Quote Originally Posted by flagg View Post
Btw, further to the OT (ahihi):

IMHO, to blame religion for society's ills is like blaming the gun when a man is killed.

The gun didn't kill the man. The man killed the man.

There is no mention of Crusading in the Bible. The Pope (who is just a man) ordered the Crusade.

AFAIK about jihad, it does not translate precisely to 'Holy War.' Again, that is a man's order. Jihad is 'to struggle for faith.'

In Chinese, there is a saying... 'Chap Ching', literally 10,000... but man has given it another meaning...
I agree with you at some point. In the Old Testament though, God ordered kings and leaders to conquer (annihilate) tribes, as what Niky said. But this is not to convert them, but mostly to punish them for their ungodly practices.

On the other hand, Jesus also said when he came to live with men; "I did not come to abolish the law, but to fulfill it." Kaya di rin nating pwedeng balewalain ang OT.