Should Churches Have Armed Guards?

 

I really didn’t want to join this conversation but my heart is torn. So instead of giving you a theological treatise, I would really like to know what you think of the entire matter. Here is my problem; the early church lost their lives in droves, at the hands of angry mobs, and governments that hated Christians. As I read through the New Testament (church age) I see a conflicting position than that of today. So here are my thoughts in bullet format for and against having armed guards.

Against

1. As I read through the New Testament, not once do I see Jesus, the Apostles or anyone else trying to protect their lives as a matter fact they rejoiced that they were able to suffer like Christ (Acts 5:41)

1. I think it is hypocritical in two ways. 1. We pray and esteem those who die for the faith and use them as pillars for the faith (including the Apostles and the early Church martyrs). We teach it to our children to get them all hyped and preach it from the pulpit but then we hire security guards to protect our own lives. 2. We don’t send our missionaries armed when we send them out. We understand that there may be a lost of life, but we send them and want them to risk their lives, but once again we protect ours. That seems to be a bit flaky to me.

1. It gives mixed signals to the lost. We talk about Christ suffering in one breath and in the other, we don’t want to suffer. If I were a non-believer I would mock Christianity for such hypocrisy. Either we are willing to die for this hope like our King or we are not. If we are not, we might as well shut our doors, because we have decided the life of this world versus the promised one to come is more important.

1. I think it is a slap in the face to all of those who went before us. They never, ever defended their lives, but laid it down, we might as well stop reading Christian history and stop making fun of Joel Olsteen. At least he is being honest; we will be proven to be frauds!

For

1. I thought I would have some but the more I thought about it, the less biblical I became. So I only have against. Sorry.

So those are my thoughts. I would love to hear your perspective. This may be a bit heated, but I think it something we really need to wrestle through, especially in light of being pleasing to our Master and faithful to the hope we proclaim.