NPR reviewed a book on our Second Amendment by a self-identified "liberal." In the comments under the reviews, one guy says,
No, the Bill of Rights is very specifically about individual rights in the face of government powers enumerated by the body of the Constitution. That's why it's called the "Bill of Rights."
And the whole point of the second amendment is exactly that the militia needs to be "smoothly functioning" independent of the government. That's exactly why the government is not to be allowed to infringe the PEOPLE's right to keep and bear arms. (emphasis in original)
Another commenter...
responded:
Let's say you're right about the meaning of the second amendment when it was written. Do you honestly believe that it has any relevance in this day and age? We no longer need militias because we have a very well-organized and funded Army (to say nothing of the other branches) and then each state has it's own National Guard as well. For those who say that we need to protect ourselves from a tyrannical government, what part of the government do we need rifles to protect ourselves from? ...Tell me why we still need a second amendment."
Just wondering here (and yes, I'm joking): would the hermetically-sealed Radical Two-Kingdom hermeneutic pose any obstacle to Reformed men across these United States joining together to train and serve as local militias maintained to honor and defend our own civil authority explicitly delegated to us through the Second Amendment? And maybe these militias could come under the jurisdiction of Reformed church diaconates? It would be such an excellent witness to the importance of lawfully opposing the civil magistrate's growing tyranny.
Instead of the Lydia or Phoebe circle, it might be called David's Mighty Men. And prior to any hands-on training, militia members might be required to read Herb Schlossberg's superb Idols for Destruction: The Conflict of Christian Faith and American Culture
(Thanks, Nate. And yes, my proposal is a joke--hence the titlel "A modest proposal...")
Tim serves Clearnote Church, Bloomington, Indiana. He and Mary Lee have five children and big lots of grandchildren.
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