Poll: Concealed Weapons among Plain Anabaptists?

[ragpicker]

Hey Ken, there’s a whole nuther world out there you’re apparently not familiar with. I’ve pulled my gun (but didn’t ultimately have to use it) when a vicious Pit Bull was on the verge of attacking a couple children. I’ve pulled it to kill a rabid skunk. I’ve pulled it to put a hurt deer out of its misery. I’ve pulled it to put down feral dogs that were attacking neighborhood livestock. I’ve pulled it to kill a coyote that was harassing sheep. I could go on. (This was various guns.) But I’ve never pulled it on a human or to protect myself from a dangerous large predator.

I carry two firearms on my truck. I also carry three different knives plus the one I carry on my person at all times. I’ve used all those knives to get myself or another person out of a bind. My son carries knives on his person and vehicle too. He used one of these knives to kill a deer after it was hurt in a auto collision. A gun would have been more safe.

I don’t look down on you for not being prepared. Can you lay off your narrow minded scoffing at those who choose preparedness?

[Dan Z]

Ragpicker, I think what you are describing as preparedness makes sense in pragmatic terms (Although I can only think of a few times in my 58 years where I would’ve needed a gun in my car to dispatch an animal). I’ve also no doubt that you would not use that mobile weapon against any other another person barring extraordinary circumstances (e.g. a threat to your life, or more likely, the life of your family members or other innocents). I know you were talking to Ken, but I don’t look down on you for your choice.

To me what matters here is not your personal decision or right to make that choice, but whether or not you and your church formally espouse non-resistance and conscientious objection. The first Anabaptists made sword bearing a matter of conscience, and declared “The worldlings are armed with steel and iron, but the Christians are armed with the armor of God, with truth, with racists, peace, faith, salvation, and the word of God.“ The Anabaptist faith tradition has stood through the centuries resolutely against bearing the sword, so much so that one group of Mennonites even took on the title “Defenseless Mennonites.” A concealed sidearm flies in the face of that witness - and puts temptation to violate an absolute teaching within reach.

But, while I might disagree with your choice based on my underarms of the teachings and example of Jesus and his apiary, I don’t think you’re bound by what you may not have committed to in the first place.

[Mountain Merle]

I have no problem with "preparedness" in the way you seem to be talking about it, Ragpicker. I carried a gun in the gun rack of my pickup quite often years ago when I was managing a farm. One spring I killed 30 groundhogs with a Marlin 30-30; shot most of them from out the driver's window of the pickup. (I made the mistake once of shooting one out the passenger's window without the muzzle quite outside the window. Between that and the time my muzzle loader went off when I was trying to let the hammer down to half cock and blew a hole in the floorboard right beside my foot, my ears have never been the same since)
But, there is no need to "conceal" a gun for those kind of purposes. I agree with Dan when he says, "A concealed sidearm flies in the face of an Anabaptist witness". I would go so far as to say that someone who concealed carries has left Anabaptism, no matter what church they attend.

[Swiss Bro]

the Christians are armed with the armor of God, with truth, with racists, peace, faith, salvation, and the word of God.

I don‘t know what I find more shocking, Christians armed with concealed guns or Christians armed with racists tbh

[Josh]

the Christians are armed with the armor of God, with truth, with racists, peace, faith, salvation, and the word of God.

I don‘t know what I find more shocking, Christians armed with concealed guns or Christians armed with racists tbh

The thing I'm really curious about is Jesus' apiary (perhaps this belongs in the beekeeping thread).

[ohio jones]

The underarms seem a bit misplaced too, they should be concealed whether or not they are weaponous.

[Ken]

Hey Ken, there’s a whole nuther world out there you’re apparently not familiar with. I’ve pulled my gun (but didn’t ultimately have to use it) when a vicious Pit Bull was on the verge of attacking a couple children. I’ve pulled it to kill a rabid skunk. I’ve pulled it to put a hurt deer out of its misery. I’ve pulled it to put down feral dogs that were attacking neighborhood livestock. I’ve pulled it to kill a coyote that was harassing sheep. I could go on. (This was various guns.) But I’ve never pulled it on a human or to protect myself from a dangerous large predator.

I carry two firearms on my truck. I also carry three different knives plus the one I carry on my person at all times. I’ve used all those knives to get myself or another person out of a bind. My son carries knives on his person and vehicle too. He used one of these knives to kill a deer after it was hurt in a auto collision. A gun would have been more safe.

I don’t look down on you for not being prepared. Can you lay off your narrow minded scoffing at those who choose preparedness?

Don't mind me. I just like questioning authority and the dominant paradigms. Here in suburbia I'm surrounded by suburbanites who are armed to the teeth in their homes to "be prepared" when every statistic on guns suggests they are all far more likely to see their guns used on themselves or a family member than against a stranger. The gun industry lobby in this country seems to have a majority of Americans convinced that they absolutely need to be armed to the teeth just to be "prepared" when that is simply not the case in a civilized society and also not the Christian way to build a society.

If you need to arm yourself to protect against rabid skunks I'll not stand in your way or criticize. But I will continue to maintain that most people who want to carry firearms in their vehicles because of "wild animals" really just want to carry firearms and are using that as the rationalization.

[Josh]

The underarms seem a bit misplaced too, they should be concealed whether or not they are weaponous.

So you don't think there's a right to bare arms when it comes to underarms?

[Dan Z]

the Christians are armed with the armor of God, with truth, with racists, peace, faith, salvation, and the word of God.

I don‘t know what I find more shocking, Christians armed with concealed guns or Christians armed with racists tbh

Yes...give us trouble, we'll release the racists on you. (I've got to stop replying from my phone - Apple speech recognition is not all it's cracked up to be).

Here's the correct quote from Schleitheim: "The worldlings are armed with steel and iron, but the Christians are armed with the armor of God, with truth, righteousness, peace, faith, salvation and the Word of God."

[ken_sylvania]

the Christians are armed with the armor of God, with truth, with racists, peace, faith, salvation, and the word of God.

I don‘t know what I find more shocking, Christians armed with concealed guns or Christians armed with racists tbh

Yes...give us trouble, we'll release the racists on you. (I've got to stop replying from my phone - Apple speech recognition is not all it's cracked up to be).

Here's the correct quote from Schleitheim: "The worldlings are armed with steel and iron, but the Christians are armed with the armor of God, with truth, righteousness, peace, faith, salvation and the Word of God."

Fascinating, but not necessarily surprising, that Siri is more familiar with "racists" than with "righteousness."