Reflecting on Denver
I've been waiting for a little while for the dust to settle regarding the shootings in Colorado before making any comments. It's so heartbreaking when innocent people are senselessly killed while simply going about their business. The fact that the victims in this case were missionary trainees and people attending church is hard to wrap my mind around. Certainly my sympathy is with the friends and families of those who were killed as well as with the YWAM and New Life communities as a whole.
The whole situation has made me think a little bit about security and churches. I had never heard of armed security guards at a church before. Maybe this was a special case since the YWAM shootings had happened earlier, but I'm not sure what I think about it. On the positive side, the security guard's presence likely saved a number of lives. Had she not acted, more people would have been killed.
However, I am not convinced that armed security guards are a good practice for churches, even for large politically active and potentially controversial churches like New Life. It seems that our trust gets misplaced. The Bible speaks repeatedly about God being our defender and protector. It seems that having weapons ready to eliminate a possible threat changes the nature of the gathering. It is no longer a community built around trust in God but has become a community built upon doing what we can do to ensure safety and security.
In many parts of the world, the threat of being violently interrupted during a church service is normative. But I don't hear stories of oppressed Christians using violent means to defend themselves. Instead they suffer, being wounded and killed while remaining devoted to Jesus' message of love and hope.
This is the security guard's statement to the media:
"I give the credit to God, and I mean that. I say that very humbly. God was with me, and the whole time I was behind cover — this has gotta be God — because of the firepower he had versus what I had was God," Assam said. "And I did not run away. I did not think for a minute to run away. I just knew that I was given the assignment to end this before it got too, too much worse. I just prayed for the Holy Spirit to guide me. I just said, 'Holy Spirit, be with me.' My hands weren't even shaking."This is tough stuff. Did God help her to shoot and kill the gunman? Did he prevent her hands from shaking? I don't know. Does God help one person to more effectively kill another person? I appreciate her desire to humbly give credit to God, but what if God doesn't want the credit for this one?
Jeanne Assam - Denver Post Article
I don't know what I think about all of this. I know that I don't want to go to a church where I have to walk through metal detectors and past guards who are watching me suspiciously. I also know that if a gunman happened to show up at our church service and start shooting, I would definitely wish we had better security. I'd also be grateful for one of our elders who happens to have his conceal/carry license and usually has a gun with him.
I guess the big question is how much responsibility churches have to keep people safe when they come to worship gatherings. Is that part of the church's responsibility? Should it be? What level of security do people expect from their church?
posted by Corey @ 12:53 PM
4 comments
4 Comments:
I do think there is a scriptural precedent to say that God does seem to be on a "side" in an armed conflict. There are too many examples of men and women of God killing others to count that out.
On the other hand, are Christians really willing to peacefully lay down their lives for Christ? I think many Christians in the West struggle with how we are to respond to violence and aggression and maintain a Christlike attitude. Certainly, there have been many Christian martyrs that have chosen to die than resist.
Our battle is not against flesh and blood... we need to remember this fact as we struggle through these hard questions.
I think you make some good points, but I would like to add that several article reported that the security guard wounded the shooter, but then the attacker took his own life.
We wear seatbelts to protect ourselves from accidents and pay taxes for police and fire protection. Some believers install burglar alarms and double-bolt their doors. Many--if not most--American Christians purchase home, car, and life insurance. Does this mean our trust is misplaced? Is it wrong to take precautions because the Bible says that God is our protector?
Is God on the side of police officers when they take down gunmen on a shooting spree but not on the side of civilians who do the same thing? What about soldiers protecting their homeland from attack? Why can’t God be on the side of a civilian who acts decisively and courageously to protect her brothers and sisters in Christ? Doesn’t God protect us through the brave actions of others when police, firefighters, and paramedics come to our rescue when we call 9-1-1?
One reason you don’t hear stories of oppressed Christians using deadly force to defend themselves against genocide is that believers living under oppressive governments don’t have access to firearms. Ever single mass murderer in modern history disarmed his victims through gun control before taking them to the killing fields. Another reason you don’t hear such stories is that many believers have been brainwashed into thinking that defending their families and children against violence is incompatible with Christianity. But such stories are found in the pages of Scripture, where God’s people used deadly force to defend themselves from armed attackers time and time again. Read the story of Esther, where God delivered His people from annihilation by giving them the right to use lethal force against anyone intent on killing them and their children (Esther 8:11-13). Was Esther’s faith misplaced because she appealed to King Xerxes for help? Was the king wrong for signing the decree that allowed the Jews to defend themselves?
You asked if God helps one person to more effectively kill another person. Would you ask the same question if a killer was aiming a gun at your child and a police officer was poised to take the gunmen down? Would you not want the policeman to be able to kill the gunman “more effectively” if that was the only way to save your child? Or would you tell the policeman to leave so that the gunman could kill your child more effectively?
I praise God for the security guard who saved so many lives, and I pray that any future attacks on His people will be thwarted in the same way if necessary.
I agree. I wrote a bit about it as well. I think it's quite clear that a New Testament believing Christian should be non-violent.
guns in church are incompatible with that.
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