Uh, I don’t know about the others, but that Jesus quote is taken way out of context. It comes from a parable that goes like this:
While they were listening to this, he went on to tell them a parable, because he was near Jerusalem and the people thought that the kingdom of God was going to appear at once. He said: “A man of noble birth went to a distant country to have himself appointed king and then to return. So he called ten of his servants and gave them ten minas. ‘Put this money to work,’ he said, ‘until I come back.’ “But his subjects hated him and sent a delegation after him to say, ‘We don’t want this man to be our king.’ “He was made king, however, and returned home. Then he sent for the servants to whom he had given the money, in order to find out what they had gained with it. “The first one came and said, ‘Sir, your mina has earned ten more.’ “‘Well done, my good servant!’ his master replied. ‘Because you have been trustworthy in a very small matter, take charge of ten cities.’ “The second came and said, ‘Sir, your mina has earned five more.’ “His master answered, ‘You take charge of five cities.’ “Then another servant came and said, ‘Sir, here is your mina; I have kept it laid away in a piece of cloth. I was afraid of you, because you are a hard man. You take out what you did not put in and reap what you did not sow.’ “His master replied, ‘I will judge you by your own words, you wicked servant! You knew, did you, that I am a hard man, taking out what I did not put in, and reaping what I did not sow? Why then didn’t you put my money on deposit, so that when I came back, I could have collected it with interest?’ “Then he said to those standing by, ‘Take his mina away from him and give it to the one who has ten minas.’ “‘Sir,’ they said, ‘he already has ten!’ “He replied, ‘I tell you that to everyone who has, more will be given, but as for the one who has nothing, even what they have will be taken away. But those enemies of mine who did not want me to be king over them—bring them here and kill them in front of me.’”
As you can see, it’s not Jesus saying to kill actual people in front of him as the quote taken out of context makes it sound like, but rather he is describing what the king in the story is saying. It’s part of a parable, and probably meant to be a metaphor for Jesus/God eventually judging non-believers or demons and sending them to Hell.
You could maybe argue that the threat of Hell is like a threat of violence, but it’s not the same as suggesting that Jesus wanted to have his enemies killed in front of him.
We agree for the context of the story and the threat it implies. But for it to be only a metaphor (about future violence) one must ignore what Jesus said. Jesus said: “he that hath no sword, let him sell his garment and buy one” (Luke 22:36) and “Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword” (Matthew 10:34).
Regarding the “buy a sword” quote, he said that to his disciples, and then later says to them that two swords are enough. The most common interpretation of this is that he needed to fulfill a prophecy, and also so as to get him arrested by the authorities for “leading a rebellion”. Two swords are obviously not enough to win a rebellion, so it seems like the purpose of this wasn’t to convert people through violence. There is a scene later where Peter famously cuts off one of the ears of the people sent to arrest Jesus, and then Jesus goes “enough of that!” and promptly heals the ear, and allows himself to be taken into custody peacefully.
So there’s at least as many quotes from Jesus to support an argument for pacifism as there are to suggest otherwise. And arguably as those more pacifist quotes come from his core teachings like the Sermon on the Mount, it is more suggestive of his actual positions.
In the context of his overall ministry, and the fact that the Christian martyrs in general were known for their pacifism and willingness to sacrifice their own lives for what they believed in, I would argue that early Christianity spread more because of its non-violent tendencies, and the violence that its opponents inflicted on them. Of course, after Constantine’s conversion and the politicization of the Church, things changed, and you could argue that Christianity became just another state religion that was spread by the sword in the same way all state religions arguably are. The Crusades also come to mind as an example of where Christianity was “spread by the sword”, though one can make an argument that the Crusades were actually political actions disguised with religious rhetoric.
But I think you’re trying too hard to find evidence that Jesus himself advocated physical violence, when most of the evidence is that he advocated a kind of pacifism, as well as an ideological revolution.
Uh, I don’t know about the others, but that Jesus quote is taken way out of context. It comes from a parable that goes like this:
As you can see, it’s not Jesus saying to kill actual people in front of him as the quote taken out of context makes it sound like, but rather he is describing what the king in the story is saying. It’s part of a parable, and probably meant to be a metaphor for Jesus/God eventually judging non-believers or demons and sending them to Hell.
You could maybe argue that the threat of Hell is like a threat of violence, but it’s not the same as suggesting that Jesus wanted to have his enemies killed in front of him.
We agree for the context of the story and the threat it implies. But for it to be only a metaphor (about future violence) one must ignore what Jesus said. Jesus said: “he that hath no sword, let him sell his garment and buy one” (Luke 22:36) and “Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword” (Matthew 10:34).
Regarding the “buy a sword” quote, he said that to his disciples, and then later says to them that two swords are enough. The most common interpretation of this is that he needed to fulfill a prophecy, and also so as to get him arrested by the authorities for “leading a rebellion”. Two swords are obviously not enough to win a rebellion, so it seems like the purpose of this wasn’t to convert people through violence. There is a scene later where Peter famously cuts off one of the ears of the people sent to arrest Jesus, and then Jesus goes “enough of that!” and promptly heals the ear, and allows himself to be taken into custody peacefully.
Regarding the “not peace but a sword” quote, it’s arguable that this is an obvious metaphor for ideological conflict.
Again, taken out of context, these verses can sound a lot more aggressive than the context would suggest.
Jesus also said things like “Those who live by the sword, die by the sword,” “Turn the other cheek,” and “Love your enemies”.
So there’s at least as many quotes from Jesus to support an argument for pacifism as there are to suggest otherwise. And arguably as those more pacifist quotes come from his core teachings like the Sermon on the Mount, it is more suggestive of his actual positions.
In the context of his overall ministry, and the fact that the Christian martyrs in general were known for their pacifism and willingness to sacrifice their own lives for what they believed in, I would argue that early Christianity spread more because of its non-violent tendencies, and the violence that its opponents inflicted on them. Of course, after Constantine’s conversion and the politicization of the Church, things changed, and you could argue that Christianity became just another state religion that was spread by the sword in the same way all state religions arguably are. The Crusades also come to mind as an example of where Christianity was “spread by the sword”, though one can make an argument that the Crusades were actually political actions disguised with religious rhetoric.
But I think you’re trying too hard to find evidence that Jesus himself advocated physical violence, when most of the evidence is that he advocated a kind of pacifism, as well as an ideological revolution.
For me to say more would be a movement too far away from the original post, and so I will close by saying thank you for your criticism.