So? That is beside the point.
I know you try to make a lot of violent crime in England, so be it. It is just an excuse for your unchristian practices. As Christians we should expect satanic attacks, but how caan we preach to sinners if you are prepared to shoot them?
Jesus said:
- John 16:3 These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.
If you carry a gun into church I don't see how you can be a christian, and any church that hires armed guards I don't believe is a Christian church.
I'm glad that you stated the final sentence above as a belief, not a judgment, because such judgments of another's spiritual state are not ours to make. Scripture says, "By their fruits shall ye know them", but as someone (can't remember the name) recently said, we are to be fruit inspectors, not botanists. No one knows for sure whether I'm truly saved except God and me.
An armed member at the Texas church might've saved 20+ lives had he taken down the shooter before the guy entered the building (he'd already shot several outside.) By not acting, that member would be deciding the fates of many others beside himself.
Whether or not to use violence to prevent further violence is not an open-and-shut decision. I think appealing to Christ's actions when He was confronted at Gethsemane offers little guidance, as He knew that His crucifixion, burial, and resurrection were according to the Father's sovereign will. We can claim no such surety of knowledge.
And in response to the OP, our church is practicing #3, though I've not asked whether any of the deacons are carrying.
