Few have been the reactions to the call by prominent local clergymen, for the nation's people, including Christians, to arm themselves in protection against the growing threat of violence. It is significant that, even though this call to arms repudiates the validity of one of the basic tenets of Christianity, few dissenting voices within the church community have publicly challenged it.

According to a newspaper report, Bishop Herro Blair and the Rev Al Miller were numbered among clergymen calling for the nation, including Christians to arm themselves. This must have come as a shock to many of those in the congregations who have been hearing for years that "the weapons of our warfare are not carnal" and "ye wrestle not with flesh and blood;" the steady message that an unyielding and confident belief in the trustworthiness of God is an essential factor of salvation.

Prosperity message

The entire prosperity message of the name-it-and-claim-it gospel has been built on "faith". The believer was healed from sickness because of his faith. If you sowed your "seed-faith" offering, you could expect manifold returns in the fullness of time. Songs have been written about the necessity of faith (in spite of dungeon, fire and sword) and whole sermons preached on it. Congregations named their tabernacles, churches, chapels, temples, missions, even their Waltham Park Road deliverance centres, after faith. For years, the church lived on a staple diet of faith; the idea that the greater the faith, the more possible it was to please God.

The message "the just shall live by faith" worked wonders in the church. In the inner-city communities, the just lived by faith for years when their sons were being murdered in reprisal, by rival gangs or by police; when their daughters were being raped; they lived by faith when they were sleeping beneath the beds for fear of the errant nocturnal bullet.

But alas, since the violence migrated to the upscale communities where their pastors live, the goalpost has shifted and the just are no longer required to live by faith, but by guns. God could never be serious. Why can't their pastors live by faith too? How can they change the rules in the middle of the game? And, faith is free, but guns and ammunition cost money. Is the church prepared now to redirect the tithes and offerings of the "faithful" to ensure every single congregant is protected, now that, as the Rev All Miller said, the whole argument about faith in God's protection "holds no water"? This bombshell admission has brought centuries of traditional Christian beliefs into question.

Fiery visionary

This fiery visionary pastor, Al Miller, seeking to justify what may be considered the greatest aberration preached since faith was brought to the Tainos, bleated sheepishly that during Jesus' time, all disciples carried swords with them, so carrying a weapon is not un-Christian. There is certainly no information available that all disciples were armed, but it was reported that in defending Jesus against his captors, the disciple Peter drew his sword and cut off the ear of the servant of the high priest. But if Miller had carefully read the whole passage, he declined to mention that Jesus had scolded Peter and told him to sheathe his sword, "for all they who take up the sword shall perish by the sword".

Faithless dispensation

No doubt there will be church members who can afford to arm themselves following this directive and who will now do so, but what about the underprivileged "just" who can only afford to live by faith? Is there any equal protection for them, in this new faithless dispensation? Will those men of God, called pastors, provide the wherewithal to secure the safety of their flock and not just themselves?

Has the sword of the Spirit been replaced with a Glock, and is the traditional Christian faith now a non-faith?

Kadene Porter is a Florida-based freelance writer. Feedback may be sent to kadene26@hotmail.com or columns.gleanerjm.com