PHOENIX — There was a time in the Wild West that cowboys had to check their guns before they could pull up a bar stool for a drink — rules that protected against the saloon gunfights that came to define the frontier era in places like Arizona. But a bill moving through the Arizona Legislature has some bar owners fearful that the state is turning back the clock to the Old West. Lawmakers are considering a bill that would allow anyone with a concealed-weapons permit to bring a handgun into bars and restaurants serving alcohol. The bill gives bars discretion to keep gun-toting patrons out, and anyone with a weapon would not be allowed to drink. But the bill has angered bar owners who believe booze and guns are a recipe for disaster. . .

The article partially quoted above came from Fox News. And, it was not a positive article. I find myself asking if some are not carrying support of the Second Amendment a little too far. Guns in a bar???? Frankly, I cannot blame the bar owners! No, I am not against private ownership of guns. I am not against people with concealed gun permits. I am a veteran. I have a daughter who is a 2nd Lieutenant engaged to a currently serving member of the Air Force. But, let me be clear, I am against people with concealed gun permits drinking alcohol in a bar while packing!

But, this brings up an interesting question. Is it really necessary to increasingly pass laws that allow us to return to the Wild West just to make a point? Perhaps this hits me strongly because of the news this week about the Pentecostal pastor who asked his people to bring guns to church to make a point. You see, the Orthodox have always had a complex attitude towards subjects of this type.

As a priest, should I kill someone, even in full self-defense, I will be forever barred from celebrating the Eucharist. And, yet, we do believe in the idea of a just war, and we have saints who were soldiers. On the one hand, he who sheds blood after becoming a priest is considered unworthy of the altar. On the other hand, we value those who defend our country, whichever country that happens to be. And, yet, if a policeman or a soldier kills someone else, even if completely justified, that person must abstain from the Eucharist until such a time as they have been able to go to confession. Some Orthodox jurisdictions even forbid that person from the Eucharist for a period of time, even with confession.

Even though the Orthodox have a history of empires and many wars, we have never lost the idea that taking a human life is a serious matter. A human is made in the image of God and bears that image to this day. Thus, even when justifiable, the taking of a human life requires us to confess that we have done that which is normally forbidden. And, a priest is required to be a living example of Christ. So, we need to be willing to die, just like Jesus was, rather than taking a human life.

So, what does this have to do with the proposed law about packing in a bar? I am concerned that we are making it increasingly easy for people to take a human life when it is not for reason of self-defense. There is a reason why our existing gun laws ban people from packing in certain situations, and ban them completely from packing unless they have a concealed gun permit. It is because certain situations lend themselves to “angry” shootings. It is why some of the Old West marshalls had people turn in their guns when they came into town or refused to allow guns inside saloons. It was just plain stupid to allow cowboys to pack a gun into a saloon. It is just as stupid today.

And what does this have to do with a Pentecostal pastor who invites people to his congregation while packing? The Church is a place that is supposed to reflect the Kingdom of God on earth. In this case, it means that it should reflect the idea that human life ought not to be easily taken. There is a reason why there was the old medieval idea that a church building was a place where someone could go to claim sanctuary. The church was a place into which violence and weapons were not supposed to go. Sanctuary was a reflection of the belief that human life is made in the image of God. Once someone crossed the portal of that church and made it to the altar, pursuit stopped. This idea is also why a church is considered desecrated if blood was violently spilled within it. To damage someone made in the image of God in a church was to soil that church’s possibility of reflecting the Kingdom of God until it was spiritually cleansed. Thus, the Pentecostal pastor is ever so wrong to have people bring guns to church. He is essentially desecrating it.

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