Second Amendment Or Sixth Commandment?

A church in Kentucky is planning to celebrate Independence Day by encouraging members to bring their guns to church. After all, as the pastor phrases it, at the time the United States was officially coming into being, “there was a strong belief in God and firearms — without that this country wouldn't be here.”

On June 27, New Bethel Church in Louisville will hold an event featuring “a handgun raffle, patriotic music and information on gun safety.” Hired security will frisk those who attend to make certain their guns aren’t loaded – for “insurance and safety reasons.”

By law, residents of Kentucky are allowed to carry permitted weapons in public, except when they enter schools, jails, and bars. Churches are allowable sites for firearms, however. And the pastor of New Bethel Church stated “the point was not to mix worship with guns, though he may reference some passages from the Bible,” according to the online article.

I don’t even have to get out my concordance to check – guns aren’t mentioned in the Bible. I have no doubt, however, that this person and others can find positive references to guns in the scriptures.

Church shootings, while still rare, do occur. John Phillips, an Arkansas minister who suffers the lingering effects of having a bullet lodged in his spine as a result of being shot while leading his congregation in worship is not impressed with the plans of New Bethel Church, despite their mention of promoting gun safety: “A church is designated as a safe haven, it's a place of worship…It is unconscionable to me to think that a church would be a place that you would even want to bring a weapon.” Phillips was among those who spoke against a defeated Arkansas state legislative proposal to allow guns in churches.

New Bethel Church’s pastor claims, “We're just trying to promote responsible gun ownership and gun safety.” Never mind the fact that some of the members of the church fear that the Obama administration will take away their right to carry guns. Never mind the fact that the pastor is co-mingling patriotic observances with Christian faith and suggesting a link between God and guns in the establishment of our country. Never mind that God stands above anything we humans can desire, design, and promote. Never mind that Jesus said, “Those who live by the sword die by the sword.”

Ah, but he didn’t say “guns,” now did he?