HEARD AT CHURCH

In the beginning, the elohim created skies and earth.

Welcome back. Let's think about the world.

Often the spirit of the times changes, or a political mood grips the country, and then we find the powers of the world establishing a course that clashes with the rule of our God of love. Any progress towards the kingdom of God can be set back many decades when our churches are forced to deal with the consequences of bad politics.

To demonstrate what I mean, allow me to share my pastor's "First Thoughts."  That is the title of Dr. John Finley's weekly editorial that he writes in The Calendar, which is the church bulletin.

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Some of you know that while Norma and I were in seminary, we served our first congregation in

Southern Indiana: an 1824 open-country Baptist church called Lick Branch.

They were sweet people, but even in the 1980’s, they could sponsor some wild and wooly religion. The chairman of deacons regularly served communion in his bib overalls with a large chaw of tobacco in his cheek, despite the fact that the spittoons had been removed in the early twentieth century.

A hundred years before that, the men of the church regularly brought their firearms to church, but at least had the good sense to leave them at the door. Frontier life could be somewhat rascally on the outside, but there still was general respect for a Christian church as a house of

prayer.

        Now comes House Bill 60 as passed by the Georgia State Assembly and signed by Governor Nathan

Deal. Dubbed the “guns everywhere” bill, this legislation opens the door for persons to carry guns and other

weapons into places of worship, bars, and schools.

Members of our Diaconate considered this bill at their May meeting, and guided by attorney Van Pool as their chair, looked at the portions of the bill that pertain to us.

These lines from Section 1-5 are especially important: “A person shall be guilty of carrying a weapon or long gun in an unauthorized location and punished for a misdemeanor when he or she carries a weapon or long gun while: (1) In a government building; (2) In a courthouse; (3) In a jail or prison; (4) In a place of worship,unless the governing body or authority of the place of worship permits the carrying of weapons or long gunsby license holders;…”

        As we understand it, weapons are still not allowed in houses of worship except in the cases of law enforcement officers, federal agents, and the like, but our deacons were of the opinion that First Baptist Church does not want to open the door to weapons of any kind on our premises.

Other congregations of various denominations are presently stating their own policies, among them our Roman Catholic, Episcopal, and United Methodist friends, and we intend to pay close attention to their responses to this legislation in forming our own.

Since this law does not go into effect until July 1, the Diaconate intends to make a recommendation to the church at its next Quarterly Church Conference on Sunday, July 20, 2014.

Watch for more information to follow as we attempt to live out our life together as a congregation which belongs, first of all, to the Prince of Peace.

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I find it simply amazing that churches now must discuss a course of action in response to the politics of the great Christian state of Georgia. I can think of few things more truly anti-Christ, than the proliferation of weapons in our society.

How ironic that in my state, Georgia, our politicians turned their legislative back on the Common Core and the Affordable Care Act, but bear hugged legislation that effected the omnipresence of guns throughout the state--except in government buildings and courthouses.

How ironic that Georgia politicians are proclaiming that they are Christians in televised political ads—sometimes while they wield guns.

How ironic that Georgia fancies itself to be solid leather in the Bible Belt, yet to make citizens feel safe our state has turned to lead, not the Lord. 

The feeling of being safe is an illusion. People feel safer with guns in the house, but are they really safe?  I doubt if the reality of being safe is as tangible as the illusion.

Once I asked my mother why we did not have any guns in the house. She said, "We have a weapon far more powerful that any gun."

"Is it more powerful than a bomb?"  I asked.

"Yes," she said.

"Is it more powerful than an atom bomb?" I asked.

"Yes.”

I did not believe her. I thought she was pulling my leg.

"Where is it?" I asked.

"There's one in just about every room in our house.”

“What does it look like?” I asked. I could not think of one instance where I had seen a weapon more dangerous than a slingshot in our home.

“There's one on the coffee table in the living room."

I went into the living room to find this great weapon more powerful than an atom bomb. All I saw on the coffee table was our family Bible.

Blessings...