Should Christians Carry?

Soon after the Texas State Legislature passed the state’s current concealed handgun statutes, I made the decision to become part of the citizenry who legally carries a weapon concealed on their person. In my case, I started out with a Taurus manufactured copy of the venerable Beretta 92F in .40 S&W. This is a stainless, semi-automatic handgun with click adjustable sights that held 14 rounds of powerful ammunition. Today, my weapon of choice is the Kimber Custom Carry (Commander) in .45ACP. This blued, semi-automatic weapon holds anywhere from 8-12 rounds plus one in the chamber depending on which magazine I have loaded at the time. Not only is this the smoothest operating semi-automatic weapon I have fired in pistol format, the exterior has been “de-horned” to keep from snagging my clothing should I have to draw my weapon in an emergency, greatly reducing the time it takes (and therefore increasing my confidence) to present my intention to fire. (When you pull a weapon in self defense, it is not for show. The bearer has already made the ultimate decision to fire that weapon in defense of person or a third party.) Oh yes, one other “extra” I chose to include in this piece, it has fixed Meprolight tritium insert night sights. These sights glow in the dark for an average of 10 years.
But I digress….

Lately, my thoughts keep returning to the reason I have maintained my status with the state of Texas to continue to carry concealed. In the beginning, the decision was made after a very harrowing episode which occurred when I was alone, in the dark, and at my local ATM machine. I was headed to work very early one morning in the dark to catch up on paperwork before the day’s activities overtook me. Knowing I would have to eat on the run for lunch, I drove into my nearest Bank parking lot and retrieved some cash for my meal. Out of no where (and I am a GREAT observer of my surroundings), a male vagrant who outweighed me by at least 45 lbs. was at my driver’s side window asking for a handout. Not only did I not see this guy approach in the halo of mercury-vapor lights in that parking lot, I didn’t hear a sound. When he spoke, I nearly jumped out of my skin. He had approached from behind and to my left (the blind side). After dismissing him and driving on to work I got to really processing what occurred. It seemed to me that if this simple homeless person had been a real threat, he could have easily knocked me in the head and taken all my money from the ATM- AND I WOULDN’T HAVE KNOWN he was there! It scared me. It put things into perspective for me. You see, I was married less than 5 years and we had a new baby at home. At the time, I was the sole provider for my family. Who would have cared for them had the ultimate tragedy occurred? For this reason, I started looking into taking a concealed handgun class and becoming licensed to carry at all times (where law permits) to protect myself, my family, and innocent, defenseless civilians under attack.

I know what some of you are thinking. “But Troy, by your own testimony, if you had a gun that day at the ATM and the vagrant turned out to be a crook you still would have
been maimed or killed before you could draw your gun- he surprised you.” And you would be absolutely correct. But what bothered me more; the other guy had ALL the advantages in that situation. If I had been carrying a gun, not only would my confidence level have been higher, my self awareness of my surroundings would have been sharper and I would have had a chance at survival if hurt. Confidence is key in any fight, any conflict. Ask a member of our military and they will back me up on this. Their training serves to teach and to build confidence in their abilities so that they can handle circumstances most of us never experience – or want to. (Thanks guys for watching our backs!)

There are those in my circle who feel that Christians, in principal, should not take up arms in any manner against their fellow human beings. Military campaigns aside, I will attempt to address this debate from an individual perspective while referencing some Christian principles. Here are some scriptural references from the New International Version of the Holy Bible for consideration:

“When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own house, his possessions are safe. But when someone stronger attacks and overpowers him, he takes away the armor in which the man trusted and divides up the spoils.” - Luke 11:21-22

“Be on your guard against men; they will hand you over to the local councils and flog you in their synagogues.” - Matt. 10:17

“You must be on your guard.” - Mark 13:9a

“Be on guard! Be alert! You do not know when that time will come.” - Mark 13:33

“So be on your guard! Remember that for three years I never stopped warning each of you night and day with tears.” - Acts: 20:31

“Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be men of courage; be strong.”
- I Corinthians 16:13

“Timothy, guard what has been entrusted to your care...” - I Timothy 6:20a

“Guard the good deposit that was entrusted to you- guard it with the help of the Holy Spirit who lives in us.” - II Timothy 1:14

“Therefore, dear friends, since you already know this, be on your guard so that you may not be carried away by the error of lawless men and fall from your secure position.” - II Peter 3:17

If you notice, there is a recurring theme in the New Testament about Christians guarding something, or being “on guard” at all times. For those skeptical of my argument I must say that the above scriptures seem to counteract what is surely one of the most cited scriptures against violence in the brotherhood-

“But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also.” -Matt 5:39

While it is true that most of the references I have cited are about guarding one’s heart and mind about theological truths and the adherence to Jesus’ teaching, I find it ironic that Jesus chose military concepts to get his point across. He could have easily said, “Whatever happens, remain true.” or “Ignore what others do and say; remain focused.” Instead, he chose language that both the believer and non-believer could identify with since they were living in a region under martial law- that of the Roman Empire during the 1st century AD. There is an excellent example when Jesus and his disciples were confronted with violence that is somewhat compelling. It comes from the Gospel of John, Chapter 18:

“Then Simon Peter, who had a sword, drew it and struck the high priest’s servant, cutting off his right ear. (The servant’s name was Malchus.) Jesus commanded Peter, ‘Put your sword away! Shall I not drink the cup the Father has given me?’” (Verses 10-11).

A couple of observations here. Depending on where Malchus was standing in relation to Peter, the reference to which particular ear was cut off made an impact on the apostle John as he recorded his Gospel (his memoirs of his days with Jesus) years later. Peter not only was armed before being caught by surprise by the traitor Judas Iscariot and the guards of the High Priest, he was willing to use that sword in defense of a third party- his master, Jesus. If Malchus were standing directly in front of Peter - and Peter drew his sword from across the left side of his body (as 1st century Jewish men were all right handed) - then he surely must have swept the blade upward to slice off the right ear of his opponent before Malchus could react. Not only was Peter incredibly fast, he was accurate. But that’s beside the point. The verse that gets my attention is the one containing Jesus’ response. “Put your sword away!”

Now, Jesus didn’t say, “Dispose of your weapon”, or “Cast your weapon away- you will not need it again.” He simply commanded, “Put it away”. Why would Jesus tell a hot-headed, temperamental fisherman to simply put the sword back in the scabbard? Why not tell him to throw it away and never pick it up again? This has puzzled me for years. I have no hard and fast answer(s). I only know that men are creatures of habit, and Peter must have been carrying that weapon a long time to be able to use it so decisively that day against his perceived enemy. Further, I think the Lord approved of Peter’s carrying that weapon or he would have noticed it a long time before this incident and pulled him aside for a little chat. Last, the Lord didn’t condemn Peter’s action specifically. He never said, “What you have done is wrong.” There are several instances where Jesus was quite poignant about how his disciples were supposed to behave in certain situations.

It is for these reasons, and many others, that I’m confident in my decision to guard my person, family and friends, while hoping against hope to never take the life of another human being. No sensible person does. But now I’m wondering if Peter was the only apostle to carry a weapon on his person? Until next time, I remain “on guard”…