Everybody grab your guns, we're goin' to church......'cause everybody knows that Jesus was always packin' heat!
What the hell, why not....the bible is full of murder and mayhem anyway. All the way through what is so commonly called the "old testament", the Jews slaughtered everyone and everything that their god told them to! Kinda scary to think of that and then read that a pastor in Kentucky is telling the members of his congregation to bring their guns to church.
From Alter Net:
Kentucky Pastor Tells Followers to Bring Guns to Church
"Guns and God were part of the foundation of this country," said Ken Pagano . "I don't see any contradiction in this."
If there's one question to which I've always longed for an answer, it's: Who Would Jesus Shoot?
Ken Pagano, the pastor of the New Bethel Church [in Louisville, KY], is passionate about gun rights. He shoots regularly at the local firing range, and his sermon two weeks ago was on "God, Guns, Gospel and Geometry." And on Saturday night, he is inviting his congregation of 150 and others to wear or carry their firearms into the sanctuary to "celebrate our rights as Americans!" as a promotional flier for the "open carry celebration" puts it.
"God and guns were part of the foundation of this country," Mr. Pagano, 49, said Wednesday in the small brick Assembly of God church, where a large wooden cross hung over the altar and two American flags jutted from side walls. "I don't see any contradiction in this. Not every Christian denomination is pacifist."
…"When someone from within the church tells me that being a Christian and having firearms are contradictions, that they're incompatible with the Gospel—baloney," he said. "As soon as you start saying that it's not something that Christians do, well, guns are just the foil. The issue now is the Gospel. So in a sense, it does become a crusade. Now the Gospel is at stake."Louisville is less than four hours away from Knoxville, TN, where, less than a year ago, Jim Adkisson walked into a church and opened fire, killing two people and injuring six more, for which he is now serving life in prison. So maybe this whole God-'n'-Guns bravado is a wee bit, um, insensitive, apart from everything else wrong with it.
Just sayin'.
(Hat-tip to Melissa McEwan at Shakesville )
15 comments:
I saw that - unfuckingbelievable.
I hate to put a less-than-liberal slant on this, but if there had been an armed law-abiding citizen in the church, maybe he could have prevented Dr. Tiller's murder. That is true of many shootings in many places over the years.
There are too many guns to get rid of and the police cannot protect us from guns in the wrong hands.
More guns means more trouble, that's my idea. Yet, I understand the pro-gun position that they can prevent problems. The difficulty I have with that is covered extensively on my blog, but it boils down to two things. One, the more legally owned guns we have the more they feed the pool of criminal weapons, through theft mainly. And two, some of the lawful gun owners themselves turn bad.
Riot Kitty - Yeh...ain't it though!?!
I don't worry about guns. I worry about idiots, psychos and drunks with guns. What I want to know is how did Geometry fit into
his sermon on "God, Guns, Gospel and Geometry." WTF?
Gordon - There's two problems I have with that.
If everyone starts packing heat we'll end up seeing more people being shot. Example: Guy walks into a convenience store with a gun to rob it, and shoots the clerk. A patron in the store draws his gun and shoots the robber while someone else is walking into the store. Not knowing what happened, and being trigger happy, this person draws his gun and shoots the guy who shot the robber because he see's him holding a gun and "looks" like a criminal. Three dead, 1 crook.
The other thing is, click the link and you'll see a pic of the pastor with a Heckler & Koch MP5 submachine gun at a shooting range. Looks like the pastor is getting ready to shoot a lot of people, who I would think would be people who don't agree with his religious beliefs...such as his stand on abortion.
I think the last thing we need is everybody carrying guns wherever they go. We've moved past the "old west" and are supposed to be a civilized society.
mikeb - I agree with you. And with the way guns can be sold at gun shows without background checks doesn't help either.
PENolan - Yeh, guns don't kill people. It's the idiots, psychos, drunks, and extremists who use the guns.
I think the geometry came into play when he was probably telling them how to take aim on a person from a distance.
There isn't any one-size-fits-all solution to crazies and wingtards with guns. Sorry if that sounds redundant. There are all kinds of worst-case scenarios as well, but it would be nice if we were allowed to defend ourselves.
Defending yourself against any kind of assault can actually be illegal here in California. When confronted by an assailant, the law says you are to 'retreat' if possible. They didn't teach me how to do that in the Marine Corps.
@Gordon, I knew there was a reason why I didn't want to live in California.
Besides the argument for and against having weapons to defend ourselves, which I think is at a draw, the fact that these people have taken the gospel and made it compatible with violence is just shameful. Violence only begets more violence. The gospel that Jesus preached was one of love. Not violence. It's quite apparent they haven't bothered to read it. If Jesus came back, (if he existed in the first place) he'd probably bitch slap these idiots. But I digress.
I will put my two cents in and say that law-abiding citizens have the right to have guns. I have a .22 rifle that I use for target practice, and I'm getting a .243 soon for deer hunting (so I don't have to borrow one), because I prefer to hunt for my meat rather than buy the corporate industry crap they sell in the store. But when I say we have the right to have guns, that doesn't mean unregulated crap like the gun shows where people can buy M-4s and shit without any sort of background check. If I wanted to have a machine gun, I'd have joined the military.
Maddy, Thanks for your comment. I rarely hear from a gun owner what you just said about the gun shows and lack of background checks and all that. The argument over guns seems to polarize people into two extreme positions. It's good to hear from someone like you with a foot in both camps.
Gordon, I'm an ex-Marine too and I would say they taught me many things that are better forgotten. That never backing down one is a good example.
Eddie, thanks for running a good discussion over here.
OMFG I live in KY and I am horrified by this crap. Please world, not all of us are gun toting idiots. Damn. I have to move to another state now.
mikeb - You're welcome, pal. A nice lively discussion among friends is a good thing.
Helen M. Bascom - I feel bad that these people are grabbing the headlines and making people think that everyone in KY is a nut-case with a gun. I know that not everyone there is a crazy redneck hillbilly with a gun and an attitude, and I'm sure there are more of us who know that, too.
so christian isnt he??
D-Cap - Yeh....so god-like....just slaughter all those ungodly savages...
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