Peace2God'sPeople wrote:The first thing I want to say is:
Thanks to everyone for sincere, concerned posts. I appreciate the time taken by everyone to do this.
Can I issue a small challenge as I am not sure if I can respond to all these posts at the same time. When I have more time later I will try to reply to as much as I can.
"How willing are Christians to abide by the true message of Jesus?"
Take the early church. They were against fighting for the Roman Empire not because the Roman Empire was anti-Christian, but because Jesus said that "my kingdom is not of this world". Jesus was totally and unequivocally devoted to surrendering to persecution.
How many of you support the United States in ANY war effort. If the Christian kingdom is not of this world then you should be 100% ready to handle persecution even if it means the extinction of Christianity.
Yet, I hear very few people in the Christian church in America doing anything but jumping on the bandwagon in support of "America" in our battle against evil dictators or evil Islam.
Was not the Roman Empire plenty evil enough when Jesus said those who were persecuted for his sake were blessed?
Honestly, I want to believe in a Christianity that is so ideal that "we" are all willing to lay down our lives to spread the love of God. But are more than a handful of Christians in the entire country ready to do this? Are there any pastors in ANY mainline denominations who dare say anything like this from their pulpits?
Peace2God'sPeople
I hear what you're saying.
Many Christian Saints were martyred in the name of Jesus Christ. They were pacifist to the end, and died without fighting back (physically).
However, if the crusades and other christian led battles weren't fought, no doubt we would be under Islamic rule right now.
I often wonder whether it would have been worth allowing Islam to spread across Europe without lifting a sword in defence.
It seems that Europe and America wouldn't be what it is now without Christians taking up the sword in defiance of Jesus' teachings.
This is a dilemma for me, forsake the sword and let Islam spread unhindered, or forsake pacifism and keep Islam at bay?
Peace2God'sPeople, have you considered Jesus' words when he said that "few" are those who enter the "narrow" road to salvation, and "many" are those taking the "broad" road to destruction?
This is the reason why there aren't many Christians in the world who are willing to lay down their lives and forsake the sword. Few are willing to lay down arms and let the 'beast' roam the earth, but many are willing to take up arms and play the 'beats' at it's own game of war and hate.
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