Christian broadcaster Rick Wiles thinks he has the answer to mass shootings, and it’s not something practical like more extensive background checks or criminal liability for those who don’t secure their weapons.

Nope, all we need is more “demon control.” And we’re in luck since “only the church can control demons,” according to Wiles.

Where were the parents? Where were the school administrators? You didn’t want to judge him? You didn’t want to impose your values on him as he’s searching to find his identity?… Satan comes to steal, kill, and destroy. We’re talking about gun control. We don’t need gun control; we need demon control. That’s what we need: demon control. And only the church can control demons through the name of Jesus Christ, through the blood of Jesus Christ, through the word of God.

Wiles starts out by making a pretty decent point. Of course, there were some red flags that went unnoticed by parents and school administrators. But it all goes downhill from there, as he discounts the possibility that gun regulations could help and instead pushes all our problems into the supernatural realm.

I have so many questions…

First, if the church is the only thing that can control these “demons,” why are we still having these problems? Why isn’t the church doing its job?

Secondly, if the church is truly responsible for preventing these tragedies (and, therefore, causing them when they do happen), then why do shootings occur in churches? It’s not just the infamous massacres at churches in Charleston or Sutherland Springs. Shootings with a lower body count happen at or in churches all too often.

Finally, why does “demon control” have to come at the expense of “gun control”? These are two entirely separate issues. More of one doesn’t require less of the other.

We have proven time and time again that prayer and faith and religion aren’t the answers here — certainly not on their own. While these things may help people cope with loss after a mass shooting, they have never — in history — actually prevented one.

Wiles is just reciting the same old fundamentalist Christian Right rhetoric, attempting to distract from real solutions and drum up customers for his own business: religion. Blaming demons actually makes sense for him. After all, it’s always best to invent an illness for which your organization has the only known cure.

(via Right Wing Watch)

