Blessed weapons- guns only or ammunition too?

[EndeavourOfWill]

I'm not religious but I'm not above trying to get every advantage I can when the end of days rolls around.

Just in-case the zombie apocalypse is a herald for demons to start running around I decided to try to get my weapons blessed

Naturally hand held weapons should be blessed. Blessed swords ala almost every video game I've played, blessed Ax's ('Otis'), golf clubs (from that jay and silent bob movie) but what are the rules when it comes to firearms?

Is it acceptable to just get the firearm blessed or does someone need to have their ammunition blessed too? If so, can a priest just bless a 30-round magazine or does every bullet need to be blessed?

Having a trunk full of melee weapons and firearms blessed with a quick wave of a hand would be very economical but it might be trickier to get a priest to bless every single bullet.

Lastly, ya'all figure if I donated some monies to a church one of their priests would actually do this or would they likely figure I'm a nutbar and call the cops?

[raptor]

This is a link to US Chaplains who earned the Medal of Honor. One was quoted as having said "Praise the Lord and pass the ammunition."



http://www.kansas.com/2013/04/10/275599 ... -earn.html

Blessing of weapons, cars, boats, planes etc is not uncommon. As long as it is tasteful and done in accordance with the religious beliefs of the religious person I am sure that you can find someone to do it. Generally it is the person who carries the weapon that seeks the blessing though in the case of vessels and planes it is the equipment that is blessed along with all who use it.

That said in Hollywood blessed weapons are useful against a variety of evil creatures. I would note that unless you are in a Hollywood movie a blessed weapon is not likely to be more useful than an un-blessed weapon.

PM sent.

[Doctorr Fabulous]

D20 rules, weapons confer blessings, curses, and enchantments onto projectiles. I've never personally blessed a firearm, but I did curse a particular M16 rather often. Didn't seem to make a difference.

[EndeavourOfWill]

That's really interesting. I never suspected it would be an officially accepted practice but it stands to reason that it would be done. (More so for larger vessels and machines I'd imagine)

There doesn't seem to be a standard in sci-fi reading. In the Shadowrun universe the emotional association to firearms is enough to cause physical damage to otherwise immune creatures yet in the Warhammer40K universe there are examples (shortstory Sacrifice if I recall) of great lengths to bless individual bullets.

I get a kick out of the 40K universe explanations such as cleaning your rifle daily appeases it's spirit and is why the weapon functions. A pissed off rifle won't work.

In real terms I'd like to think when someone actually blesses something then they are making a commitment not only to respect the weapon but respect what it's used for and when to and when not to use it.

Doc maybe the rifles spirit was just stubborn

[raptor]

Doc maybe the rifles spirit was just stubborn

Hey if someone shoved an oily rag and rod down your throat until it came out of the other end and then stored the same rod in your butt I suspect most of us would also likely be "stubborn".

[Apathy]

On blessing bullets.

I know a few guys down on the Navajo reservation who dip their bullets in white ash, so as to kill Skin Walkers.

There was one this time when I was hunting a certain coyote that had developed a knack for killing lambs, I had a clear shot at him and I missed him three times. The most unusual part was he just calmly walked away from my shots and slipped into some brush. I was just about to give the Navajo method a try but I decided to sight in my rifle one more time. I zeroed in and the next day I was able to collect the Utah state bounty on a freshly killed coyote. My neighbor stopped losing sheep, and I felt assured that there was nothing supernatural afoot. So, I have never tested any blessed equipment

But the way I see it, if you believe in a higher power that has interest in the affairs of individuals. It would be best to pursue divine sanction in using your weapons for the task you feel you need to accomplish.Then again, there is nothing wrong with seeking any blessings you can get.... within reason.

Very interesting question by the way.

[buck85]

Yes!! google blessing gun,you might be surprised!!!

[TheLastOne]

This thread is waay better than I thought it was going to be.

[91Eunozs]

My driver in Thailand stopped and had our car blessed by a Buddhist monk...and we didn't get in a wreck driving from Pattya Beach to Bangkok and back. There's all the proof I need right there!

