God, Guns, and Liberty

By James Burgett

                         (Photo featuring ESV Bible, Pocket Constitution and Ruger SP101 with custom grips by Burgett's Fine Gunsmithing)

On June 7th, 1773, Reverend Simeon Howard preached before the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company of Boston. Howard discussed Christianity, self defence, and the responsibility to maintain freedom. His sermon predates the ratification of the Second Amendment by 18 years, but the themes he touched on in his address bear a striking resemblance to the text of the amendment.

Howard began with Galatians 5:1:

Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free.

Howard stated that liberty was not a privilege of government, but God's gift. He felt that men ought to protect that liberty and that not to do so was the neglect of Christian duty.

Howard asked:

Would not he, who should lose his life by neglecting to resist a wild beast, be criminal in the sight of God? And can he be innocent who loses it by neglecting to oppose the violent attacks of wicked men, oftentimes as fierce and cruel as the most savage beast?

Howard asked, "How can a man who has not been able to protect his life stand before God in innocence? He did not believe in the necessity of men to submit to violence and to give up their rights in the name of Christianity.

He stated:

Nature certainly forbids this tame submission, and loudly calls to a more vigorous defence.

Howard argued that Christianity did not take away the natural right of self-defense, even when defending that right required the use of arms.

He went so far as to say that citizens have a duty to protect their country:

A people who would stand fast in their liberty, should furnish themselves with weapons proper for their defense, and learn the use of them.

Howard urged his citizens to have guns and know how to use them. He spoke out against relying solely on standing armies as they could be used by rulers as a way to oppress the people. Rather, he advocated for a militia made up of citizens who cared about defending their homes, families and freedoms.

The link to the Second Amendment is evident. Howard was preaching about organized militias and armed citizens well before the amendment was ratified in 1791. His sermon shows that these ideas were being discussed in colonial churches before the American Revolution.

Howard also warned about the consequences of failing to resist oppression:

A people may err by too long neglecting such means, and shamefully suffer the sword to rust in its scabberd when it ought to be employed in defending their liberty.

He argued that surrendering to unjust demands encouraged further oppression. Every concession gave those who were in power a license to ask more, and more, until the people were unable to regain their freedom.

Howard also tied civil liberty to religious freedom:

Besides, the destruction of civil liberty is generally fatal to religion.

A government willing to destroy the rights of its people could also threaten their freedom to worship. The protection of civil liberty was thus inextricably linked to the protection of religious freedom for Howard.

The duty of future generations was a particular concern:

Heaven has made us their guardians, and entrusted to our care their liberty, honour, and happiness.

Howard continued:

If the present inhabitants of a country submit to slavery, slavery is the inheritance which they will leave their children.

Howard believed that parents had the duty to maintain the freedom which their children would inherit. To give up those rights others would be affected in the future.

He went further, saying that resistance to oppression was a duty unto others:

It is therefore an act of benevolence to oppose and destroy that power which is employed in injuring others, and as much, when it is that of a tyrant, as of a wild beast.

Howard believed that allowing oppression to continue only strengthened those responsible for it. Giving away rights did not only hurt themselves but also facilitated others to suffer the same fate.

Howard preached this sermon two years prior to the Battles of Lexington and Concord. His sentiments are evidence of the manner in which Christians discussed citizenship and resistance to tyranny in colonial America prior to independence.

The Second Amendment would go on to guarantee the right to keep and bear arms by the people. While it was rooted in several legal and political traditions, Howard's sermon demonstrates that the defense of liberty was also being given as a Christian duty.

Howard's position was that liberty is a gift from God, hence there was a duty to defend that liberty. A man would not only be responsible for his own freedom but the rights that his children would receive. It was to be derelict in that duty to relinquish those rights by cowardice or neglect.

Primary Source

Howard, Simeon. A Sermon Preached to the Ancient and Honorable Artillery-Company, in Boston, New-England, June 7th, 1773. Boston: John Boyles, 1773. Sabin Americana, No. 33278.

Read the entire sermon that Reverend Simeon Howard preached in 1773 here: https://teachingamericanhistory.org/document/a-sermon-preached-to-the-ancient-and-honorable-artillery-company-in-boston/?utm_source=chatgpt.com

Bibliography

Howard, Simeon. A Sermon Preached to the Ancient and Honorable Artillery-Company, in Boston, New-England, June 7th, 1773. Boston: John Boyles, 1773. Sabin Americana: History of the Americas, 1500–1926.

United States. Constitution of the United States. Amendment II. Ratified December 15, 1791.