Quote (bogie160 @ Jun 21 2012 03:24pm)
So the parable of "hating" your mother and father is a clear reference to the sort of dedication required to follow the Lord. Unless you literally "hate" your father and mother as compared to your love for the Lord, you cannot follow him. Wordly relations must be entirely second to your relationship with God. This is a pretty common and consistent example of Biblical hyperbole, of which Jesus was fond.
I suppose you also believe that Jesus is speaking about a literal sword, but that's absurd, especially when he criticizes Peter for attempting to defend him (with a sword) as he was being arrested. His message is the sword, and it's that message that he has come to deliver to the world, and he's warning that His Word will not create peace, but will go so far as to have the power to turn families against one another.
If you are honestly attempting to interpret the last quote literally then there's no hope for you.
Oh, REALLY??? Let's SEE what JESUS (the fake one, I remind you) told his disciples: Contrary to your dogmatic beliefs, Jesus was not planning on “accepting his fate” by waiting for the Jews to arrest him,as we see that he even prepared his disciples in case a fight was necessary:
35 Then Jesus asked them, “When I sent you without purse, bag or sandals, did you lack anything?” “Nothing,” they answered. 36 He said to them, “But now if you have a purse, take it, and also a bag; and if you don’t have a sword, sell your cloak and buy one. / Luke 22:35-36
Question: What would Jesus and his disciples do with these swords? According to the Christians, Jesus was the “peace-maker”, yet here we see him giving the order for his disciples to arm themselves! And you definitely don't use swords to pare apples and bananas! Swords are used for combat, and combat alone! However, Jesus hadn't predicted a battle against highly-trained Roman soldiers, thus this explains why he thought that “two swords would be enough” (Luke 22:35-38).
Once again, the Muslim knows the Bible BETTER than the Christian who "defends it" without any knowledge, and without giving references
