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Post by Admin on Apr 15, 2023 6:16:03 GMT -5
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Post by Admin on Apr 15, 2023 6:16:42 GMT -5
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Post by Admin on Apr 15, 2023 6:22:13 GMT -5
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Post by Admin on Apr 15, 2023 6:22:50 GMT -5
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Post by Admin on Apr 15, 2023 6:22:57 GMT -5
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Post by Admin on Apr 15, 2023 6:23:44 GMT -5
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Post by Admin on Apr 15, 2023 6:34:27 GMT -5
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Post by Admin on Apr 15, 2023 6:34:36 GMT -5
# QUESTION: Did Jesus promote violence?Many take Jesus words in M atthew 10:34-36 to be a call for his followers to support or even inflict physical injury on others in the promotion of war and violence, Is this a resonable conclusion? Firstly when examining verses in the bible that seem ambiguous, it is always best to try and understand it in the light of more explicit verses that deal with the same subject in a similar context. Jesus made numerous explicit statements regarding how his disciples were to treat his fellow man. In light of the above passages that show Jesus' message was that his followers show love and forgiveness, even to those that show themselves to be ememies of the faith, what is a more reasonable interpretation of Matthew 10:34? # In what way did Jesus come to bring a "sword"?Jesus was on this occasion sending his 12 first disciples out into the territory of Judea to preach the gospel. He was warning them, and by implication all Christians, what the reaction would be to their message. Far from being received universally as envoys of good news in a peaceful way, Jesus warned that the message will be ill received by some. This would cause a natural division between those that accepted the it and those that did not. So Jesus came to introduce, not the "sword" of physical warfare or violence when his followers killed or harmed others, but a message that would ultimately result in two groups, those that would listen and those that would chose not to. # Were Jesus disciples instructed to kill or war against those that reacted negatively to the message?If Jesus message would ultimately result in a natural division between those that embraced it and those that rejected it, did Jesus ever imply that his disciples were to kill or inflict physical harm on those that reacted negatively to their work? No! Jesus explained them in verses 13-14 of that same chapter " If the home is worthy, let your peace rest on it; if it is not, let your peace return to you. And if anyone will not welcome you or heed your words, shake the dust off your feet when you leave that home or town". So rather than telling his followers to impose physical retribution on those that showed themselves enemies of that message, or sanction a "conversion under threat" as was practiced by many Catholic missionaries during the middle ages, Jesus in fact told his followers to act peacefully and that, if their "peace" was rejected to simply leave those individuals alone; no time did he say to "kill them" or react with belligerence. # Would violence ever be an issue when it came to Jesus message for mankind?Jesus implied that at times physical violence would become an issue for his disciples, but NOT violence practiced by his followers against others but rather violence his followers would have to suffer at the hands of their persecutors, some of which would even be members of their own household (see Mat 10: 36, 37). Jesus still however implied that they should not retaliated with violence saying on one occassion " I say, do not resist an evil person! If someone slaps you on the right cheek, offer the other cheek also." CONCLUSION: "When Jesus said that he had come to bring ‘not peace but a sword,’ he meant that this would be the effect of his coming, not that it was the purpose of his coming” (page 378). The metaphor of the sword describes how unbelievers may respond to the gospel, not how [Christians] communicate it." - Kaiser, W. C., Peter H. Davids, F.F. Bruce. Hard sayings of the Bible. (Downers Grove, Il: InterVarsity, 1996) 378.ANNEX: Did early Christians understand Jesus message to be supportive of war or violence?reading fosterheologicalreflections.blogspot.fr/2016/09/the-ancient-church-and-war-patristic.html
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Post by Admin on Apr 15, 2023 10:50:49 GMT -5
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Post by Admin on Apr 15, 2023 10:51:05 GMT -5
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Post by Admin on Jun 9, 2023 20:45:31 GMT -5
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Post by Admin on Dec 1, 2023 18:36:45 GMT -5
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Post by Admin on Dec 1, 2023 18:37:26 GMT -5
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