Cynicism aside, if zombies actually start roaming the streets you're damn right I'll be first in line to have my rifles and ammo blessed, dunked in holy water or rolled in white ash or whatever!

Now where'd I put my damn holy hand grenade of Antioch?

[feedthedog]

An ancient preacher from the backwoods, turned NG chaplain, used to bless my convoys every night before we left Taji. I err toward the atheist side of the coin, but I do remember him specifically mentioning the soldiers, the trucks, and the weapons. I can't specifically say that it helped, but it didn't hurt (and he brought red bulls).

I'd wager that you could find someone to bless your stuff, especially if you kicked some bucks into a charity.

[Drop Dead Zed]

Er, if you are not religious, why would you expect a deity to confer a blessing to any tool you may use.

I mean, I'm not a Viking, so I wouldn't expect an Odin-blessed weapon to have any added effect. Blessings work on the direct intervention and favor of the deity involved.

What you need is an enchantment. That works no matter who uses it and wizards are notoriously open to doing magic in exchange for cash.

[Stercutus]

Is it acceptable to just get the firearm blessed or does someone need to have their ammunition blessed too? If so, can a priest just bless a 30-round magazine or does every bullet need to be blessed?

Having a trunk full of melee weapons and firearms blessed with a quick wave of a hand would be very economical but it might be trickier to get a priest to bless every single bullet.

Lastly, ya'all figure if I donated some monies to a church one of their priests would actually do this or would they likely figure I'm a nutbar and call the cops?

Last question first:
A church at which you are not a member and you show up in the parking lot with a trunk full of guns asking for a blessing? I am thinking the police will find you quick enough. This would be socially grotesque and raise some red flags.

If you are member of the church and known merely as a guy who likes guns and is worshipful and respectful to God you are probably GTG and it likely would not "cost" you anything depending upon your sect. This seems very unlikely given your post. Keep in mind not all denominations do these type things. The pastor will likely be interested in what purpose you plan to use them in his God's name. Our last preacher was a big hunter and he certainly would accommodate such a request for that purpose.

Blessing individual bullets vs. the gun itself again goes to what purpose.

[Neville]

If you're going up against vampires, would you want your squirt-gun blessed? Or the water inside? The water is what actually does the work, right? So make it "Holy" by having it blessed.

That just makes sense. If you can make water "holy" by blessing it then why not lead and copper?

Of course if you want to get your gun blessed as well why not?

I'm interested to hear of the actual process of getting this done, by someone who has actually had it done for their guns/ammo.

[Dave_M]

I'm interested to hear of the actual process of getting this done, by someone who has actually had it done for their guns/ammo.

Never had it done myself. However, such an official process does exist





Details:
http://www.orthocuban.com/2014/02/bless ... -orthodox/

[Sworbeyegib]

Always reminds me of the "gearing up" montage in From Dusk til Dawn, where George Clooney etches crosses into his bullets.

[Apathy]

I'm interested to hear of the actual process of getting this done, by someone who has actually had it done for their guns/ammo.

Never had it done myself. However, such an official process does exist





Details:
http://www.orthocuban.com/2014/02/bless ... -orthodox/

Once in my many travels, i found my self standing in front of that big provoslavni Dormition Cathedral in mid april. Just then a man, whom I assume was the Patriarch of Moscow and all of Rus, appeared and proceeded to chuck water on my traveling companion and I. Then a whole bunch of Russians came running up to receive this hydro treatment as well. April is still pretty cold in Moscow, so I was a little confused as to why people seemed so excited to get wet. Turns out he was blessing us. One guy told me it was for fertility, but I can't find anything on the subject.

Later, as I was serving as a man of the cloth In Germany. I probably was told by every clergyman or woman from the various sects I encountered, that they would pray for my everlasting soul.

It seems I have had my soul and reproductive ability blessed. But I never thought to have my guns blessed.

