Prevailing Winds "For the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is there is freedom . . ." 2 Cor. 3:17, TNIV

January 11, 2010

So, This Christian Guy Is On An Airplane, See . . .

Filed under: Uncategorized — keelyem @ 12:35 am

According to Christ Church Elder Dale Courtney’s Right-Mind blog, Christian men on commercial airline flights have a responsibility to survey their fellow passengers to see if anyone looks suspicious and evaluate if they could “take them” — rush, tackle, jump, or otherwise subdue them — should any problems erupt. I’m going to guess that Dale would want all the other guys to open up their own cans of righteous whoop-ass, too, but this appears to be a special imperative for Christ-following men.

What provoked this speculation on my part? Well, in a December 28 post titled “No More Terror In The Skies If Men Take Charge,” he approvingly quotes Christian dominionist and all-around conservative fanatic Gary DeMar:

“So, if you see five or ten Mid-Eastern types, probably traveling without wives and children, be suspicious. If you spot such a group, size them up physically. Could you take most of them, man to man, in a fight?”

OK.

I guess we’re all so far removed from Jesus’ teachings that it feels kind of weird to be reminded of, much less to remind you all of, a song we sang at church just this morning:

“I can see Peter
put away his sword
I can see Peter
put away his sword
For love has come,
love has come,
And given us hope, to carry on”

I don’t recall anything in the New Testament that suggests that the proper Christian response to threats of violence is physical, nor am I clear on any Gospel teaching that a primary obligation of the disciple in closed, public areas is threat assessment. As a matter of fact, there’s a lot about turning the other cheek, non-resistance, laying down of arms, and loving one’s enemies — but all of that was written before 9/11, and so it really couldn’t still be that way, as if even after national tragedy, we still, as Christ-followers, have to be people of gentleness and peace. Could it?

I’m waiting for THAT sermon, and I have a gut-wrenching fear it won’t be long, and it won’t come from too far away.

Lord, have mercy.

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