Is Christianity a religion of peace?

[pro4life]

Yes or no?

If yes, why does the Bible have verses for murder.

 

[Kirran]

I think it's a religion of people, and people do all sorts of stuff.

 

[Skwim]

Yes or no?

If yes, why does the Bible have verses for murder.

Please ink out those verses. Thank you.

 

[Sleeppy]

Yes, and no. It's up to the people following any religion to be of peace.

 

[catch22]

Yes, Christianity is peaceful.

Demonstrate in scripture where Jesus Christ or any of the New Testament writers call for murder.

 

[Servant_of_the_One1]

Every religion is peaceful.

People can be bloodsucking demons.

 

[gsa]

Well the Christian scriptures are comparatively peaceful, when compared to Hebrew and Islamic scriptures. Of course, that is a peace that calls for segregation from unbelievers, for slaves to obey their masters, for the fiery judgment and condemnation of unbelievers to either hell or eternal annihilation, etcetera.

 

[Awoon]

Nope to the OP.

 

[Servant_of_the_One1]

Well the Christian scriptures are comparatively peaceful, when compared to Hebrew and Islamic scriptures. Of course, that is a peace that calls for segregation from unbelievers, for slaves to obey their masters, for the fiery judgment and condemnation of unbelievers to either hell or eternal annihilation, etcetera.

your crusade on theists is hilarious though

 

[gsa]

your crusade on theists is hilarious though

Crusade? My friend, it is a jihad.

 

[JayJayDee]

Yes or no?

If yes, why does the Bible have verses for murder.

Not one verse in the Christian scriptures advocates violence even against an enemy. So for Christians there can be no blood spilling.

"Murder" is the unlawful taking of a life. It is unsanctioned as opposed to an act of justice, where life is taken as the penalty for a crime....Only God has the right to take life or to sanction others to take life.

 

[dgirl1986]

The bible is pretty violent. It is up to people where they take that religion.

 

[Unveiled Artist]

Yes or no?
If yes, why does the Bible have verses for murder.

Yes. It balances peace with justice where God shows through examples of justice (His definition not Christians') of true worship and obedience to the true God of Christianity. The purpose of this balance between life (story of creation) and death (taking lives if nonbelievers and crucifixion of the flesh) tells a Christian that even though he feels he is consumed with death/sin, he has hope for life in the resurrection. Without this justice or balance, there is no peace in the Christian faith. So, in that respect, it is a religion of peace.

 

[Unveiled Artist]

That would mean people killing others in the Bible is justified if it is sanctioned by God? There is a example of violence or negativity because it's showing the Christian how God sees and treats people who disagree with His Laws; and, if Christians are to follow His example (rather than pick examples they want to follow), there's got to be a balance between following God and not breaking the law.

If a Christian is to follow God and see sin as God sees it, then their inclination should be that they want to "get rid of" what God distastes. It's shown in the OT testament when the Israelite killed people for their promise land at God's command to Christ's death in the flesh for the salvation of believers. What's interesting about the "peace" in Christianity is that it says "thou shall not kill" yet, God doesn't follow this rule given He has justified His actions by His title rather than the sacredness of life itself.

Not one verse in the Christian scriptures advocates violence even against an enemy. So for Christians there can be no blood spilling.

"Murder" is the unlawful taking of a life. It is unsanctioned as opposed to an act of justice, where life is taken as the penalty for a crime....Only God has the right to take life or to sanction others to take life.

 

[JayJayDee]

That would mean people killing others in the Bible is justified if it is sanctioned by God?

.
The Creator alone, as the giver of life, has the authority to take it away.
He also authorised others to act in his behalf when the law demanded justice be served.

There is a example of violence or negativity because it's showing the Christian how God sees and treats people who disagree with His Laws; and, if Christians are to follow His example (rather than pick examples they want to follow), there's got to be a balance between following God and not breaking the law.

For Christians, following the law of love that Jesus instituted with his death (taking the old law out of the way) his followers were now to express love even towards their enemies.
Jesus represented his Father and reflected his qualities in every way. He was a strong advocate of truth and he tolerated no hypocrisy. There is your balance.

If a Christian is to follow God and see sin as God sees it, then their inclination should be that they want to "get rid of" what God distastes. It's shown in the OT testament when the Israelite killed people for their promise land at God's command to Christ's death in the flesh for the salvation of believers.

Christ knew from the outset that he was to "give his life a ransom in exchange for many".

When God used Israel as his executional force in the land of Canaan, it is good to keep in mind that the wicked inhabitants were given fair warning about his gift of this land to his own people. They actually moved in after his declaration, so they were virtually squatters.
The victory God gave Israel was a victory of good over evil. Archeologists who unearthed artefacts in that region discovered that the inhabitants of Canaan were so depraved that they wonder why God did not dispatch them earlier.

