Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) last week at a Christian conference joked that Jesus didn’t have enough AR-15 rifles to “keep his government from killing him.”
“On Twitter, a lot of the little Twitter trolls, they like to say, ‘Oh, Jesus didn’t need an AR-15, how many AR-15s do you think Jesus would’ve had?” Boebert said.
She continued: “Well, he didn’t have enough to keep his government from killing him.”
The Christian New Testament teaches that Jesus willingly died on a cross to take the penalty for the sins of those who follow him and that he dissuaded his followers from using violence to try to save him, including one instance in which Jesus rebuked a disciple for cutting off the ear of a soldier who arrested him.
Boebert delivered her speech at the 2022 Family Camp Meeting’s “All Things Are Possible” conference in Colorado Springs.
She discussed the importance of speaking up for conservative beliefs in an attempt to embolden attendees against “cancel culture.”
“Now, cancel culture is something that’s been pretty, kind of a big deal lately,” said Boebert. “However, cancel culture is nothing new. Cancel culture has been here since the very beginning.”
Boebert used the biblical story of Cain, who killed his brother Abel, to demonstrate her point.
“Cain canceled Abel,” she said. “And guess what, it wasn’t with a big, scary AR-15, it was with a rock, so I don’t think it’s a firearm issue. I think it’s a heart, a sin issue.”
Responses to the speech, which was streamed live, varied, with some applauding Boebert’s courage and some criticizing her use of biblical passages to support her political views.
“Amen!!! We need more Spirit filled people in the governments and more of us Spirit filled Believers standing up for Righteousness!!!” said one viewer.
“1:03:07 is a point of absolute blasphemy,” said another, referencing Boebert’s comment about Jesus being killed. “Our Lord is our Saviour because He CHOSE to give His life as a ransom for us all, not because he didn’t have any AR-15s. SMH.”
An AR-15 is the gun used in the recent shooting in Uvalde, Texas, that left 19 elementary school students and two teachers dead after 18-year-old Salvador Ramos showered a classroom with bullets from a gun he acquired on his 18th birthday.
Some Republican lawmakers are supporting a Senate plan that aims to bolster mental health resources and strengthen background checks on prospective gun buyers under the age of 21 in response to shootings in Uvalde and elsewhere.