IV – Know

Brief Answers for People Who Are Against the 2nd Amendment 

Massad Ayoob is an internationally recognized lethal-force expert with more than 40 years of experience as a police officer, author, and firearms and self-defense instructor to law enforcement officers and private citizens. He says the defensive use of a firearm is a direct analog to the use of a fire extinguisher.

In the mid-20th century, fire extinguishers were not prevalent in private homes. Today, fire extinguishers in homes are as common as smoke detectors in homes; fire extinguishers are also even in cars as a precaution. What happened to cause this change?

The public finally became aware of how a fire extinguisher is an invaluable tool to instantly stop a fire emergency and save lives before the fire trucks expend multiple minutes just to arrive on the scene, let alone begin extinguishing the blaze and rescuing people. Similarly the defensive firearm is an emergency safety rescue tool for the citizen who is on site to responsibly use when a deadly danger breaks out. The sooner the individual can stop the threat, the more innocent lives can be saved.

[ Read the SemperVerus article, Worldviews and Emotional Assumptions in the Gun Civil Rights Debate ]

In the following video (with time stamps below), Mr. Ayoob offers soundbite answers to frequent broad stroke statements against the 2nd Amendment:

Latest Biblical Archaeology Research

The Bible is a collection of 66 ancient books written over a period of 1,600 years by about 40 different authors from various countries and cultures. The authors included shepherds, fishermen, soldiers, and farmers. One was a Gentile physician and another was a Jewish rabbi. They wrote about controversial subjects, such as the origin of the universe, the purpose of life, the destiny of humanity, and the way of salvation from the judgment of God. With all that diversity, the cohesion and agreement about these subjects are remarkable and life-changing.

[ Read the Bible on Bible Gateway ]

Written centuries ago, the Bible’s message remains relevant today. Its historical veracity is repeatedly proven through archaeological discoveries that corroborate the existence and influence of locations, governments, and people mentioned in Scripture.

[ Read Bible verses that present the Good News of life through faith in Jesus Christ ]

What follows is a collection of the latest biblical archaeology and historical research that confirms the Bible’s credibility.

[ Read Why Biblical Archaeology Is Important for Your Bible Reading: An Interview with Randall Price ]

The Book & The Spade Radio Program about Biblical Archaeology
The Book & The Spade

[ Read SemperVerus articles on Spiritual Fitness ]

Israeli Research Uses Earth’s Magnetic Field to Verify Event in Bible’s Book of Kings (January 2024)
The Jerusalem Post

The Bible Got It Right, Israeli Tech Again Confirms (January 2024)
Israel Today

Biblical Archaeology’s Top 10 Discoveries of 2023 (December 2023)
CT

Top Ten Biblical Archaeology Stories of 2023 (December 2023)
Biblical Archaeology Society

Amazing Biblical-Era Discoveries From the Holy Land in 2023 (December 2023)
Fox News

Unique Byzantine Psalm Inscription in New Testament Greek Discovered in Judean Desert (September 2023)
The Times of Israel

Americans Hostile Toward God Still Value Biblical Behavior, Report Says (September 2023)
American Bible Society

Pool of Siloam Steps, Where Jesus Walked and Healed the Blind Man, Are Unearthed (September 2023)
The Jerusalem Post

How Archaeology Affirmed the Historic Stature of a Biblical King (July 2023)
CT

Spiritual Fitness: How Long Does It Take to Read the Bible?

Buy the book 30 Days to Understanding the Bible: Unlock the Scriptures in 15 Minutes a Day through this affiliate link with AmazonJesus said the greatest commandment ever given by God—the most important one for us to obey—is: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength” (Mark 12:30).

The best way to obey that command is to read God’s communication to us (the Bible) and to communicate back to God (prayer). In this way our love for him will grow richer every day and our soul will grow stronger in our spiritual warfare against evil and personal temptation.

[ Read SemperVerus articles on the subject of spiritual fitness ]

But you may be thinking you don’t have enough time in a day to complete the reading of the entire Bible. The reality is you do have enough time, since each book of the Bible can be measured in achievable “chunks.”

Almost half the books in the Bible take less than a half-hour to read. Twenty-three of them can each be read in under 20 minutes!

Here’s a chart (by the website desiringGod) of the average time it takes to read each book of Scripture, shown in the order in which each one appears in the Bible:

Spiritual Fitness: How Is Global Christianity Changing?

Buy the book Global Christianity: A Guide to the World’s Largest Religion from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe through this affiliate link with AmazonThe 5 life-changing success-generating components of SemperVerus® work together to cultivate in the members of the SemperVerus Brotherhood™ the strategic and tactical element of self-defense, which includes the intelligent and resolute ability to responsibly protect yourself from menacing spiritual threats, not only physical threats. The former dangers are what we battle when we identify and thwart temptations that diminish the strength of our soul in following Jesus Christ.

[ Read SemperVerus articles on the subject of spiritual fitness ]

Every year the Center for the Study of Global Christianity at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary presents a snapshot of global Christianity that provides a statistical overview of the world’s 2.5 billion Christians and their activities. Here are highlights from the 2022 Status of Global Christianity report: