Dear Totton,
After long deliberation I am answering this confusing post. Certainly Jesus is bloody, but not by others blood. He is saving us by his own blood drawn by us. But Abraham, Moses etc. were bloody by shedding others blood.
You have to decide if there is any case for capital punishment, if there are muders or crimes which justify the taking of a life. The same argument for capital punishment is the argument for whether there can be just cause for war.
It was man who chose to be ruled by angels rather than God, Satan is an angel. Angelic rule is different from Divine rule.
The world apart from the church is still ruled by angels.
If you believe in capital punishment and just war, and in a world ruled by angels as I do then who is to carry out the sentence? Abraham and Moses were God's instruments of justice and those nations were very wicked. Does God have any right to decide who shall live and who die?
He is not justifying them by his coming among their people and living among them.
He did more than just come to live among them, He was born of them...that is different. In order for that to happen God had first to choose a man [Abraham] of who He would make into a family, Israel. This nation God must purify by teaching them His laws and precepts and making them holy through right sacrifices.
It was no easy thing for the Jews to be the chosen nation through who God would bring the Saviour of the world. The world pressed in on them and would have wiped them off the face of the earth [even as they would today] but God had a purpose.
I also came and live among Muslims. That doesn't mean that I am justifying them. As I have come among them for 30 years to teach the Christian precept of enemy-love, so Christ came among jews for 33 years to teach them that, never to shed others blood like their forefathers. Their and our scriptures prophesized about him but that doesn’t make them infallible.
Well how would you read, if God told Moses or Isaiah or David and they spoke what God told them whose word is it? Is it not God's word?...God's word is infallible
It is reported that Jesus also said “I am coming to sow discord”. This is so much misinterpreted as they say that Jesus is not of peace but war. But that discord is not from our side but from others who can’t stand our enemy-love precepts. We don’t shed their blood but they shed ours. Really Jesus is prince of peace.
Yes I accept that, it is the reasonable argument for pacifism. I can't think that I can kill somebody...who knows? we act differently when faced with death. Oh we have it dear Stephengo, I have seen parents whose children have been murdered forgiving out of christian love.
But the church does not rule in the world, at least not directly...once again we are faced with the question of whether we support civil law...we cannot impose christianity upon people. Civil laws do come from God to rule the ungodly executed by angels.
But apostles especially Pharisee Paul clung more to their national prejudices than to Christ. They tried to make Christianity into a sect of Judaism.
This is such an unjust charge against Paul who fought off [by debate not by sword] the attempt by the Jewish apostles to Judaise the church. Paul counted his Jewishness nothing but knowing Christ everything...Paul is so much like Christ, in his own nature he was fierce but God made him meek and lowly.
It’s warmongering god fitted better in heaven-fallen infighting humanity too. So catholics’ ambition to become state religion was fulfilled when they joined wars of emperors.
Ah this was certainly a turn of events, we are speaking not now about Christ-like apostles but the post apostolic time when the church was usurped.
To justify that antiChrist war they then compiled bible with old testament and spurious Revalation of war, marginalizing gospel.
But truly we do not live according to the OT but the NT, yet we need also the old to foreshow the new, but we interpret the old by the new...the gospel is all important, but the gospel is in Eden and in the law and in the prophets and psalms.
They crucified Christ again by it. as Christ silently suffered cross he suffers this now too. But we sane Christ-followers must wash our hands by protesting and following Christ better.
The reformation was a BIG step towards this, there is more to do....God has a time for things
Now, atom bomb surrounded world needs the real Christianity Christ preached on the mount and the cross, which only can save some souls in it.
But it is the Lord who teaches wars and famines and earthquakes will happen right up to His return. The whole world will not be saved, we want that as many that can be saved shall be
I invite you to come to India of non-violence and enemy-love, the greatest expanding nation. Here most of the heaven-fallen souls fall to give them a chance to repent and turn back. In other nations they are somewhat barred by stricter birth control. So, Heavenly Father’s graces are falling more upon Indians to turn them back to love-heaven by His touch of love. This grace will liberate you from futility and impart spiritual fecundity as it has liberated me. Serving the poor here I see Christ in them really, as he declared. It is worthwhile pilgrimage if your eyes are open to see its spiritual riches in spite of blessed material poverty.