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aikoaiko

(34,202 posts)
Tue May 10, 2016, 09:26 PM May 2016

Did anyone see this tonight on PBS? The Armor of Light By Abigail Disney & Kathleen Hughes

Last edited Wed May 11, 2016, 12:31 PM - Edit history (1)


The Armor of Light

About the Film
The Armor of Light follows the journey of Evangelical minister Rob Schenck, who is trying to find the courage to preach about the growing toll of gun violence in America, and Lucy McBath, the mother of an unarmed teenager who was murdered in Florida and whose story cast a spotlight on the state’s “Stand Your Ground” laws.
Reverend Schenck, a well-known anti-abortion activist and long-time fixture on the political far right, breaks with orthodoxy by questioning whether being pro-gun is consistent with being pro-life. In a series of uneasy conversations, Rev. Schenck is perplexed by the reactions of his friends and colleagues, most of whom are gun owners and adamant defenders of the 2nd Amendment, and who warn him away from this complex, politically explosive issue. Along the way, he meets Lucy McBath, also an Evangelical Christian, who decides to work with him. Lucy is on a difficult journey of her own, trying to make sense of the devastating loss of her murdered son, while using her grief to effect some kind of viable and effective political action where so many before her have failed.

The Armor of Light follows these allies through their trials of conscience, heartbreak, and rejection, as they bravely attempt to make others consider America’s gun culture through a moral lens. The film is also a glimpse at America's fractured political culture while demonstrating that it is, indeed, possible for people to come together across deep party lines to find common ground.

http://www.pbs.org/independentlens/films/the-armor-of-light/


It was a really weird documentary about a born again, pro-life, anti-abortion, lobbyist Christian Minister who finds himself puzzled at his conservative congregations, friends, and colleagues were so often pro-2nd Amendment. The film follows him as he engages other Christians in a transparent attempt to turn them away from their pro-2nd orientations.

He claims that he is only concerned with the theological and moral crisis of gun ownership and gun violence, but it all leads to promoting restrictive legislation.

Everyone in the film (pro and anti) speaks in platitudes.

FWIW, I still recommend watching it.









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Did anyone see this tonight on PBS? The Armor of Light By Abigail Disney & Kathleen Hughes (Original Post) aikoaiko May 2016 OP
Yes, I watched it. Very interesting. I didn't realize that there was such a connection between Arkansas Granny May 2016 #1
I was disappointed. I expected a bias, but the theme was murky platitudes... Eleanors38 May 2016 #2

Arkansas Granny

(31,827 posts)
1. Yes, I watched it. Very interesting. I didn't realize that there was such a connection between
Tue May 10, 2016, 09:41 PM
May 2016

evangelicals and gun ownership.

 

Eleanors38

(18,318 posts)
2. I was disappointed. I expected a bias, but the theme was murky platitudes...
Wed May 11, 2016, 12:30 PM
May 2016

No real set of goals was discussed, and the question of theology and the Golden Rule seem to suffer from what I consider a hazy understanding of self-defense. Shenck didn't seem to come to grips with the notion, esp. since both Gandhi and MLK warned not to confuse SD with political change on a grand scale, or even with the duty to protect one's life and family. Perhaps Schenk would have followed the way of Gandhi's Ahimsa which holds a person duty-bound to use self-defense, but doing so in a manner which does not harm the attacker. But most people do not follow Ahimsa, whch Gandhi recognized. Hence, Gandhi did not object to one using violence to defend family, home and religion; in fact, it was ones duty to defend no matter the method.

Lucy McBath gave some specificity to her goal by opposing SYG. But even here, the law seems of little consequence as the provisions of SYG are employed so rarely in Florida, and even these provisions are no guarantee that courts will accept a defendant's asertions. After all, the murderer of her son will spend the rest of his life in jail.

The Q&A session following was not very illuminating. In that "townhall" and in the doc, Schenk asserted that "gun violence" was increasing, a gross misreading of basic data and a furtherance of gun control boiler plate MSM steadfastly WILL NOT challenge.

Overall, the gun-control outlook was propped up, like a rotting sign in a cow paster on a selfdom-used county road.

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