What Would Jesus Pack? -

What Would Jesus Pack? - I'm a Christian. Denominationally, I'm a militantly moderate Presbyterian (purely for theological reasons; I abhor the preening, self-righteous nannystatism and extreme social liberalism of the church's General Assembly, so far removed from John Knox' original doctrines).

I'm a fundamentalist, if you go by the strict definition of the word; I believe Christ is the Son of God, sent to earth to redeem us. I believe that we are saved from our sins by accepting Christ, and that following Christ's teachings leads us to a better life, and that prayer is a direct line of communication to God.

So it's with complete expectation of forgiveness that I say this: I want to pimp-slap a lot of local Christians.

No, not the Moral Majority Falwell clones - while they say and do some noxious things, they've got plenty of people hovering over their every word.

No, I'm talking about the Minnesota Religious Left.

You know the type; painfully-thin, balding, bearded, bespectacled fiftysomething men of scandinavian extraction, with their corn-fed, hawk-faced, alpaca-clad wives, who(as P.J. O'Rourke said) "have self-righteousness like some people have halitosis", standing with wrenchingly grim solemnity at vigil after vigil, trundling between readings and protests and "Peace and Justice Forums" in their Volvos with the "What Would Wellstone Do" stickers on the back...

And the self-righteousness is always, always about social issues.

And one of the issues that gets these types most exercised is guns. During the concealed carry debate, church after liberal-leaning fashionable church bombarded legislators with petitions and results of board or session meetings demanding the bill be rejected.

Now, one well-connected wealthy limo-liberal church is taking the matter to court.

Erik Strand, co-pastor of the 600-member Edina church, said that in his 14 years there, he isn't aware of anyone causing problems with firearms.

Nevertheless, he said, the church council, staff and many congregants support the suit.

"We personally have to inform everybody coming through the door that firearms are prohibited, so it's like 'Peace be with you, now get rid of the guns,' " he said. "Which we think is telling us how to speak within our religious space."

It would be...

...if it were true. But it's not. Nothing in the law requires a church to tell each and every person entering the building that guns are banned - merely that they are to verbally inform anyone that might accidentally disregard the signs that they need to leave their guns outside. Rev. Strand's story is yet another of Senator Wes "Lying Pig" Skoglund's scare stories - one that has gained currency with that part of the local population that hasn't yet realized that Sen. Skoglund is lying about the issue whenever his lips are moving.

The article goes on:

The suit is based on these points:

• The requirement that the church allow guns in its parking lot. The church, at 4113 W. 54th St., has prohibited firearms on all of its property, including the church building, a child care center, a playground and the parking lot.
• The requirement that a private organization banning guns post 11-by-17-inch signs naming the organization and saying it "bans guns on these premises." The church has decided to post a sign that says, "Blessed are the peacemakers. Firearms are prohibited in this place of sanctuary."
• The requirement that the church modify its customary welcome of worshipers to include personal notification of the prohibition of firearms and a demand for compliance.

The church has a long history of promoting nonviolence, dating to the Vietnam War era, said co-pastor Pamela Fickenscher. Many members were involved in protesting the war in Iraq.

In other words, it'd be more correct to say the church has a long history of promoting non-violence against criminals, tyrants or those that the World Council of Churches deems anti-western enough.

She, Strand and R. Daniel Rasmus, president of the Council of Ministers, joined in filing the suit. After a poll of worshipers Sunday found unanimous support for the challenge, the church council decided to proceed, according to a news release. Lillehaug, a former U.S. attorney for Minnesota who is a member of the Edina church, said he expects about a dozen other churches will join the suit by the time the law takes effect.

Anyone in my congregation, please take note; if our church is one of them (and our assistant pastor is nothing if not a far-left screed in vestments), you'll have seen the last of me, my kids, and our offering money. Period.

Said the Rev. Ronald Johnson of Holy Trinity Church: "I think I speak for an awful lot of churches in saying that we are furious."

No, Reverend Johnson. I am furious. For the "crime" of deeming myself competent to see to the defense of myself and my family, and for choosing (soon) the one means of self-defense that actually, consistently, reliably WORKS when the chips are down, your church has opted to discriminate against me and people like me; people who are rigorously law-abiding in every way, people who are arguably better risks than anyone else in your congregation. You are engaging in prejudice. You are choosing evil over good. You are engaging in faulty and specious theology; Christ never overtly called for self-defense (although there are some muted references), but then he was speaking to people who lived in a totalitarian Roman dictatorship that didn't recognize the concept of lawful self-defense, either (so odd, isn't it, that tis is the only issue on which most of these inevitably-liberal churches see fit to read the Bible as an absolutely literal document?).

David Gross, a former Minneapolis City Attorney and volunteer with Concealed Carry Reform Now, responds to the suit:

He asked whether the church thinks it's not subject to other state laws, such as those mandating parking for the handicapped. The suit is politically motivated by people who don't like the law, he said, noting that churches had not passed regulations about guns on their property until after the current law was passed.

"If this makes it [Edina Community Lutheran Church] feel better spiritually, fine. But there's no legal significance to the suit," he said.

Mark my words; I will attend no church that bans the law-abiding permit holder.

More as events warrant.

Posted by Mitch at May 21, 2003 09:53 PM