[Nick Adams]

I have a semi AK that I have rusted and aged up and attached religious medallions to it's stock. Has a big silver Mary and child disk on the one side and smaller ones on forearm. Right side of stock has tribal faces carved into it but am thinking about carving a bible verse into the left
I think in the post Apocalyptic world many will turn to religion as well as believing in "charms" to protect them

[Zimmy]

The Priest at the local Catholic church would do it in my AO in the 90s. I remember hearing of him blessing fighting knives for guys heading on deployments. I'm sure he would have done firearms as well if they had them. I'd schedule a meeting with your local guy first, though. Showing up with a 10 minute window unannounced will probably get you sent away while he goes to make calls if he can/should do that.

I think rabbis have a blessing for weapons of war as well. Maybe Time magazine showed that being done for Israeli troops? I've seen it somewhere.

Native Americans are sure to have something they do along tribal lines. I am sure you need to know someone or be a member. My knowledge is extremely limited in Native American stuff, Hooah?

[Neptune Glory]

Any Wiccan person can also perform such a blessing, though honestly it's best to do it yourself if you can research and learn how. Even if there is no divine assistance, believing that such a thing is Blessed gives the wielder a psychological edge (increased focus / confidence) that he or she might not otherwise have.

Just my two cents,
-Neptune

[modF]

A guy at my hunting club (which covers parts of GA and AL, so I don't know what side he was on) was telling me that his church holds a special service for hunters before the season opens. The what I assume was a pastor basically gives them all blessings so they don't fall out of their treestands, crash their ATV's or have any accidents. I imagine they are all praying for a bigger deer than last year of course.

btw: I love this thread simply for the reason that we had d20 rules posted in it.

[Drop Dead Zed]

As to blessing Weapons vs. Ammo:

Blessed Weapon is a +2 to Accuracy, Blessed Ammo is +2 to Damage.

[Crazy Chaingun]

This thread delivers!

I've never thought of praying for my weapons to be somehow enhanced, but the concept of praying for protection in general is not foreign to me.
On another note, if you're resorting to the supernatural so that your gun doesn't jam, you have a cheap gun, which should promptly be swapped out with a proper firearm.

"He who has no sword, let him sell his garment and buy one" - Jesus of Nazareth (really!)

[tedbeau]

This thread delivers!

I've never thought of praying for my weapons to be somehow enhanced, but the concept of praying for protection in general is not foreign to me.
On another note, if you're resorting to the supernatural so that your gun doesn't jam, you have a cheap gun, which should promptly be swapped out with a proper firearm.

"He who has no sword, let him sell his garment and buy one" - Jesus of Nazareth (really!)

Luke 22:36 if I'm not mistaken.

My pastor has his CPL permit, and in Michigan we are required to have permission to carry in a church. When I asked if he would be OK with it he said sure, and proceeded to tell me he has given permission to about seven other members to carry in church. All that being said, I don't think he would feel right blessing a weapon. I know he would have no problem asking the Lord to protect a soldier going off to war or a new police officer just starting on the job in fact he quite regularly does just that in our opening prayers, all though usually its a general request, not specific, unless it's Veteran's day or such.

I guess depending on the religion, there doesn't seem to be much difference between a personal prayer that you could make yourself or a blessing bestowed by clergy. At least in my church the minister can make the request, but he is asking God to bless the person, not conferring the blessing himself, because as he would tell you he's just an ordinary man like you and me, just with an education in religion, but he has no special connection to God that you or I do not.

As far as the priest blessing the AK-47's I find that humorous in that in communist Russia religion was not endorsed and usually actually suppressed from what I understand so I can't imagine a government sponsored blessing of arms being preformed on early AK's

[Mikeyboy]

I never had it done, and if I asked my parish priest I'm think he would say no.

On a side note however, I was always creeped out when buying a used handgun. In the back of my mind, I wonder what are the odds that out of all the used guns I bought over the years where any of them used in a suicide or murder. I can definitely see situations where the police return a gun that may have been stolen and used in a murder, or used in a suicide, and that owner of the gun quickly selling it to the nearest gun shop to get rid of it.

I'm not real religious, but if I found out later that I owned a gun that was used in a suicide or murder, I would consider gun a bit cursed. I would want it bless to get rid of the bad mojo.