The C.A.S.H. Courier Newsletter
Winter 2012 Issue
Christian Bowhunters - An Oxymoron
By Frank L. Hoffman,
These comments are in response to the article: Christian Bowhunters use
archery as a way to spread the word about God
<http://www.christianbowhunters.org/> by Beth Slaughter Sexton.
Bryan White, the founder of the local group in Georgia, is quoted in the
article as saying, “All of us were very involved in our faith and we said,
“Wouldn’t this be a neat ministry to use archery in some way to minister to
people.” Today it is a part of the ministry of Solid Rock Baptist Church. On
the surface, some might believe that it could be a nice way to spread the
Gospel message.
So, why do we believe that the term “Christian
Bowhunters” is an oxymoron?
Because the people who call themselves
Christian Bowhunters say that they believe in Jesus Christ as their personal
Savior, yet at the same time they also fail to follow His teachings on
compassionate living.
They make killing a part of their so-called
ministry.
To be a Christian means that the person is a follower of Jesus
Christ and His teachings, and not just a believer. This is exactly what
James wrote about in 2:18-20…
18 But someone may well say, “You have
faith, and I have works; show me your faith without the works, and I will
show you my faith by my works.”
19 You believe that God is one. You do
well; the demons also believe, and shudder.
20 But are you willing to
recognize, you foolish fellow, that faith without works is useless?
NAS
Jesus tells us that we are to be perfect as our heavenly Father is perfect
(Matthew 5:48), and that we are to pray for our heavenly Father’s will to be
done on earth as it is in heaven (Matthew 6:10). Thus, if people are really
Christian, they will strive to end the pain, and mourning, and death that is
absent in heaven (Revelation 21:4), and so prevalent upon this earth.
These bowhunters are doing just the opposite, which voids their claim that
it’s a Christian ministry. It also makes the Solid Rock Baptist Church seem
more like the Hard Hearted Baptist Church.
The only one who is empowered
by the hardness of the human heart and the shedding of blood is Satan, so
from our point of view, they are really advocating for the devil.
Let’s
go on and see if these bowhunters and the Church are following what Jesus
teaches us in the Beatitudes (Matthew 5:3-9):
If these bowhunters were
really poor in spirit, they would not let the lust of their flesh to kill
another living being control their lives, and have no empathy for that
animal’s desire to live.
If these bowhunters truly mourned the suffering
of creation, they would not add to the suffering and death.
If these
bowhunters were truly gentle, they would not seek to kill another living
being.
If these bowhunters truly hungered and thirsted for righteousness,
they could not defile the God given rights of animals by killing them.
If
these bowhunters were truly merciful, they couldn’t kill anyone.
If these
bowhunters were truly pure of heart, they wouldn’t have hardened their
hearts to the extent that they can take another’s life and lead children
astray.
If these bowhunters were truly peacemaking children of God, they
would do everything in their power to free creation from its present
corruption, instead of adding more bloodshed.
Even after looking at these
few things that Jesus taught us to live by, there seems to be no way that
they could be considered a ministry for Christ.
There seems to be no way
that their actions would be considered worthy of any heavenly blessing. It
just seems to be an antichristian ministry. To us, even their claim to be
Christian seems blasphemous.
Jesus said of people like these in Matthew
23:15 –
15 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you
travel about on sea and land to make one proselyte; and when he becomes one,
you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves.”When there is
unrepented sin in our lives, such as taking pleasure in killing, when the
lust of the eye or the lust of the flesh or the boastful pride of life comes
before God, we bind ourselves with the sin, and harden our hearts.
In
essence, when people live this way, they have been bound by the devil, and
he can come in and plunder them; and from the way the world is today, he
does a good job of it, too.
Frank Hoffman
is a retired United Methodist pastor. His foundation, The Mary T. and
Frank L. Hoffman Family Foundation hosts his website: www.all-creatures.org
and also generously hosts scores of other websites of organizations that
work on animal protection. The C.A.S.H. website is among them.
C.A.S.H. thinks this OH CBA Chapter logo speaks volumes. On their
website, the American flag is waving to the right of the Cross and both are
in direct line to be pierced by the arrow.
Herman Lenz is a longtime C.A.S.H. member.
He is a farmer in Iowa and loves wild animals.
He wrote:
I was raised to be religious, but lately I’ve backed away from church for
the following reasons: I don’t know of any church, ministers, or
religious group that condemns the cruelty that humans do to animals, or the
manslaughter that humans do with motorized vehicles.
Anyone can be a
sport or trophy hunter or trapper, or speed down the roads without concern
about killing another being, and still be an esteemed member of any
mainstream church. Any religion that does not condemn the human
barbaric actions that I have mentioned above is not going to give me eternal
life in Heaven.
Go on to
Give a Former Hunter a Good Home!
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