What if Christians did more than offer thoughts and prayers in response to gun violence? Ethicist Michael Austin argues—from a biblical but nonpacifist perspective—that we can impose firea
What if Christians did more than offer thoughts and prayers in response to gun violence? Ethicist Michael Austin argues—from a biblical but nonpacifist perspective—that we can impose firearms restrictions to make our society safer and less fearful while still respecting the rights of gun owners. God and Guns in America is a thoughtful, measured, and articulate treatment of a polarizing topic that is too often treated with more heat than light.
Publishers Weekly
“Austin’s sound arguments, welcoming tone, and emphasis on building peace alongside protections of individual rights have the potential to sway Christians on both sides of the discourse around faith and firearms.”
“With insight, brilliance, and conviction, Austin shows us how to match what the Bible, the evidence, and Christian discernment say about God and guns in America with corresponding actions we can undertake to reduce the dangers and suffering that so often attend them.”
— Rob Schenck
from the foreword
“Michael Austin exposes the economic forces that have driven America’s gun culture since the end of the Civil War and challenges Christians to be peacebuilders in a violent world, offering a way forward in making it harder for us to harm one another with guns.”
— Rev. Deanna Hollas
Minister of Gun Violence Prevention, Presbyterian Church (USA)
“God and Guns in America is required reading for any follower of Jesus interested in the gun debate. Austin advocates a third way between pacifism and the just war notions of the use of violence, which he calls ‘peacebuilding.’ A fine work of theological integration around one of our culture’s most vexing issues.”
— Scott B. Rae
Biola University
“This is an important book—comprehensive yet concise, well researched yet accessible, with a balanced treatment of the theological, ethical, and legal issues related to guns.”
— David P. Gushee
Mercer University
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Michael W. Austin is Foundation Professor of Philosophy at Eastern Kentucky University and Bonhoeffer Senior Fellow of the Miller Center for Interreligious Learning and Leadership of Hebrew College. He has published twelve books, including Being Good: Christian Virtues for Everyday Life (Eerdmans, 2012), Humility and Human Flourishing (Oxford University Press, 2018), and his latest, God and Guns in America (Eerdmans, 2020).
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Table of Contents
Chapter 1: God, Guns, and America
Chapter 2: The Right to Own a Gun
Chapter 3: Guns, Lies, and Bad Arguments
Chapter 4: Violence, Guns, and the Gospel
Chapter 5: A Bible and a Gun
Chapter 6: Christ, Character, and a Colt .45
Chapter 7: More than Thoughts and Prayers
View Table of contents
