monastery is not for sale, prioress says (by Deborah Netburn, Los Angeles Times)
• New vaccine may be option for troops with religious concerns (by Lolita C. Baldor, AP)
• The danger of finding our meaning at work (by Kathryn Post, RNS)
• Church members decry TV portrait of Mormon life: ‘It’s designed to make us look alien’ (by Meredith Blake, Los Angeles Times)
• Inside one of Charlie Kirk's Freedom Night in America events at Dream City Church (by Richard Ruelas and BrieAnna J. Frank, Arizona Republic)
• Americans open to visiting different church denominations, survey finds (by Mark A. Kellner, Washington Times)
• Pope Francis fuels new speculation on future of pontificate (by Nicole Winfield, AP)
• Think piece: Religion is not overpowering our politics (by Hugh Hewitt, Washington Post)
• Think piece: The Christian martyrs of Nigeria (by David Curry, Wall Street Journal)
Inside The Godbeat: Behind The Bylines
ReligionUnplugged.com is the newest member of the Institute for Nonprofit News.
According to INN’s website, “The Institute for Nonprofit News strengthens and supports more than 360 independent news organizations in a new kind of news network: nonprofit, nonpartisan and dedicated to public service.”
Paul Glader, ReligionUnplugged.com’s executive editor, said the online religion magazine’s acceptance by INN “adds more credential heft to us and also allows us to raise funds through the NewsMatch program of INN.”
“This is another sign of the incredible progress we have made as an organization,” Glader said of ReligionUnplugged.com, which launched in February 2019.
Charging Station: In Case You Missed It
Here is where you can catch up on recent news and opinions from ReligionUnplugged.com.
• Journalists might ask: Did fundamentalists actually win their debate with modernists? (by Richard Ostling)
• Overflowing cups of joy: Discovering pathways leading to the fullness of salvation (by Michael Metzger)
• Former administrator at California church charged with embezzling $360,000 (by Anne Stych)
• 5 things we learned from new book about Pope Pius XII and Nazi Germany (by Clemente Lisi)
• Korean Covenant Fellowship Church halts investigation into sexual misconduct allegations (by Anne Stych)
• Catholic churches suffer rash of thefts and vandalism, but cause remains a mystery (by Clemente Lisi)
The Final Plug
While the Oklahoma Sooners were winning the Women’s College World Series on Thursday night, The Oklahoman’s Berry Tramel — the state’s premier sports columnist— was 1,300 miles away.
What was more important than covering the latest NCAA title by the local sports dynasty? That would be Tramel’s first mission trip at age 61.
I’ve loved reading Tramel’s travelblog about his experiences south of the U.S. border (read his posts here, here and here).
Happy Friday, everyone! Enjoy the weekend.
Bobby Ross Jr. is a columnist for ReligionUnplugged.com and editor-in-chief of The Christian Chronicle. A former religion writer for The Associated Press and The Oklahoman, Ross has reported from all 50 states and 15 nations. He has covered religion since 1999.
Correction: More than 50 faith leaders sent a letter concerning gun control to the Republican governor of Tennessee, Bill Lee. The state and governor’s name were incorrect in an earlier version of this column.