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Monday, July 2, 2012

An Armed Man Walks Into Your Church ...


Last Sunday a man armed with an assault rifle and multiple other weapons walked into a church service in Fairhope Alabama (USA) and sat down, with his wife, in one of the pews.  Naturally this stirred some alarm among the congregation and someone used their cell phone to notify the local police.

The man was arrested and carried to the local jail, but his wife was not charged.  The man was found to have controlled drugs in his possession and had numerous other unregistered weapons in his home.

How would your church respond, especially if the man had begun to shoot?  What about armed men attempting to steal the morning’s collections?


The case has caused a lot of discussion.  Here are some of the opinions:
1.     Armed guards should be posted at the doors of the church.
2.     There should be no armed guards, but the church members should carry concealed weapons.
3.     The church should affirm its refusal to allow weapons within its premises.
4.     The church should provide self-defense classes.
5.     The church should discuss the issue and decide on evacuation routes and defensive measures.
6.     Arming the church will probably result in accidental shootings.
7.     Totally banning weapons may result in legal challenges.
8.     Do we really want to kill someone in our church?
9.     Does the Christian have a right to self-defense?
10. Would church members reject being “saved” by an armed security guard?
11. It is better to have an electronic security and alarm system than an armed guard.
12. Should Christians be entirely pacifist?
13. Is there a difference between “murder” and “kill”?
14. Could not fifty unarmed men (or women) overpower one man with a gun?
15. 2 Corinthians 2:10
16. Should we fear man or fear God? Proverbs 29:25
17. We are called to be an example of Jesus.
18. Jesus was never armed.

What do you think? 

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