Group Think | Do not conform to the pattern of this world. (God and guns part 1)

In the past year or two, I've found myself completely change positions on what became a hot-button issue after the Sandy Hook shootings in December.

I never have really enjoyed shooting guns--I do have a BB gun for trying to kill the gophers in my backyard, but I don't have that "Wow, this is so cool!!" feeling that a lot of other men (and women) get when shooting something more powerful.

However, I used to be really supportive of people who owned guns, and wanted to defend their viewpoint.  Here's why:

I used to be a pretty conservative Republican (today I'm a moderate independent).  Why? Because I'm an evangelical Christian raised in the 1980s and 90s, and that meant you were a Republican.  I used to be in favor of people owning guns because I was a Republican.

Even after I became a political independent, I was still in favor of people owning guns because most vocal American Christians are Republicans, and thus support gun rights.  I know that's a little over-simplified, but hang on with me, and I'll try to demonstrate causation.

My default way of thinking was "guns are fine. Self-defense is fine. Pre-emptive use of drones or snipers is fine if the person is really a threat to society."

I thought so because the people around me thought so.

On the internet, sometimes people talk about "group-think."  Group-think is when everyone on a message board has the same opinion regarding an issue because everyone on that message board has the same opinion (kind of circular logic).  In the outside world, there could be a much better opinion being discussed, but because of the bubble of that message board, the whole group has the same opinion.

My old views on guns, weapons, and such was group-think--group-think of my friends, the religious right, whatever.

What the internet refers to as "group-think" the apostle Paul refers to as "conforming to the pattern of this world" (Romans 12:2).

In The Message, Eugene Peterson paraphrased Romans 12:2 "Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking."

When I first heard that sentence, it blew me away.  I think it's my favorite verse in The Message.  I had always assumed that I could stop conforming to the pattern of "this world" by avoiding things like sexual sin, anger, lying, bribery--you know, those clear-cut sins we love to talk about in America.

When I heard The Message, and thought about the word "culture," I realized how much of what I believe is based on how I fit into the group-think of those around me without even thinking.

What shapes your culture?  Your parents, family, childhood friends and experiences, religious background, ethnicity, social status, schooling, finances, TV, movies, songs, current friends and experiences, work environment...

The most overlooked way Christians fit into culture without thinking is by fitting into the group-think of the church.  Look, the church is made up of flawed people who are often deceived or distracted simply because they are people.  

I know (now) that not every evangelical Christian had the same view on guns that I did, but the majority of the people I knew in the church at that time had pretty similar opinions on this issue.

Just because everyone else thinks it doesn't mean it's right--even if they're Christians.

There are so many things that each of us believe because of group-think.  I'm going to dedicate a couple of blog posts to unpacking how to get out of group-think and stop fitting into culture as we are commanded to do in light of Romans 12:1-2.  Then, I'm going to spend some time looking at the issue of guns/weapons as an example of how I have applied Romans 12 to my own life and seen myself faced with the reality that my old way of thinking was rooted in group-think and often countered the very teachings of Scripture.