No. I was referring to the end of His ministry, because Jesus had earlier sent His disciple out to evangelize without a purse or sword.
You weren't clearly referring to anything, but no matter.
Obviously, Peter knew that the sword was to be used for self defense.
Incorrect, he was trying to defend Christ, Who had ordered him to have a sword but obviously did not command him to use it. A man under command waits for orders.
Peter did not understand that Jesus intended to sacrifice Himself and did not want to be defended.
Right, so it was NOT self defense; it was an attempted defense of Christ, without waiting for Him to give the order to use the sword. You are clearly not wanting to allow that bearing arms is a responsibility that is intended to be given under a command structure; ''a well-ordered militia''.
On the night Jesus was betrayed, He asked His followers to bring swords. They had two, which Jesus claimed was enough (Luke 22:37-39). As Jesus was being arrested, Peter sliced off the ear of one of the servants of the high priest (John 18:10). Jesus healed the man instantly (Luke 22:51) and commanded Peter to put away his weapon (John 18:11). Peter’s ownership of a sword was not condemned, only his particular use of it. Lack of trust and faith in God had nothing to do with it.
If his ''particular use of it (the sword)'' was condemned by Christ, it is clearly lack of trust and faith in God, for Christ is God. His Disciple did not wait for the command of the Son of God, the King of Israel... That's lack of trust and faith, which St. Peter amply demonstrated moments later by denying he even knew Jesus of Nazareth!
Again, weaponry is to be regulated, and therefore obviously under a ranked chain of command, training, etc...
I don't get why you would think I was referring to Christ being dead. I was referring to the time frame of now verses the first century.
You wrote as a non-Christian would, speaking of Christ. I found it curious and a little weird, but no big deal.
Instead of a sword, a gun is the weapon of choice for self-defense today.
That's not the point, about the 'weapon of choice', but the right reasoning behind using a weapon in the first place.
I was making a logical and practical decision based on today verses then.
No, you were reading into the text your own ideas conditioned by being an American conservative evangelical born in the 20th century, by time and place and cultural upbringing.
We Christians often use teachings from scripture from the past context to show how they may apply to our time. There is nothing unusual about that.
Yes, we do. But what is unusual are the often extravagant and grotesque results coming from private interpretation of Scripture by people who are very far removed from the times and places described in Scripture, and those who also deny the interpretations of Scripture made by known disciples of the Apostles in the decades after 33 AD.
The Old Testament contains many examples of godly men who owned and used weapons, usually in the context of warfare. David killed a giant from a distance with a stone and a sling shot. Today we would use a gun with bullets. I really think you don't know what you are talking about.
I know exactly what i'm talking about. Slings like St. David the Prophet-King used, and Bows and Arrows, Javelins and Spears, etc... Are all ranged weapons, yes, but entirely
powered (even if that power is mechanically multiplied) by human muscle and effort, and thus still limited in range.
Modern weaponry is vastly greater in power, range, and velocity via chemical reactions, enabling men to be killed or greatly maimed from tremendous distances and destructive explosive power compared to the weapons of old. There is no honor or heroism in that kind of warfare, no heroes or cowards, only survivors and the dead. It's just butchery from a greater distance in most cases that enables men to psychologically distance themselves from the acts of killing. In fact modern weapons have become so destructively dishonorable, that they contain the destructive potential to destroy the human race or at least send us back to more primitive times...
Still think I don't know what i'm talking about?