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One hundred people die from gun violence every day in the United States. Some fifty children and teens are shot each day. There are 40,000 gun-related deaths every year in our nation. Yet many Christians say gun violence shouldn't be talked about in church.
In
Collateral Damage, pastor and activist James E. Atwood issues an urgent call to action to Christians to work together to stop gun violence. An avid hunter for many years, Atwood tallies the tragic and far-reaching costs that accrue in a country with more guns than people. A generalized fear and loss of trust. Suicides and homicides. Trauma for children in neighborhoods plagued by gun violence and in schools with frequent lockdown drills. A toxic machismo that shapes our boys and men in unhealthy ways. Economic costs that exceed $229 billion per year. Atwood also considers the deeper story of racism, inequality, and mass incarceration in which the conversation about gun violence is lodged.
Gun violence has been called the theological emergency of our time. The church has a moral and spiritual obligation to side with life against death. Will we rise to the occasion?
About the author
James E. Atwood is pastor emeritus of Trinity Presbyterian Church of Arlington, Virginia. A leader in the faith-based movement for good gun laws, he has served as chair of the anti-gun violence group Heeding God's Call of Greater Washington, interfaith coordinator of the Million Mom March, and a member of the National Committee of the Presbyterian Peace Fellowship. Atwood is the author of
America and Its Guns and
Gundamentalism. He is the recipient of the 2018 David Steele Distinguished Writer Award by the Presbyterian Writers Guild and the 2019 Beard Atwood Award from the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence. He and his wife, Roxana, served as mission workers in Japan and now live in Harrisonburg, Virginia.
