Concealed Carry in Church

[Aquila]

Here’s an interesting excerpt from Bro. David K. Bernard’s book, Practical Holiness, that might help to understand the complexity of this issue. I think he makes some good points...

“Defense of Self and Family

How should we defend ourselves or our families
against murderous attacks? John Yoder’s book, What
Would You Do?, lists the options available to the Christian
who is committed to pacifism: martyrdom, divine
intervention, ruse, nonlethal violence, or moral disarming.
This last category includes such things as showing
respect, showing love, or asserting moral authority, which
often so affect the attacker that he changes his mind.
Yoder gave six actual case studies, ranging from wartime
to a prison riot to a mugging, in which nonviolent
methods stopped a lethal attack.

We do not interpret Christ’s teaching to mean we
must passively, idly watch while an attacker seriously
injures or kills someone. Under some circumstances, it
would be appropriate to use the minimum force necessary
to halt, ward off, or incapacitate the attacker. The
motivation in such a case must not be hatred, retaliation,
revenge, desire to harm, or desire to fight, but simply
protection against harm. Under no circumstances, however,
should we deliberately seek to kill the attacker. We
can seek to prevent evil, but not at the expense of
performing an equal or greater evil. It is essentially wrong
to use physical force except in cases of extreme necessity,
and then not to the point of taking a life.

From a spiritual perspective, the Christian should not
fear death. It would be better for the Christian to die and
be with the Lord than for his attacker to die and be forever
lost. Jesus and Stephen set the example by praying
for their murderers. Through their courageous deaths
onlookers such as the Roman centurion and (as some
scholars propose) Saul of Tarsus came to a knowledge of
the truth.

In the vast majority of self defense situations, we
would not face the choice of killing or being killed. We
must trust God to keep us from or to protect us in the
extremely rare cases of this nature. Moreover, we must
use prudence and not place ourselves in situations where
we might be forced to make this decision.


Bearing Arms

If we reject deadly force as an option, then the bear-
ing of arms becomes problematic. It could reflect a fundamental
lack of faith in God’s protective power (Job
1:9-12; 2:6) and the protective ministry of angels (Psalm
34:7; 91:11). If God prohibits killing, what is the purpose
of carrying a deadly weapon? In a time of crisis, can we
trust ourselves not to use it lethally? If a potential victim
produces a weapon, he forces the attacker to act violently
and often places himself in greater danger. Furthermore,
these weapons kill many more people in accidents and
arguments than in self-defense situations.

Why did Jesus tell His disciples on one occasion to
carry swords? (Luke 22:35-38). After the Last Supper,
Jesus gave new instructions to His disciples relative to the
preaching of the gospel. Earlier in His ministry, He had
sent them out without purse (money) or bag (supply of
food), telling them to depend upon the hospitality of the
people. Now, however, He told them to take purse, bag,
and sword. Possibly, He meant for them to take swords for
protection against wild beasts and robbers (to frighten off
or ward off the latter, not to kill them).

More probably, His allusion to the sword was
metaphoric. In other words, He was warning that they
would no longer enjoy a hearty welcome in every place,
but would face bitter opposition. Therefore, they should
learn to provide for themselves and to brace themselves
spiritually against attack and persecution.

Upon hearing this, the disciples found two swords
and brought them to Christ. He told them, “It is enough.”
Two swords are not adequate for twelve men. Apparently,
the disciples failed to understand Christ’s real meaning
at that time. When He saw them bringing two literal
swords, He decided to drop the subject. This view receives
support from Christ’s admonition to Peter a short time
later. When Peter actually tried to use one of these swords
in Christ’s defense, He forbade him with words that
denounce all killing. Furthermore, never again do we hear
of the disciples resisting violence with violence, although
they were subjected to violence many times.”

-Rev. David K. Bernard, Practical Holiness