What's interesting about the "peace" in Christianity is that it says "thou shall not kill" yet, God doesn't follow this rule given He has justified His actions by His title rather than the sacredness of life itself.

No, the law said "thou shalt not murder".....that is the difference.
"Murder" is the unlawful taking of human life. If "killing" was what God had said, then he would never have had the death penalty for certain crimes, or used his people to fight to defend their land against their enemies. They claimed their victory in the name of their God who was granting them superiority in battle. These enemies had come in the name of their own gods, so every defeat was a defeat for a false deity.

The sacredness of life can not be valued more to a mere human than it is to the one who created it.

 

[Vinayaka]

There is more to peace than not just committing murder. An individual can walk into a room and cause a ton of disharmony and agitation and emotional pain just by words ... or ... they can walk into a room, bring harmony, humour, etc., and uplift everyone's spirits.

The very nature of proseltysing is of the first variety. Standing in front of a crowd and yelling at them that they're all sinners and essentially worthless beings is the former. So no, it is not a peaceful religion.

 

[Faybull]

Personally...I feel that a religion of peace shouldn't require the first step into it to be the vicarious murder of someone who is without blame for the transgressions they themselves bear. Christianity is not a religion of personal responsibility or accountability in my view, which therefore cannot be a religion of peace, per the definition of "peace". Cheers!

 

[Unveiled Artist]

The sacredness of life can not be valued more to a mere human than it is to the one who created it.

I differ with you entirely. For example, my parents created me and they value my life because of this mind I share in their love for me. It is not theirs alone. I am not a "mere" human according to their standards. I place God in the position of my parent because we are not "mere humans"; we have just as much love life, if one is a Christian or any other follower of another faith as our Gods and ancestors. It's hard to show it...but to separate ourselves as if we are "nothing" is not a relation-ship with God.

The Creator alone, as the giver of life, has the authority to take it away.

I disagree with the Creator's version of authority. That is as if my parent had the right to get an abortion--she had a choice over her own body, her own baby, to either let him live or allow him to die. No person, being, angel, whoever has the right to take a life with which we have. If my parent did not want her child, she shouldn't have mated. If God knew His children would disobey Him, He should have not created them. Both need to be comfortable and accept what they created, their child's choice or right to be in this world, without harm to life made.

The point of taking a life, in itself, is bad no matter the reason and no matter who gave life to begin with.

He was a strong advocate of truth and he tolerated no hypocrisy. There is your balance.

The balance I see in the Bible, when it comes to peace, is Justice and sacrifice. How the justice is played out--killing, murders, such like that I disagree with. How sacrifice (life) is played out, having someone tortued for the sake of another (similar to teh sacred life example above) is just horrid. I understand the point behind it and the peace Christians have from God's Word. I don't agree with out it is planed out.

When God used Israel as his executional force in the land of Canaan, it is good to keep in mind that the wicked inhabitants were given fair warning about his gift of this land to his own people.

No one deserves to die no matter how wicked they are.

The victory God gave Israel was a victory of good over evil.

We know good over evil without resorting to death of any kind regardless if it's taking over a line to dying on the cross

These enemies had come in the name of their own gods, so every defeat was a defeat for a false deity.

There is nothing wrong with enemies coming in the name of their own God unless they posed a threat to the people they may have fought against. Why is God a jealous God, I don't know. It doesn't make sense.

 

[Saint Frankenstein]

Some are/were, specifically the various Gnostic/dualist sects that rejected the OT deity as evil. The Cathars, for example, were pacifists and non-violent to such an extent that they were almost vegans (and not eating meat was viewed as sinful itself by orthodox Christians during that time) and didn't fight back at all during the Albigensian Crusade, allowing themselves to be pretty much completely exterminated in pretty horrendous ways. They're often called "Western Buddhists".

 

[Sees]

Some forms of Christianity are very peaceful, some have the illusion, some are pretty nasty. I like most the ones who preach with their good deeds, teach by example.

Because of its mono-everything nature, it's easy to abuse and sparks can fly if it grows beyond being a minority religion. It has that innate propensity to be weaponized as does Islam, just to a lesser degree by valuing perseverant suffering over active struggle/fighting, among other things.

It's a religion better suited to a small portion of a population who have a desire for mysticism, asceticism, the esoteric, etc. It has to be forcefully and awkwardly turned into a way of the masses and some type of cultural religion.

Something that should be quiet, passive, and positive little piece of a larger society gets turned into a juggernaut that so many have a strong distaste for and/or fear of.

The need for so many denominations is a sort of cry for help. Institutionalized Christianity that is spoon-fed to the disinterested or hammered in to resistant just isn't peaceful. Its worse character trait is the ones who comprehend so little tend to be the most vocal and sink the whole ship down to their level.