Through Force or Faith? — Page 109
Chapter 2 — Islamic Teachings about Jihad 109 At the outset of this article, we deem it essential to remind the Pope of the teachings of his religion and his own holy scriptures in this regard so that he may refrain at least from those objections that apply, with much greater intensity, to his own scriptures and elders than Islam. This aspect will be discussed with greater detail in the third chapter of this book but at this point, it is briefly submitted that according to the New Testament, Jesus himself declares ‘Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword’ (Matthew, 10:34). This is why, despite destitution, he regarded the sword to be very important for his religion; so much so that he exhorted his disciples, in clear terms, to buy swords even if they had to sell their clothes (Luke 22:36). The study of the Bible tells us that this attitude was due to his understanding that he was to establish the throne of David and was to become a ruler. In his life there was one specific occasion when he could sense a real opportu- nity and, at that occasion, he abandoned meekness and adopted a harsh attitude and instead of exhortation he opted for use of force (Matthew, 21:34). However it could not materialize in his lifetime, nor could his poor disciples implement these teachings. But the later generations of Christians took this one command- ment as the true essence of Christian faith and, by acting upon it, used the sword with great fervour. The latter generations of Christianity may have strayed far from the real Christian teach- ings; they did show great obedience with regard to the injunction to buy swords and they did not leave any stone unturned in fulfill- ing the desire to re-establish the throne of David. In this pursuit, they caused rivers of blood to flow in fulfilment of words of the Bible (Matthew 5: 17–19).