Evidently, God did not want people to carry guns to church in the great state of Arkansas. A bill that would have allowed worshipers to arm themselves while in the "house of God" died in the state Senate.One of the perpetrators of this bill was Grant Exton, president of the state's Concealed Carry Association. Working with Arkansas lawmakers, he helped craft a bill which would have allowed those with concealed carry licenses to take a gun to church.
Exton said the law was "less about guns and more about property rights."
Get that? Property rights!
Oh, and personal protection.
The sponsor of the bill, Beverly Pyle, (R-Cedarville), said it was a question of religious freedom.
Rep. Lindsley Smith, a "liberal," favored the bill. For her it was an "issue of separation of church and state."
The Arkansas House passed the bill, 57-42.
A couple of clergy, who are also lawmakers, opposed the bill. One said, "...we must put our faith in God and not put our faith in something else ... Let us keep the sanctity of churches and put our faith in God and not in guns."
The bill died in a Senate panel.
Pyle may try to get her bill passed again. Meanwhile, there are a couple of concerns that she needs to deal with. First of all, what is the bill about? Is it about property rights? Is it about personal protection? Is it about the issue of separation of church and state? Or is it a matter of religious freedom?
Secondly, a more importantly, why is it that Pyle and other christianists in Arkansas don't trust their god to take care of them?
It is obvious, no matter their rhetoric, that they do not believe they are under the protection of their god. That's why they want to carry guns to church.
Then you have those Christians who are oblivious to their own confusion. John Phillips a Church of Christ pastor was gunned down while in the pulpit; he lives to tell the tale. Phillips, however, doesn't want guns in church. This is what he said:
"We really believe God provides and protects his own and that it wouldn't be in the best interest of what the church stands for to have people armed and packing on Sunday morning."
Hmmm. Actually, a lot of Christians in Arkansas do not believe "God provides and protects his own."
But then there's still the problem of Pastor Phillips: How can he continue to believe that when he has a bullet lodged in his spine that proves the opposite?
As I've asked before, ain't christianists funny?
