Adam LaRoche, former MLB first baseman, who notably played on six different teams, drew attention when he brought up theology at the National Rifle Association’s prayer breakfast.
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The player was speaking on Sunday morning when he revealed a T-shirt under his sweater that read, “Jesus loves me and my guns.”
After he removed his sweater, LaRoche began to talk about how Jesus was not a pacifist and did not tiptoe through life, hoping to not stir up controversy.
He stated that God is in fact “all about love, grace, mercy” but was sure to point out that Jesus was not “a pacifist” who “carried a white lamb around and tiptoed through life avoiding controversy.”
LaRoche also quoted scripture to defend his point. He quoted Matthew 10:34 which states, “Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword.”
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What Roche stated was true about Jesus not being opposed to controversy, this piece of scripture was pulled from it’s full context.
In context, Matthew was doing everything but call believers to violence. The Moody Institute, in Chicago, wrote a commentary on the scripture, stating that the verse was pointing out how divisive the Christian message was.
“’I did not come to bring peace’ refers to dissension that they, and all [Christians], would experience because of their loyalty to Jesus,” the commentary states. “Eventually, there will be peace on earth, for his gospel is one of peace, but in the meantime, even family members may be set at odds with one another.”
The verses following Matthew 10:34 prove the faculty at Moody to be accurate. Matthew 10:25 states, “For I have come to turn ‘a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law — a man’s enemies will be the members of his own household.’”
LaRoche was not the only one who brought up scripture during the prayer breakfast. Lt. Col. Oliver North, who was just appointed the president of the NRA, also alluded to scripture. He told those at the prayer breakfast that he wants his family to remember him as “a person who taught me how to fight the good fight, how to finish the race, how to keep the faith.”
“You see, that’s the most important lesson of all: We’re in a fight. We’re in a brutal battle to preserve the liberties that the good Lord presents us,” he concluded with.