Sunday morning November 5th, 2017, Devin Patrick Kelley entered First Baptist Church of Sutherland Springs in Texas and opened fire with a rifle killing 26 people and injuring 24.
Neither the shepherd nor the flock had any means of effective defense available to them. I'm fairly positive several had cell phones, and probably at least one person was able to dial 911 to summon the police. After that, their only defense was to try and hide and wait for the police to arrive.
Suggested Church Carry Anti-threat Tool
Was it their fault they were murdered and wounded that day? Certainly not. All of the moral fault goes to the murderer. Were they willfully unarmed? Yes, but that is the prerogative of every human being to not be armed. Why should they have been armed? Massacres are thankfully rare, and besides, the readers of this article are not likely to be involved in one. They usually happen to other folks.
Unfortunately that day, it happened to them. So what sort of "blame" should they have for not being prepared to save their own lives? Honestly none. It's their lives and the lives of their children. It was their right to place whatever value they had on them and to act or not act accordingly. Could one imagine that if they had valued their lives a little more that they would have been prepared to defend those lives? Well, that contemplation would just be begging the question, wouldn't it?
A neighbor got involved and shot the murderer as he was fleeing, then pursued him along with another neighbor driving his personal vehicle. And the armed neighbor and driver wore no uniform nor badge but were there on the scene as first responders before the badged and uniformed second responders arrived.
Oh that there would have been such neighbors INSIDE the church that morning! Don't you agree? But I'm just wishing that because of the value I place on human life. Don't let anyone think I am judging the victims. As I said before, victims have the right to place whatever value they have on their own lives.
A couple of neighbors inside the church with holstered pistols under their coats would have meant far less victims yesterday. I don't care if you disagree. This is not an opinion. This is a fact.
Just who is our neighbor? Our Lord Jesus, in Luke 10:37, shows us that our neighbor is anyone we have the opportunity to show mercy to.
This is why I will always be armed with my pistol in church. Not just to save my own life and family, but to also show mercy to my neighbors if and when necessary.
“I’m willing to give up what I think is right and my concept of weapons to make sure I protect the people I put under me,” said Eastman’s New Pleasant Hill Baptist Church Pastor George Fluellen.
ReplyDeleteAlthough it seems Pastor Fluellen is trying to have it both ways, at least he is moving from his hard anti-gun stance to one where he will allow at least some people to be armed in church for their safety. I was wondering when some of these pastors would finally get it.
Pastor Changing Direction