Guns in Church

Recently Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal signed House Bill no. 1272 into law, which allows concealed firearms in places of worship.  I can’t say it any better, so I’m going to offer the words of Bishop William Hutchinson:

“Besides the atmosphere of a citadel for worship, the other objections I have are purely theological.  Haven’t we been taught to believe that ‘perfect love casts out fear?’  Hasn’t the one who told Peter in the garden to put up his sword because those who live by the sword will also die by the sword saved us . . . And don’t we believe that abundance of life in Christ is not dependent on our security from those who threaten to kill us?  Isn’t that the message Jesus gave when he willingly gave himself to crucifixion rather than call down the legions of angels to protect and secure his life . . . If I’m gunned down in church, then maybe that’s the most blessed place I could be when I go to meet my maker . . . I’m not going to go to worship with all my false protection out of fear of some imagined enemy that never shows up!”

Scott Bader-Saye in Following Jesus in a Culture of Fear writes,

“On Tuesday, August 16, 2005, Brother Roger, the founder and prior of a religious community in Taize, France, was stabbed to death during a prayer service.  As the worshipers sang and the brothers kneeled, a mentally unstable Romanian woman, Luminita Solcan, emerged from the congregation and murdered the ninety-year-old Brother Roger in his wheelchair . . . Would the community’s spirit be broken?  And practically, would Taize restrict access to the Brother?  ‘Nothing at Taize has changed.  There is no security,’ said Brother Jean-Marie. . . NO SECURITY?  The founder of the community has just been stabbed to death during worship by a woman who carried in a knife for this very purpose.  Surely some metal detectors would be in order?  But parables do not exist to reinforce our assumptions about caution and common sense.  They put us face to face with God’s profound grace and urge us to take the profound risk of loving the other as God does.

Like any good parable, the life of the brothers stretches our imaginations, and by simply returning to their open, hospitable life of trust, they make possible a response to evil that many of us would have thought impossible . . . The Taize community . . . exists not for self-preservation, but to give the world a taste of God’s kingdom.”

I’ve heard some interesting rationals for why guns in church is a good idea, ranging from “Don’t you wear your seatbelt?” to “Jesus is a warrior, and He calls us to defend his children.”  My prayer is that we crucify the temptation to conform to a world where fear teaches us that self-perservation and security is ultimite concern because this ethic lives counter to the resurrection.  As Christians, it has been revealed to us that death is not the end of the story; therefore what is there to fear?  Sacrificing trust for sake of security is not a price I’m willing to pay.  Allowing guns in church means that we have taken our faith from the hands of God and placed them in the hands of marksmen . . . or anyone with a permit and eight hours of training.