A Bible In One Hand and A Gun In the Other…

Randolph Jason

A Bible In One Hand and A Gun In the Other… by Randolph Jason for Gospel News Network

Growing up a Southern Baptist in the community affectionately known as “the buckle of the bible belt” I heard this saying most of my young life – “a bible in one hand and gun in the other“. As a youth I had no idea what these people were talking about or what the saying actually meant, I just knew it sounded cool and that was enough for me.

Well, now I know exactly what it means and how it applies.

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The state of Virginia has taken it a step further and has passed legislation that allows this saying from my youth to become law. I understand a lot of people are not very happy about this, but, personally, I support this type of legislation for a number of reasons. There have been two significant shootings at two different churches that could have been slowed or even stopped had someone inside the church been armed. Imagine how quickly these two incidents would have ended if several people had been armed? High probably no one, except the shooter, would have died. This legislation assists the innocent and helps to condemn the guilty. Driving out demons is part of what Jesus said we were to do. Seems pretty clear this type of legislation would ensure the demons are sent back to hell where they belong.

Virginia passed a bill last week that will allow people to bring guns into places of worship.

According to the Washington Post, the bill, which passed through Virginia’s state Senate, will reverse a law that was put into place during the colonial era that forbids people from bringing any sort of dangerous weapon into a church service without “good and sufficient reason.”

While deciding on the bill last week, the Post reports that robust religious debate broke out across party lines.

Senator Richard H. Black (R) said that allowing church-goers to carry guns will allow them to defend themselves if they are ever under attack. The Senator noted the 2012 mass shooting at a Sikh temple in Wisconsin and the 2015 shooting at a South Carolina African Methodist Episcopal church. Black said of the mass shootings, “It really sent shock waves through all churches.” He continued, “These folks are uniquely vulnerable because they’re lined up in a church pew; exiting the pew is very difficult. It makes them the ultimate target. … Either you cower in place or you fight back.” Source

Some people, including the opposing voices to the legislation, pointed out that this “would take God out of church”. I disagree completely with such a statement.

During the debate, Spurill asserted, “Psalm 46 said, ‘God is our refuge and strength.’ Now we are saying, with this bill, we no longer trust in God.” He added, “We… foolishly took prayer out of schools… and now we want to take God out of church. If there’s anywhere you can trust God, it should be the church. Let’s depend on God on this one. Let’s not take God out of church.” Source

From my perspective if God’s will be done and a church has armed parishioners, maybe God’s will is for the shooter to meet his maker instead of several members of the church. God does not intend for us to be poor stewards of the life He granted us and using the appropriate tools to address demons seems well within the teachings – as least from my perspective.

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