Pack and Carry – a Bible

With the encouragement of the NRA, the radical right, and various other organizations folk have been encouraged to get firearms, specifically handguns and to append them to the personage on a regular basis; pack and carry. The idea is, I guess, to discourage anyone from threatening or challenging them on any basis. But, I don’t think it works.

A biblical rational advocating of such as stance may use this from the Judaic teaching, “An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth” (Exodus 21.24.) Trump uses it with some frequency. But in this case it is a fallacious argument. The teaching in Exodus was to set limits on revenge. So, if a person takes your eye, the just revenge would be to take his/her eye but no more. The purpose of that teaching was to limit revenge.

Jesus took the limitation a step farther when he said, “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for and eye, and a tooth for a tooth.’ ? But I say to you, do not resist an evildoer. But if anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn the other also; and if anyone wants to sue and take your coat, give your cloak as well; and if anyone forces you to go one mile, go also the second mile.” (Matthew 5. 38-41) Jesus teaches us not to seek revenge at all, but to work to help that one who is doing wrong to you to do the right thing, by setting an example of loving rather than hateful actions.

Mahatma Gandhi, also pointed out the futility of progressive or escalative revenge saying, “An eye for an eye will only make the whole world blind.” Not only does this form of revenge not work, it makes for greater harm for everyone. So, if you are worried that someone might take a portion of your property from you, are you really willing to end their life for that possession? How will that affect their family, your community and yourself? Can you live with the consequences of such an action? This was the dilemma of the Hatfields and McCoys, and modern-day Near East ongoing conflicts. This type of attitude does not solve problems, in fact, it just makes problems worse.

Campaign Zero (www.joincampaignzero.org) states, “Police should have the skills and cultural competence to protect and serve our communities without killing people – just as police do in England, Germany, Japan and other developed countries.” And then they list numbers of those killed in this country in 2014, and they give recommendations for policies to this end. This is a good example of finding solutions rather than escalating the problem.

If you want to pack and carry, I would suggest you unpack the teachings of Jesus on the Sermon on the Mount and elsewhere, and carry them in your heart. If you do you will find a far greater safety in eternal principles rather than fleeting thoughts of revenge. I would encourage you to be a peacemaker as Jesus advocates in his sermon of the mount, rather than give in to the rhetoric of revenge.

If you want to pack and carry, I suggest you pack and carry your bible along with a flashlight. The Bible should remind you of the teachings of Jesus and you can use the flashlight. If you are genuinely concerned for you safety carry a tactical flashlight such as the Surefire EB2 Backup and is easily carried.