NeoMatrix is like a pre-reform/post-FSTDTs Brendan Rizzo. That one fellow Full-FSTDTs Member/Regular/One-Of-Us who's as ridiculous as the weirdos usually quoted, here. I guess NeoMatrix felt there was a niche for "Annoying Jerk FSTDT Member" that had to be filled.
Perhaps NeoMatrix should actually READ the Four Gospels....and those Red Letters, especially....to see what Real Christianity is....It's not what the Frummies and Bigots are about. While there may be a few questionable statements from him, Jesus was still an awesome guy who stood up for the poor, the oppressed, the women, the hated ethnic groups, etc. and spoke up against "The Man" and told people to love one another.
That statement about "not bringing peace but a sword" is so OOC, he likely was really saying that people were going to wage war in his name DESPITE what he said....not that he wanted it to happen. This is a guy who said stuff like "Turn the other cheek", "Love your neighbor as yourself", "Love and forgive even your enemies", etc. Why would he say that he came to make people fight? It makes no sense. I think that one verse was either horribly mistranslated or it was added later by warmongering Church leaders who wanted carte-blanche to be violent jerks.
That stuff about hating your family was more a non-literal hyperbole thing where the point was "Put God First".
Anyhoo. NeoMatrix would be that Jesus and the Church are often at odds with each other. I think the worst thing the early Church could have done was to make The Hebrew Testament still canon to Christianity. The Tanakh and the Christian Scriptures contradict in many ways and should be seen as related but completely separate scriptures. Only the Jews are truly qualified to understand and interpret what the Hebrew scriptures are really saying and have a long tradition of Midrash and the Talmud to help interpret it.
Christianity is an alternate Reboot of Judaism....another Judaism for Non-Jews (though Jews could join if they wished). It may take some cues from the Tanakh but it's a whole different scripture.
The Jews have Moses. Christians Have Jesus.
The Jews have Elijah. The Christians have John The Baptist.
The Jews have the Twelve Patriarchs/Tribes. The Christians have the Twelve Apostles.
Anyway. Christians should disregard the Tanakh as Christian Scripture or make it part of their Bible because there's a lot of stuff with God being scary and it's given Barabbanism/ChristoFrummery a reason to exist.
Christianity, practiced correctly according to the actual Christian Scriptures and teaching of Jesus, is actually the most liberal, humane, humanitarian and pacifistic of the "Abrahamic Big Three" (Revelation appears to be an exception on the surface but it's obviously a bunch of weird symbolic imagery that is not meant to be taken literally).
