How can people say that Jesus was a peaceful man?

Question

I come not to bring peace, but to bring a sword. For I came to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; and a man’s enemies will be the members of his household." (Matthew 10:34-36 NASB)

"I have come to cast fire upon the earth; and how I wish it were already kindled!" ... "Do you suppose that I came to grant peace on earth? I tell you, no, but rather division; for from now on five members in one household will be divided, three against two and two against three."... (Luke 12:49,51-53 NASB)

Gospel of Thomas 16 (non-canonical) (SV) reads:
"Perhaps people think that I have come to cast peace upon the world. They do not know that I have come to cast conflicts upon the earth: fire, sword, war. For there will be five in a house: there'll be three against two and two against three, father against son and son against father, and they will stand alone."

At best, his family values were lacking.

Eldude - I've read the Bible. I saw nothing in context to change my interpretation. If you saw something there that I missed, please explain.

Melvin C - Literature was one of the things I studied in college. It seems to me that you are saying that there are inconsistencies in the messages that Jesus was spreading. I completely agree with you on that point.

Melvin C - Literature was one of the things I studied in college. It seems to me that you are saying that there are inconsistencies in the messages that Jesus was spreading. I completely agree with you on that point.

Answer 1

Because they extract isolated bits of the bible to support their contention and ignore all the nasty bits. And then plunge deeper into denial than an Egyptian Scuba diver when you point this out!

Hmmn - reading all the 'you don't understand what he meant' answers here confirms what I say above and reminds me of a Sam Clemens quote 'Some Theologians are worried by the parts of the bible they don't understand. I'm worried by the bits I do understand!"
Come on, people! Those quotes used in the question are pretty unambiguous - if they contradict other passages that you like to use to prove what a touchy feely nice guy this Jesus was, it's because the whole crock you call the bible is a heavily edited, badly translated miasma of fragments that can never form a coherent, non-contradictory whole. Wake up and smell the bull!

Answer 2

Fire and sword, family members set against one another.. these are all things that result when a new idea challenges an old social order. Those who believe the new idea are attacked by those of the old social order, and vice-versa. It is the unfortunate nature of human beings to hate and oppose people who disagree with them.

I say that Jesus was, indeed, for the most part a peaceful man. There was that one bit where he went off and kicked the crap out of the money-changers in the Temple, but for the rest of it, his entire message was one of tolerance, love, forgiveness...

He came and stood up agianst the dogmatic religion of is day, with the assertion that human needs and compassion came before "religious law" in the eyes of God. In short, he set out to challenge the merciless, uncompromising legalism of the religion of the Pharisees.

Indeed, Jesus would know human nature.. He would know that, for all the good he was attempting to preach love and tolerance.. that there would always be those who cannot react with anything other than fear and hatred. Indeed, the very elements he spoke out against.. the divisive legalism, the internicine feuding, the persecution and oppression, that were the hallmarks of the religion he came to undo have found themselves established all over again in the right wing legalism of conservative Christianity.

Answer 3

Hi Kath,

Did you do Literature in college? Perhaps I may suggest some tips for you to better understand the text in the gospel, it is about the same way the secular text is studied.

Perhaps you may want to read before and after those text you have quoted and see if you can bring up a meaning. That is the very first thing. Else it will be out of context.

Next, you may want to study the consistence of his (Jesus) teaching, see if he taught the same things all the time in other parts of Gospel (which he did not). That is to check on consistency, before one is to make a judgmental statement like the one you make.

Next, you may also related to other testament teaching to see if there is any contrast.

I remember while doing my O-Level, this one phase also rings in my head, 'compare and contrast'. Imagine I was doing Twelve Night, and Short stories in Africa! (I am a Chinese staying in Asia!). Wow. .

But those skills helps me alot.

Kath, I suggest you go thru the Sermon on the Mount. These teaching are about love. Read them first, and if you are serious about learning, you may e-mail me. But if you just wanna make a point, you may post another question to 'dig' deeper. If I know the answer, I will try to entertain you.

Cheers,

Answer 4

How do you re-concile this statement?

“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself”. – Matthew 22:37-40

You look at one side of an issue, out of context, and expect that you are proving something. Unhappily, you aren't.

“The test of first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in the mind at the same time, and still retain the ability to function.” – F. Scott Fitzgerald

Having spiritual faith and beliefs is a good thing. Try to understand why. By the way, I am against religionism, and firmly in favor of freedom of religion.

Answer 5

It States That God Comes First! We Do Not Put Our Pure Love,
Faith, & Trust That We Have For Our Families, Above The Pure Love, Faith, & Trust That We Have For Jesus Christ Our Lord! Our Creator!!!!! If It Was Not For Our Holy God, We Would Not Have Mothers, Fathers, Sisters, Brothers,Etc, Gods Love Comes First, and Our Love For God OverPowers Our Love For Man/Families!!!!!!! He Does Not Say To Not Love Our Families, He Is Just Letting Us Know That When We Have More True Love,Faith,& Trust For Man Kind Then We Do For Him There Will Always Be Some Type Of Conflicts & Problems In Our Lives, But Putting Our True Love, Faith, & Trust In Our Holy God First, That Will Conquar All!!!!!
That Is The Way That I Understand His Meaning!

God Bless!!!!!!

Answer 6

When you walk into a library do you automatically understand every word in every book on all the shelves. Does your understanding
encompass the meaning and and purpose of the authors and their intention in writing these books.

Just because you do not understand the words of Jesus does not mean that they are false. All that knowledge was originally with God.
God's understanding is complete and total. These verses relate to ones personal dedication to God. Every person should judge for him/herself. If my father does not believe in God and I do then or some level we will be against each other.
If my daughter does believe in God and I don't then are we on the same page?
These verses do not relate to war or hatred or conflict they indicate that in your dedication to God you might have to take a direction contrary to friends and family. Religion is that weighty a matter. Thanks for the question! Very thought provoking!

Answer 7

Jesus loved all people and never judged them. In fact, when townspeole were throwing stones at a woman with a "bad" reputation, though she went against His teachings, Jesus stood between her and the mob and said "Let he who is without sin cast the first stone," showing that we all have our faults and therefore shouldn't criticize those of others. People followed Him because they loved Him, and he was a source of understanding and compassion to all who sought it.

Answer 8

No family values were lacking. Its really nothing new.
For instance, the 10 commandants start off with the idea that God comes first. So there are no family or any values that interfer with the observation of faithfulness to God. Conversly, the best family values are ones that are strengthened with fidelity to God.
Also, the divisions that Jesus speaks about did take place in the early decades after his resurrection in the early church.

Answer 9

Amazing. You point out the hypocrisy inherent in the Bible and Christ's teachings - simply point things out, without making a value judgement...

And the response? Thumbs down, thumbs down, thumbs down...

"It's all out of context", blah blah blah.

The thing is, if all the negative stuff in the Bible is out of context, how can you possibly say any of the "positive" stuff isn't?

It's basically an old storybook, developed as a tool for social control. The notion that 21st century humans should base their lives around it is ridiculous.

Answer 10

You misunderstand the Scriptures. Jesus came to bring us a new way as opposed to the old way of the Old Testament. This new way would naturally bring division among families and in society, and he was right. It brings division today, but this is always the way it is when something new is introduced. Jesus is not telling us to kill one another, or telling Christians to go out and start wars in his name. Yes, these things have happen, but they have happened because people have misinterpreted the Bible or have seen an opportunity to advance their own causes. The way of Christ is peace, and this is clearly taught by our Lord and by the writers of the epistles. That mankind has not adapted peaceful ways to spread the gospel is not the fault of God, but of men who lack patience and understanding.