From a pastor...
Well...how would you feel if your pastor showed up to Bible class with a pentagram hanging around his neck...or a swastica monogrammed onto his Bible cover...or some other symbol...
You challenge him and he says, "It's just a symbol...give me a break..."
The issue isn't that it is inatimate; it's what it *could* be; what it is a symbol of in some people's minds. Those symbols raise certain emotions - and fears - and in some, cause really strong reactions, right or wrong.
I am a pastor. If someone showed up to church with a gun - yes, even a toy - I would make sure I was double-checking it. The safety & welfare of the members in the building is, practically speaking (if not technically speaking) part of my job.
After last week's events, I do not blame him a bit. In fact, I have the evening news on as I type. I live in the Houston area, and the CBS station just reported a kid carrying an unloaded pistol to school today, a copycat shooting that mirrored the NASA shooting last week, and still are talking about the VT scene. Yeah, guns are in the forefront of people's mind right now.
Even though I am planning a new gun purchase for myself, I'm not broadcasting it at church. In fact, I've considered getting a CCL for myself, or keep a pistol in a safe place in my desk. I passed the idea by a guy at church who has a CCL and he told me he would if he were me.
My point: I'm a gun guy, but I am also cautious & conservative when it comes to others. It's the old principal of "trust but verify." Or, like we say when we drive on the highways: it's not me I worry about...it's the other idiot. There's only one of me, but lots of others... Don't be too hard on the guy. His heart is probably in the right place and his head is trying to keep ahead of what could happen.
Biblically, he's probably practicing the dual principals of "Love does no harm" and "Do not cause the weaker brother to stumble."
Finally, and again as a gun guy, I see *absolutely no reason* for a toy gun - especially one that appears to be this realistic - to be at church or Sunday school. If I were in this guy's shoes, I would have gone further, found the parent, and gotten it OUT now. Inatimate object: yes. A distraction: definitely. Disturbing for some: probably. So, it goes. Just like if a kid were playing with a yo-yo or a deck of cards. Outtahere.
There it is...the target is posted...fire away...
Preacher Man