Is it right to carry knives in church?

[defenestrate]

I would carry whatever I wanted into a church, but perhaps more discreetly.

What Joe said, re: judging/bashing religion. My fiancee is likely the next press secretary for the National Atheist Party and I think that one can use the bible to assert many ridiculous things, but making an assertion as connor did without evidence makes him look ignorant and judgmental, something I do not believe he intends.

[SolidState]

My church is the forest, and I've never felt strange with a knife in the forest.

[curdog]

Member of a small church amount 75 members most carry knifes
and about a dozen carry handguns

[Irelander]

I carry a knife for two purposes: for use as a tool for utility, and for use as a weapon for self defense. A knife in any form is both tool and weapon. Discretion is the key when carrying any type of weapon. I carry a gun and a knife (at least one of each) everywhere...including church. I keep my gun concealed and the only visible part of my Ulize is the clip and a small portion of the grip. I doubt anyone ever notices it in church. I have a feeling that I'm not the only one carrying a weapon in my church but I hope I never have to find out. And I hope no one ever finds out that I am carrying a weapon. The only way they would find out is if the SHTF.

As far as using a weapon/tool for self defense, you'll find a ton of scripture in the Bible referring to godly men defending themselves with a weapon. No need to be defenseless when at church. Especially with the recent increase in attacks on religious houses of worship. If the pastor is not going to defend the sheep (he should) then someones got to do it. That being said, we pray that God would shield us from harm and have mercy upon us. We should put our trust in God and not in ourselves or our weapons, but you never know when God will use you to defend His people. Just my thoughts.

[Monocrom]

. . . Do you think it's right to carry a knife in church?

Yes.

A very small, slim, traditional slip-joint with some sort of natural handle material. Plenty of folks refer to such a thing as their "church-going knife."

[Donut]

Exhibit A: The Church Mouse. :)

I might consider not going or going to a different church if I thought it wasn't a good idea or if the church thought it wasn't a good idea.

[markg]

I am a United Methodist Pastor, going on 23 years of service.

I carry all the time, small knives, slip joints, butterfly knives, large tactical folders, and some fixed blades.

To come up with a Biblical answer to your question would be seriously stretching Scriptures and is not really a worthwhile endeavor in this case.

To answer your question, depends on where you live.

If you live in an area where knife carry is normal, then most will not even give you a thought. If you live in a highly urban or liberal suburban area then people may take issue. Where I live now, it is very normal to see adults with knives clipped in pockets at school functions, standing right next to a police officer at an event. No problem.

Also, some states had to deal with the CCW issue and places of faith. In my state, it is not legal to carry firearms in places of worship unless that church allows it. Because of this, some churches have made official statements that they are "weapons free" and are posted. If that is the case then they might be a legal issue. But again depends on the church can the community and whether a knife would be considered a weapon at that point.

However I don't feel there is a moral or spiritual reason that a knife would be inappropriate in a church building.

[jeep45238]

Yup. Also carry my gun to church when I go off base.

[wrdwrght]

Seems to me that the question turns not on what's in your pocket but on what's in your heart...

[Monocrom]

In my state, it is not legal to carry firearms in places of worship unless that church allows it. Because of this, some churches have made official statements that they are "weapons free" and are posted. If that is the case then they might be a legal issue.

I'd never attend any church that pulled that sort of nonsense. Not out of principle, but out of pragmatism.

Yeah, let's put up a sign that any nut-job can find defenseless victims at our church.

"Hey! Come shoot our congregation the way you would fish in a barrel. No one will shoot back, and you'll get the attention you crave when the news media swarms all over the story. Not to worry, they'll just blame the inanimate object that you used; instead of putting the blame on you. Where it actually belongs."

Unfortunately, plenty of universities also have similar idiotic "Gun Free Zone" signs put up.

[JNewell]

I'd never attend any church that pulled that sort of nonsense. Not out of principle, but out of pragmatism.

Yeah, let's put up a sign that any nut-job can find defenseless victims at our church.

"Hey! Come shoot our congregation the way you would fish in a barrel. No one will shoot back, and you'll get the attention you crave when the news media swarms all over the story. Not to worry, they'll just blame the inanimate object that you used; instead of putting the blame on you. Where it actually belongs."

Unfortunately, plenty of universities also have similar idiotic "Gun Free Zone" signs put up.

Yes...IMO it is not a coincidence that so many of the large-scale shootings take place in locations where people are supposed to be disarmed.

[Jim Malone]

The bible says "Sell your cloak and buy a sword". A knife should be ok i guess

[NicholasPayne]

This. What do you use your knife for? I carry mine in church, just as I carry a pen in church; they are both tools that I use frequently. I wouldn't carry a weapon in church, although I have more than a few friends who do (and they even have special, usually beautifully designed, guns that they only take to church or wedding dresses!!).

So it's how you feel about having a weapon in a sanctified place, and whether or not you consider your knife a weapon.

There should be no guns and knives in church. We don't need them in church so why to carry. It is so simple to understand but many individuals don't want to :)

[Clip]

Nicholas, perhaps a good place to start would be a friendly introduction. Welcome to the forums.

