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FirePower
and Faith
Firearms
in the hands of pastors or missionaries seems to have become
a controversial subject. There is no doubt that the primary
weapons for missionaries and pastors are spiritual - the
Bible and prayer. However, does God require full-time Christian
workers to ignore Biblical commands, which require self-defence
and mandate the protection of one's family? (See: Exodus
22:2; Nehemiah 4: 14; Luke 22: 36; 1 Timothy 5:18).
Sometime
ago, while I was engaged in a mission trip to Sudan, I was
taking the picture of 4 pastors, each in their clerical
collars, and each holding an AK-47 assault rifle. I requested
them to put their rifles to one side for the picture. They
laughed. "Christians in the West will not understand
pastors carrying firearms" I explained to them. They
laughed even more. I put my camera down and explained: "pastors
in the West do not carry rifles."
The
response of one was: "Why not?"
Why
not indeed? The present paranoia against firearms has not
been shared throughout most of Church history. Christians
have always maintained that evil comes from within, from
the heart, mind and soul of individuals. A bad workman blames
his tools. We cannot blame a cold, metal, inanimate object
for the evil that men choose to do. While many men have
misused firearms, many others have used firearms to protect
the innocent and to prevent evil doers from having their
way.
During
a slide presentation in a Church in America, the pastor
objected to the Christians in Sudan taking up arms against
the Sudan government. I asked him what Americans celebrate
on the 4thJuly? He seemed somewhat confused, so I reminded
him that their founding fathers had unilaterally declared
independence from Great Britain on 4 July 1776. The British
called it a rebellion.
The
American colonists took up arms against the crown because
the British had failed to rule the Americans in accordance
with the Magna Carta of 1215, and the Declaration of Rights
of 1689. King George had violated his Coronation Oath. The
American Founding Fathers maintained that the British government
was no longer an authority to be submitted to, but a tyrannical
power to be resisted. How then could Americans object to
Christians in Sudan doing what they had done in 1776?
I
then pointed out that in the entrance way to their Church
they had a framed, colour picture on the wall of early American
settlers going to Church, carrying their rifles with their
Bibles. I reminded him that many Churches in America in
the 17th Century fined men if they came to Church without
a rifle! 1 Timothy 5:8 requires men to make provision for
their family, and declares that any who fail to do so deny
the Faith and are worse than an infidel! Churches penalised
members who showed such irresponsibility as to fail to carry
a weapon for the defence of their family members.
I
then had to point out that Sudan, today, with slave raiders
kidnapping children, burning crops, looting cattle, poisoning
wells, destroying Churches and crucifying pastors, is far
more dangerous than America was in the 1600's.
Far
from Christians in previous centuries having an aversion
to firearms, not only were swords or rifles freely brought
into many Churches, but the pastors were often some of the
best shots in town. During the American War of Independence,
an enormous amount of pastors served as officers in the
Continental Army under General George Washington, fighting
for independence.
Pioneer
missionary, William Carey, whose landmark book, An Enquiry
Into The Obligation Of Christians, the book which launched
the modern missionary movement, listed as essential equipment
for any missionary "knives, powder and shot "
David
Livingstone, pioneer missionary and explorer, who first
landed in Africa in 1840, was well equipped with some of
the most advanced weapons then available, including a 6-barrelled
revolver. On occasion, Livingstone was compelled to use
his weapons for protection from wild beasts and to persuade
slave traders to set the captives free. At one point, when
criticised, Livingstone responded: "I love peace as
much as any mortal man. In fact, I go quite beyond you,
for I love it so much I would fight for it." Blessed
are the peacemakers not the pacifists. To make peace requires
resolution, courage and action.
Bishop
McKenzie, of the Church Missionary Society, was involved
in several fire fights against slave traders in the Shiri
Valley (present day Malawi), and set many captives free.
Francis
McDougal, the first Bishop of Labuan, reported an attack
by pirates in 1862: "My double-barrelled Torry's breechloader
proved a most deadly weapon, for its true shooting and certainty
and rapidity of firing."
Many
religious readers today would be shocked and horrified to
read such reports in present-day missionary newsletters.
Perhaps the comfortable and prosperous surroundings that
most Christians in the West have enjoyed for so long have
blinded us to the harsh realities that most Christians throughout
the centuries and less fortunate parts of the world today,
have had to face. An unBiblical pacifism has gripped many
Western Christians.
When
world-famous cricketer, turned pioneer missionary, C.T.
Studd undertook the first baptisms in a river in the Congo,
he needed to fight off the crocodiles with a revolver in
one hand while baptising the new converts with the other!
Adoniram
Judson, America's first foreign missionary to Burma was
captured on the high seas and incarcerated in a French prison,
from which he escaped. Later he was imprisoned and tortured
in "death prison" in Burma for eighteen months.
David
Livingstone was mauled by a lion and endured multiple attacks
on his life by slave traders.
John
Paton, missionary to the cannibals in the New Hebrides Islands,
described being encircled by cannibals "in a deadly
ring and one kept urging another to strike the first blow."
Missionaries
such as these faced dangers which we can hardly imagine.
We should not be too quick to judge and condemn others for
doing what the Bible commands them to do, to take reasonable
precautions for self-defence and for the protection of their
families. Yes, the primary weapons of missionaries are the
Bible, prayer, faith and persuasion. Just as our primary
spiritual food is the Word of God. But that does not stop
us planting seeds, harvesting crops, shopping in the market
and preparing food. Christians must be balanced and we need
to recognise that sin comes from the heart of man (Mark
7: 21-23). There is no point blaming a tool for the evil
in men's hearts. Pacifism is in defiance of historic Church
teaching.
The
Thirty-Nine Articles, the foundational statement of the
Church of England, states clearly in article 37: "It
is lawful for Christian men to carry weapons." The
Westminster Catechism, considered the finest expression
of Biblical teaching, states under the Sixth Commandment
that the prohibition against murder requires as our duty
"all careful studies, and lawful endeavours, to preserve
the life of ourselves and others by resisting by just defense
against violence protecting and defending the innocent."
(Q135).
Under
sins forbidden, the Westminster standards includes: "The
sins forbidden in the Sixth Commandment are all taking away
the life of ourselves, or of others, except in the case
of public justice, lawful war, or necessary defense; the
neglecting or withdrawing the lawful and necessary means
of preservation of life and whatever else tends to the destruction
of the life of any." (Q136). In other words, God's
Law forbids any government restrictions or interference
in the right and duty of self-defence. It also forbids us
neglecting these means for protecting the innocent.
Common
Law has recognised this, including in the Magna Carta of
1215 and the English Declaration of Rights of 1689, which
were foundational to the United States Bill of Rights. All
these recognised the inalienable right of all free men to
keep and bear weapons for self-defence.
The
first president of America, George Washington, declared:
"Firearms stand next in importance to the Constitution
itself. They are the American people's liberty teeth and
keystone under independence. To secure peace, security and
happiness, the rifle and the pistol are equally indispensable.
The very atmosphere of firearms everywhere restrains evil
interference. They deserve a place of honour with all that
is good."
"Like
a muddied spring or a polluted well is a righteous man who
gives way to the wicked." Proverbs 25:26
"If
anyone does not provide for his relatives and especially
for his immediate family, he has denied the faith and is
worse than an unbeliever." 1 Timothy 5:8
Peter is the author of "Security and Survival",
"In the Killing Fields of Mozambique" and the
newly released "The Greatest Century of Missions."
Dr Peter Hammond
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