You might be interested to know that the sacred Baha'i Writings expressly deal with the carrying of arms, as follows:
Carrying of Arms
“It hath been forbidden you to carry arms unless
essential,”
(Baha'u'llah, The Kitab-i-Aqdas, p. 76)
“Bahá'u'lláh confirms an injunction contained in the Bayan
which makes it unlawful to carry arms, unless it is necessary
to do so. With regard to circumstances under which the
bearing of arms might be "essential" for an individual,
Abdu'l-Bahá gives permission to a believer for self-protection
in a dangerous environment. Shoghi Effendi in a
letter written on his behalf has also indicated that, in an
emergency, when there is no legal force at hand to appeal
to, a Bahá'í is justified in defending his life. There are a
number of other situations in which weapons are needed and
can be legitimately used; for instance, in countries where
people hunt for their food and clothing, and in such sports
as archery, marksmanship, and fencing.
On the societal level, the principle of collective
security enunciated by Bahá'u'lláh (see Gleanings from the
Writings of Bahá'u'lláh, CXVII) and elaborated by Shoghi
Effendi (see the Guardian's letters in The World Order of
Bahá'u'lláh) does not presuppose the abolition of the use of
force, but prescribes "a system in which Force is made the
servant of Justice", and which provides for the existence of
an international peace-keeping force that "will safeguard the
organic unity of the whole commonwealth". In the Tablet
of Bisharat, Bahá'u'lláh expresses the hope that "weapons of
war throughout the world may be converted into instruments of
reconstruction and that strife and conflict may be removed from the
midst of men".
In another Tablet Bahá'u'lláh stresses the importance
of fellowship with the followers of all religions; He also
states that "the law of holy war hath been blotted out from the
Book".
(Baha'u'llah, The Kitab-i-Aqdas, p. 240)

Snake

Thank you for your support and right back atcha regarding your contributions to OLO. Have always respected thoughtful consideration regardless of whether I agree with the opinion or not.

Stg

I accept your apology, thank you.

It is normal for some OLO posts to go off on tangents, but StG's opening post was referring to a personal dilemma of wearing a gun in view of his religious beliefs. I tend to think if StG was a Buddhist the raising of this issue may not have attracted as much defensive comment.

He was not (as I interpreted) making a judgement that because his own personal conflict was causing him some concern, that any other person, be they atheist, buddhist or calathumpian, would not also give some pause for thought about the possibility of using a gun.

Sometimes I think we tend to see flames when there is no fire.

I try not to take sides (contributor-wise) on most issues even if it means disagreeing with some posters who I normally have much in common and often admire their abilities to express themselves in a way that I cannot.

But in this case I think StG's intent has been misunderstood.

As an atheist I hope other atheists don't fall into the same trap that befell Pell and Jensen over Easter to use what should be a time of peace and goodwill, to attack atheists using what can only be described as hatred and misinformation. The nonsense comments about atheists hating God (an entity they do not believe in) is indefensible.

http://www.news.com.au/national/atheists-are-believers-who-hate-god-says-anglican-archbishop-peter-jensen/story-e6frfkvr-1225848927144

It is in the spirit of secularism, honesty and open communication that I defend StG's opening post. And yes I admit I went off on a tangent to get to the final point. :)

Dear Servin,

You said “Csteele I am pleased you understand Stg's POV - because I don't. That said, I pretty much agree with most of what you wrote in your post having worked with Victorian Police during the 90's.”

Thank you for acknowledging the assessment of the period. They were interesting times. I knew a relative of one of the officers gunned down in the Walsh Street shootings and who was also a serving member. There was a sense of the hard nuts in the force taking out criminals with prejudice but it was the ordinary, often young, officers on the streets that got the blow back.

There were 11 fatal police shootings in the two years prior to Walsh Street. Of the 6 who were accused only four survived the police to make it to trial.

This was a couple of years after the bombing of the Russell Street police HQ which claimed the life of a young female officer.

As an aside I feel I do understand Stg's point of view and his reaction, even if it might have been deemed a little over the top. I felt he was referencing what had informed his personal morality or 'life rules' if you will but wasn't intent on making that the focus of his argument.

He said; “I don't consider myself a stereotypical Christian due to being fairly open minded, compared. But the fundamentals of my rules regarding life is treat others as you wish to be treated, and thou shalt not kill.”

I am not privy to any history between the two of you so this is entirely the view of an outsider. Purely on the face of it I did feel you had taken the topic on a tangent that I'm not positive it warranted.

I respect of course your right to do so in an open forum and only addressed this because you mentioned it in your reply to me.

I am heartened to see the matter being defused and resolved to a satisfactory degree.

Of course that should have been Dear Severin not Servin. My turn to apologise.

When I was called up for military service when I was 18, I stated My religious convictions on killing another human and said I was happy to join in any on field ambulance service. They exempted me.

My eldest daughter after graduating from school informed me 25 years ago that she had decided to join the police force; she was influenced by the cop show dramas on TV. I and my wife a nurse talked to her what that experience would be like. It wasn't so much that she would have to use a gun but that she would have to attend scenes where guns or knives had been used. My wife being a nurse told her of the healing and care injured people received at hospital following violence and trauma. She then took up nursing specialising in surgery. She dedicateed her life to restoring the wounded by being involved in surgical nursing.

I also have a nephew who has been in several war zones as RAAF security, though he carries a gun his work has been to give security to the lives of the crew and law abiding citizens. I also have another nephew and his wife both in the police force in country towns, thay have never needed to use a gun in the line of their work. Of the people I know closely who are Christian, the only time a gun was used, he a young Highway Officer had a gun pulled on him; however he in that split second knew what the outcome was to be so pulled his revolver and shot the guy threatening him. He was so traumatised by the experience they gave him six months of work. He had a wife and young child at home