[phillipsted]

I honestly can't remember a day in the last 30 years when I didn't have a knife in my pocket during Mass. Even carried a small fixed blade a couple of times.

TedP

[alerin]

Bought a Case Tiny Toothpick with a cross on it for my friend who is a Priest, he had no problem with it.

[Evil D]

There should be no guns and knives in church. We don't need them in church so why to carry. It is so simple to understand but many individuals don't want to :)

I really wish this were true, but violence knows no boundaries.

Most recent I can think of http://www.foxnews.com/us/2013/03/31/sh ... io-church/

Some history on church shootings:

February 14, 2010 - Richmond, California - Three hooded men
walk into Gethsemane Church of God in Christ and opened
fire and then fled the scene, as the singing of the choir
was replaced by frightened screams. The two victims, a 14-
year-old boy and a 19-year-old man, were hospitalized.

March 8, 2009 - Maryville, Illinois - Suspect Terry Joe
Sedlacek, 27, of Troy, walks into the First Baptist Church,
and shoots pastor Fred Winters dead, point blank. Several
church members are injured by a knife in the struggle to
capture after the attack, The suspect also had stabbed
himself, but survived, when his gun jams.

July 27, 2008 - Knoxville, Tennessee - A gunman opens fire
in a church during a youth performance, killing two people
and injuring seven.

Dec. 9, 2007 - Colorado - Three people are killed and five
wounded in two shooting rampages, one at a missionary
school in suburban Denver and one at a church in Colorado
Springs. The gunman in the second incident is killed by a
guard.

May 20, 2007 - Moscow, Idaho - A standoff between police
and a suspect in the shootings of three people in a
Presbyterian Church ended with three dead, including one
police officer.

Aug. 12, 2007 - Neosho, Missouri - First Congregational
Church - 3 killed - Eiken Elam Saimon shot and killed the
pastor and two deacons and wounded five others.

May 21, 2006 - Baton Rouge, Louisiana - The Ministry of
Jesus Christ Church - 4 killed - The four at the church who
were shot were members of Erica Bell's family; she was
abducted and murdered elsewhere; Bell's mother, church
pastor Claudia Brown, was seriously wounded - Anthony Bell,
25, was the shooter.

Feb. 26, 2006 - Detroit, Michigan - Zion Hope Missionary
Baptist Church - 2 killed + shooter - Kevin L. Collins, who
reportedly went to the church looking for his girlfriend,
later killed himself.

April 9, 2005 - College Park, Georgia - A 27-year-old
airman died after being shot at a church, where he had once
worked as a security guard.

March 12, 2005 - Brookfield, Wisconsin - Living Church of
God - 7 killed + shooter - Terry Ratzmann opened fire on
the congregation, killing seven and wounding four before
taking his own life.

July 30, 2005 - College Park, Georgia - World Changers
Church International - shooter killed - Air Force Staff
Sgt. John Givens was shot five times by a police officer
after charging the officer, following violent behavior.

Dec. 17, 2004, Garden Grove, Calif.: A veteran musician at
the Crystal Cathedral shoots himself to death after a nine
-hour standoff.

Oct. 5, 2003 - Atlanta, Georgia - Turner Monumental AME
Church - 2 killed + shooter - Shelia Wilson walked into the
church while preparations are being made for service and
shot the pastor, her mother and then herself.

June 10, 2002 - Conception, Missouri - Benedictine
monastery - 2 killed + shooter - Lloyd Robert Jeffress shot
four monks in the monastery killing two and wounding two,
before killing himself.

March 12, 2002 - Lynbrook, New York - Our Lady of Peace
Catholic Church - 2 killed - Peter Troy, a former mental
patient, opens fire during Mass, killing the priest and a
parishioner. He later receives a life sentence.

May 18, 2001 - Hopkinsville, Kentucky - Greater Oak
Missionary Baptist Church - 2 killed - Frederick Radford
stood up in the middle of a revival service and began
shooting at his estranged wife, Nicole Radford, killing her
and a woman trying to help her.

Sept. 15, 1999 - Fort Worth, Texas - Wedgewood Baptist
Church - 7 killed + shooter - Larry Gene Ashbrook shot dead
seven people and injured a further seven at a concert by
Christian rock group Forty Days in Fort Worth, Texas before
killing himself.

April 15, 1999 - Salt Lake City, Utah - LDS Church Family
History Library - 2 killed + shooter - Sergei Babarin, 70,
with a history of mental illness, entered the library,
killed two people and wounded four others before he was
gunned down by police.

[mrphotoman]

Why not, it is just a man made building serving the purpose of a big corporation (organized religion). Existing for the purpose of any other big company, power and money. It wouldn't be any different than carrying your knife into walmart or other corporate building.

[Monocrom]

Nicholas, perhaps a good place to start would be a friendly introduction. Welcome to the forums.

Along with reading through a topic before posting something that has been explored and explained in detail.

[chuck_roxas45]

There should be no guns and knives in church. We don't need them in church so why to carry. It is so simple to understand but many individuals don't want to :)

Because even if they're not needed in church(which I don't subscribe to anyway), you might need them when you go outside.