Interesting story from the New York Times. Wonder what Jesus would think of this?
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Ken Pagano, the pastor of the New Bethel Church here, is passionate about gun rights. He shoots regularly at the local firing range, and his sermon two weeks ago was on “God, Guns, Gospel and Geometry.” And on Saturday night, he is inviting his congregation of 150 and others to wear or carry their firearms into the sanctuary to “celebrate our rights as Americans!” as a promotional flier for the “open carry celebration” puts it.
“God and guns were part of the foundation of this country,” Mr. Pagano, 49, said Wednesday in the small brick Assembly of God church, where a large wooden cross hung over the altar and two American flags jutted from side walls. “I don’t see any contradiction in this. Not every Christian denomination is pacifist.”
The bring-your-gun-to-church day, which will include a $1 raffle of a handgun, firearms safety lessons and a picnic, is another sign that the gun culture in the United States is thriving despite, or perhaps because of, President Obama’s election in November.
Last year, the National Rifle Association ran a multimillion-dollar advertising campaign against Mr. Obama, stoking fears that he would be the most antigun president in history and that firearms would be confiscated. One worry was that a Democratic president and Congress would reinstitute the assault-weapons ban, which expired in 2004.
6 comments:
The Catholic church, at least our diocese here, has thus far not invited communicants to pack heat to Mass, but I'll be on the lookout for the announcement. All I can tote, alas, is my trusty Kuhn-Rikon cookie-press gun.
In fact, I'm going to start sleeping with it by my bed---fully loaded with ginger-cookie dough. So when Mr. Bad Man busts in demanding sex, jewelry, or my life, I'll squeeze off a few rounds and let him taste it. My hope is that he will be so delighted with the spicy buttery deliciousness that he will drop his handgun and become a better person.
I think I've solved our urban violence problem!:):)
I think you have solved it, BWJ. Bring your Cookie Gun to church. A nice solution plus sweet things to eat after they are used.
The more I think of "gun gospel" day the more potential I see. After all, on the feast day of St. Francis of Assisi, children are often invited to a "blessing of the pets" service. Once, at the little country Episcopal church we used to attend, a child even brought her pony.
I was about to make a joke about having a patron saint of handguns, then wondered if there really IS one---and look what my Google finger hath wrought! But we've missed his feast day---it was back in February.
"One a summer day a little over a hundred years ago, a slim figure in a black cassock [Possenti] stood facing a gang of mercenaries in a small town in Piedmont, Italy. He had just disarmed one of the soldiers who was attacking a young girl, had faced the rest of the band fearlessly, then drove them all out of the village at the point of a gun....[W]hen Garibaldi's mercenaries swept down through Italy ravaging villages, Brother Gabriel showed the kind of man he was by confronting them, astonishing them with his marksmanship, and saving the small village where his monastery was located."
Saint Gabriel Possenti's "astonishing marksmanship" was displayed after he had just disarmed the soldier. The mercenaries' leader told Possenti that it would take more than just one monk with a handgun to make the mercenaries leave town. The saint pointed out to the mercenaries a lizard which was running across the road. Possenti shot the lizard right through the head, at which point the mercenaries decided that discretion was the better part of valor; they obeyed Possenti's orders to extinguish the fires they had started and to return the property they had stolen. They then fled the village, never to be heard from again.
Possenti was canonized by Pope Benedict XV in 1920. He died in 1862 and his feast occurs on February 27th."
...somehow I rather doubt that St. Gabriel P is the reason for Rev. Pagano's celebration...interesting that "pagano" means "they pay" in Italian!
Shooting may be fun, but why are guns more exciting than archery? There's definitely less skill involved and it's harder to conceal a bow and quiver full of arrows.
I agree, OJ! I'm not related to any hunters (except my sister's husband, a deerslayer of the first order) but it'a always seemed to me that a bow and arrow (for which there is a designated season) is just more SPORTING, giving the creatures a fair chance to dodge away from harm.
But whatever the weapon, I can't imagine staring deep into the big liquid eyes of BAMBI'S FATHER (or more likely, into his rapidly-fleeing hindquarters) and aiming.
I wonder, though, what a human intruder would think, if he broke into my house and came face-to-face with me drawing my bow and pointing an arrow at his sorry good-for-nothin' heart. He'd probably collapse laughing, giving me ample time to dial the police?
We are unlikely to find out. I was very bad at archery at summer camp.
Another bit of crackpot reasoning: "God and guns were part of the foundation of this country..."
So what? Black people being 3/5 of persons was enough of the foundation of this country that it was written into the constitution. Are you a a KKK member as well, Mr. Pagano?
Discrimination against italian people happened early enough in american history to be considered foundational. There were a good amount of italians lynched in the 1800s in america. I wonder if Mr Pagano is so keen to adopt this particular foundational aspect of america. I'm guessing he picks and chooses.
Post a Comment