My neighbor dropped his voice and said “I’ve got a Concealed Carry permit, and I’m now carrying at church.”

We were in a public place, and talking about various things, including the town of Marshall, the Nats, and of course the recent Virginia election. From there, the talk drifted to the recent mass shooting at the church in Texas. That’s when B_______ lowered his voice and let me know he was packing heat at church.  

It turns out that B________ is a regular usher for his church, and has concerns not only for his own safety, but also for that of his fellow worshippers. He feels the need to protect them. I asked if his priest knew, and he lowered his voice further and said no.

He said that he was at church the previous day getting ready for the upcoming Sunday service. He was alone at the time, and carrying his Glock. With no one else around, he drew his pistol and took aim at a statue on the far side of the church. He proudly told me that he activated the laser sight on the pistol, and was able to hold his aim steady on the head of the statue, with no shaking of his hands.

I didn’t really challenge him about carrying in church, because I knew the conversation would go no where, and both of us would feel frustrated. We parted a short time later.

I’ve thought about the conversation off and on since then, and one of the questions I’ve asked myself is, what would Jesus say?   I think the Bible has already given us the answer to that question in Mathew 26: 50-52 which describes his arrest in the Garden of Gethsemane. As Judas gave him a kiss, 

Jesus said “My friends, go ahead and do what you have come for”. Then the others grabbed Jesus and arrested him. One of the men with Jesus (Peter) pulled out a sword and slashed off an ear of the high priest’s servant. “Put away your sword,” Jesus told him. “Those who use the sword will be killed by the sword…”

I’ve discussed this with an old friend of mine who is a minister. A part of the discussion focused on incident response and issues of liability for the church. For me, the greater interest was in a series of questions he asked me –       “What does the church teach its members, and the observant culture beyond the four walls of the church, when we are armed to the teeth in the house of God?      That this physical life is more sacred and should be protected at all costs on this side of eternity?       That we fight fire with fire, literally?      That we have greater faith in our sidearms that in faith itself?      Does the Christian life teach that we’ll be protected from all forms of harm and adversity?”  

In discussions with another minister friend (who also spoke of incident response), she referred to I John 4:18 – 

There is no fear in love; but perfect love [perfect love of God] casts out fear, because fear involves torment.  He that fears is not made perfect in love. 

Then she asked me –     “Isn’t it fear that motivates us to conceal carry in a church?!       Are we succumbing to fear?      Where is our faith…  in life and death and life beyond death?”

While I certainly have some thoughts,  I’m not smart enough to have the answers to any of the questions from my minister friends. I think I have a pretty good understanding of the First and Second Ammendments, but it’s not as clear to me about  God’s will. As an imperfect Christian, I’m always a bit amazed that others, including my neighbor, seem to arrive at the answers more quickly than I do and have a better idea of what God wants us to do. 

Packing in church. Maybe that’s what we’ve come to here in America, but I’m not quite sure Jesus would agree.