Evidently, you never read the Bible in full context or studied its symbolism. If you had done so you would know that martial symbology in the New Testament affirms that Jesus was a pacifist and that all of His followers should be the same.
Okay, so specifically spin Matthew 10:34-37 that way. Jesus quite unequivocably says he didn't come to send peace, his purpose is to set me against my father and my wife against her mother, and so forth, my enemies will be members of my own household, and if I care more for my parents or my children than I do for him (and I do) then I'm not worthy of him. If anybody said that to my face, I'd call him an arrogant fool with overdeveloped notions of his own importance, and not worthy of me.
I have indeed read the Bible, in several versions, and studied it carefully, and read widely in other people's thoughts about it. And frankly I don't see how it's any different from any of the old Greek and Roman and Egyptian and Babylonian and etc. mythologies. And to demonstrate the point (I cribbed most of this from alt.atheism):
Consider a heroic figure, a true god among men, born of a mortal woman and a divine Father, and his name was
Hercules.
Consider the tale of a redeemer, one who came to earth to lift up sinful and ignorant humans, knowing full well he would pay the ultimate price for his actions, but willing to go ahead anyway out of love and compassion, and his name was
Prometheus.
Consider the one who defeated death itself and rose from the grave, in a miracle that no other would-be savior has ever been able to duplicate. By dramatically displaying his power over death, he proved once and for all that he was the single true god. And his name was
Osiris.
Consider one that millions around the world still worship today. He was conceived miraculously and visited while still an infant by wise men who were guided to him by a star. He lived in a small province whose evil ruler sought to have him killed before he could rise to power, but his parents were warned by a heavenly messenger who instructed them to take their child to a neighbouring district, where he would be safe from the slaughter. This miracle child would come to grow up and perform many great deeds, and the timeless and moving story of his life was recounted throughout history and still rings true today. I refer of course to
Krishna.
Consider a god who stands alone, unique, head and shoulders above the myths and fables of the false religions. No other saviour ever claimed to duplicate his deeds. No other prophet was anything at all like him. He is the mediator between God and man, he helps departed souls ascend to heaven, and he will judge the human race at the end of the world. He shed the blood of an innocent to wash away the sins of the world and established a sacred meal ritual where flesh and blood were symbolically consumed by initiates. Only one person fits that description. You know this person well - his birthday falls near the end of the year, on December 25. And his name is
Mithras.
But that’s all wrong. Our religion is the one true religion. The claims of all others crumble under scrutiny, but ours and ours alone is validated, again and again, by historical fact. It was the first of its kind to make such claims as these; all others are merely impostors which sought to capitalize on its fame. Our saviour cannot be mistaken for any other. He performed countless miracles on earth, miracles well attested to by bystanders. He healed the sick and the crippled, restored sight to the blind, cast out demons, even raised the dead! His birth was of a virgin, foretold by an angel. While still a child, he exhibited extraordinary knowledge of religious scripture. He reformed the corrupt and worldly religions of his day. He was crucified, rose from the tomb and appeared to his disciples to prove to them his power over death, after which he ascended to Heaven to sit at the right hand of the Father. He was known as "the Son of God!" No other religion can make such claims! No other saviour proved his divinity again and again to so many! No one can doubt his power or the truth of the message he brought. His memory will live forever. How can he be mistaken for anyone else? Of course, by now there is not a shred of doubt in any of your minds. You know as well as I do to whom I am referring. We must worship him, pay tribute to his memory, and focus on spreading his message of love and compassion; that, after all, is the true meaning of the season. His name of course is
Apollonius of Tyana.
Need I go on? The Bible is mythology, that borrows heavily from other mythologies, and I've never seen a convincing case for giving it any special status.
