At a Christian event hosted by the Charis Christian Center, Colorado Rep. Lauren Boebert told her audience that Jesus probably could have avoided the crucifixion if he’d been armed with a couple assault rifles.
Addressing “Twitter trolls” who argue for stricter gun laws, Boebert said that “they like to say: ‘Oh, Jesus didn’t need an AR-15. How many AR-15s do you think Jesus woulda had?’ Well, he didn’t have enough to keep his government from killing him.”
Lauren Boebert claims Jesus “didn’t have enough [AR-15s] to keep his government from killing him.” pic.twitter.com/dTC9O7ZFDz
— PatriotTakes 🇺🇸 (@patriottakes) June 14, 2022
The audience chuckled in response since Boebert was clearly joking. But as jokes go, it’s a pretty troubling one. We know from the Bible that Jesus agonized over the cross, pleading with God to “take this cup.” And yet, Jesus told Peter to put away his sword when the Romans came to arrest him, reminding him that “whoever lives by the sword, dies by the sword.” Of course, being one with God, Jesus hardly needed a sword (let alone an AR-15) to escape his fate, but he chose obedience out of his love for humanity. It wasn’t that he didn’t have enough firepower to defend himself. It was that he loved the world too much to put up a fight.
Jesus wasn’t the only biblical reference Boebert made at the event. She also addressed cancel culture, saying it “has been here since the very beginning. Cain canceled Abel. 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.”
Setting aside the peculiar definition of “canceled” here, it’s worth noting that in this framework, AR-15s are both so powerful that Jesus could have used them to slaughter the Romans before he was crucified but also so trivial that they’re about as effective as a rock.
Boebert also said that she prays that President Joe Biden’s “days be few and another take his office,” a quote from Psalm 109:8. “Hallelujah!” she said. “Glory to God!”
Lauren Boebert’s prayer for President Joe Biden: “May his days be few.” pic.twitter.com/1ft1LoYqnK
— PatriotTakes 🇺🇸 (@patriottakes) June 11, 2022
The remarks were party of Charis’ Family Camp Meeting in Colorado Springs, Colorado, which hosts pastors and speakers “who have proven God’s Word,” according to its website.
