U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert is facing pushback from some in the Christian community for joking that Jesus could have avoided death if he had “enough” AR-15s.
Boebert, a Republican representative from Colorado, made the remarks Saturday during the 2022 Family Camp Meeting at Charis Christian Center, a non-denominational church in Colorado Springs, Colo.
Boebert delivered a Bible-infused speech, telling the crowd, “I can’t really stand politics, but I love the Lord.” Her talk was well-received by attendees, although her joke about AR-15s received only a few laughs.
“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 have had?’ Well, he didn’t have enough to keep his government from killing him,” she said, smiling.
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 Bible teaches that Jesus voluntarily died on the cross.
“His Son willingly came into the world to take our punishment for us,” evangelist Billy Graham wrote in 2006. “The Bible says, ‘He loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins’ (1 John 4:10).”
Boebert’s comments, though a joke, received plenty of criticism on social media.
“This is a theology where guns are worshiped as the savior of the world and even the savior of Jesus,” writer Benjamin Cremer said. “When Christ and his cross are replaced with a gun, that is when you have a heresy.”
Lauren Boebert: “Jesus didn’t have enough [AR-15s] to keep his government from killing him.”
— Rev. Benjamin Cremer (@Brcremer) June 15, 2022
This is a theology where guns are worshiped as the savior of the world and even the savior of Jesus.
When Christ and his cross are replaced with a gun, that is when you have a heresy.
Brian Zahnd, the pastor of Word of Life Church in Missouri, said Boebert’s comments “may be the worst sentence ever uttered in a church in American history.”
Hey, @CharisCCenter, this bit from @laurenboebert may be the worst sentence ever uttered in a church in America history.
— Brian Zahnd (@BrianZahnd) June 15, 2022
Do you really believe Jesus was a failure because he didn’t have enough AR-15s?
Your congregation seems to think this blasphemy is funny.
Care to respond? https://t.co/yVCC8YeuaW
The Family Camp Meeting was held June 8-12 and included such speakers as Lawson Perdue, Barbara, Ashley Terradez, Aaron Perdue, Max Cornell and Mark Hankins. It advertises itself as a “free event where your family will encounter the love of Jesus Christ, the tangible presence of God, and the move of the Holy Spirit.”
Photo courtesy: ©Getty Images/Kevin Dietsch/Staff
Michael Foust has covered the intersection of faith and news for 20 years. His stories have appeared in Baptist Press, Christianity Today, The Christian Post, the Leaf-Chronicle, the Toronto Star and the Knoxville News-Sentinel.
