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Christianity Today, February, 2008 |

Arming in the Aftermath

Shooting spree at two churches prompts pastors to rethink security plans.

Sarah Pulliam | posted 1/21/2008 09:23AM

The December shootings at two Colorado megachurches have raised security concerns for congregations that want to strike a balance between creating a sacred space and creating a safe place.

Four people ...

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Mel	Posted: January 23, 2008 6:53 PM

Church leaders and Christian activists need to pray and shine some light on the dark, shadowy world of mass shootings. Most shooters have been on SSRI drugs (Paxil, Luvol, Zoloft, Prozac etc). Nazi death cults and government mind research/control programs also figure prominently in the lives of these tortured souls. Beauford Furrow, who shot up a Jewish school in California was in such a cult and lived on a military base in Washington State. Larry Ashbrook, who shot up a Fort Worth Baptist church youth meeting in the late '90s belonged to the same organization and told the Fort Worth Star Telegram months before his rampage that he had been under government mind control since his time in the Navy. Do your own research, pray and speak out on this issue and watch the darkness flee.

Dana	Posted: January 22, 2008 7:32 AM


i can't understand the mindset that making the church a safe place (in this case, through firearms) somehow makes it less of a sacred place. i'm thinking of the children's safe houses in africa, run by christians for kids escaping militia, that are fortified compounds with armed guards who are to shoot any militia who approach - these spaces are sacred because they ARE safe.

RJR_fan

Posted: January 21, 2008 1:35 PM

When a church in South Africa was assaulted by four thugs with AM-47s and grenades, one parishioner threw himself upon a grenade. Another pulled out a 38 caliber revolver and shot back, ending the attack. In fact, "Shooting Back" is the title of his book, which I really should read some day. Seriously, tho, as an usher in my church, I often am one of three guys carrying the offering down an empty hall to the safe in the counting room. Since I love and value my family as well as my life, maybe it's time to get that concealed carry permit.

Julie

Posted: January 21, 2008 1:21 PM

If there were a spree of break-ins in our communities, many of us would install burglar alarms or double-bolt our doors at night. When I walk through dangerous neighborhoods, I carry pepper spray and keep my cell phone handy so I can call for help if necessary. Just as believers take steps to protect their own personal safety, there is nothing wrong with taking measures to ensure that our churches are physically safe. Taking precautions to enhance security at church gatherings does preclude us from making the needed preparation to meet Christ when He returns. It's silly to think that the two are mutually exclusive.

Gerald

Posted: January 21, 2008 12:58 PM

There isn't a Christian who doesn't decry these tragedies. However, to those who read and study the Gospels, doesn't it bring to mind Christ's comments about what the world would be like just before He returned to earth. He did promise to return, did He not? Now some may see His coming as being only a spiritual event in the life of the individual Christian. Others see it as being a physical return in the same manner as when He ascended to heaven. The Apostle Paul in his final counsel to Timothy seems to be forewaring us all as to what it will be like before He comes. And these events seem to bear out Paul's concerns. (2nd Timothy 3: verses 1 to 15. It seems to me that God in His gracious love is warning us of His near return. The question then we really need to be addressing is not h ow much security do I need to make my church both a sacred and safe place, but rather: Am I making the needed preparation to meet Him as He returns? Might we all read Hebrews 4 profitably?

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