Dear Editor: In response to Mr. Gladstone's writing that those who propound guns in church are "Ye of little faith," I would like to offer that God also provides us all with a means of self defense.

What would the result be in a case where someone enters a church and begins shooting parishioners and one of the parishioners happened to have a gun as well and could easily shoot the perpetrator and stop the endless killing?

If people are killed in church, they are not martyrs unless they are killed for not renouncing their beliefs.

A great flood came and forced a man who did not know how to swim to the roof of his home. The man prayed that God would save him from the flood as the waters continued to rise.

Soon, a boat came by with a person who yelled out to the man to come into the boat, but the rooftop man refused stating that he was waiting on God to save him and the boat departed. A short time later, the floods continued to rise almost to the top of the roof when a helicopter hovered over and lowered a rope ladder. The rooftop man refused and stated that God would save him and the helicopter departed.

At this point the floods swept over the rooftop and swept the rooftop man away drowning him. The rooftop man then appeared before God in heaven. The rooftop man looked God in the eye and stated, "Lord, I prayed that you would save me, but instead my prayers went unanswered and I died."

The Lord then looked at the man and said, "I sent a boat to rescue you, but you refused. I sent a helicopter to rescue you but you refused. Now you are here in heaven."

The moral of this story is simple - do not look at the methods that God gives us all to defend ourselves and state that if we do use these tools of self defense we are "of little faith." Have enough common sense to recognize the gifts that God places before us.