Reason for The Crusades explained

[Matthias]

From AI, 75% of big churches are armed.

According to a 2023 survey by Christianity Todayand Lifeway Research, roughly 75% (three-quarters) of U.S. churches with congregations of 1,000 members or more report having armed security at their entrances. This security can include:

• Armed parishioners (often the most common form),
• Off-duty police officers, or
• Hired private security guards.

I believe that is accurate. Now, which of those churches teaches, “You are not following Jesus if you aren't armed, ready to kill”?

I invite you to use AI to help you locate one. Will you do it? If not, why not?

Will AI identify your own church, the church which you attend, by name and location, as one which does? If not, why not?

P.S.

Here is the link to my latest search using AI, conducted last Tuesday.

Post in thread 'Reason for The Crusades explained'
Reason for The Crusades explained

Do the search with the assistance of AI yourself. Then let’s compare our results.

 

[Wrangler]

Armed parishioners (often the most common form),

Armed parishioners in vast majority of big churches. One wonders how they decide that moral issue in light of fanatical pacifism saying it ain’t true?

 

[Matthias]

Armed parishioners in vast majority of big churches.

You seem to have forgotten that I accepted the results of your AI search. What percentage of parishioners in those unnamed churches are themselves “armed, ready to kill”?

Earlier in the thread I gave an example, using a Baptist Church that I visited on March 22,2026. Do you remember that?

One wonders how they decide that moral issue in light of fanatical pacifism saying it ain’t true?

Those churches should answer your question. I’ve seen them do it. If you haven’t, then you would benefit by doing a search.

You didn’t answer the questions I asked in post #2801. You do remember what you said about people who don’t answer questions, don’t you?

 

[Matthias]

You didn’t answer the questions I asked in post #2801.

I gave him a sufficient amount of time to reply. I don’t think he would answer them in a month of Sundays. I’ll do again what I asked him to do. And again it will show that he is wrong - which is the reason why he won’t do it himself.

You do remember what you said about people who don’t answer questions, don’t you?

He does and I do. To protect the innocent from him, I’ll post it here for them -

“No matter the subject, it is telling when people refuse to answer questions. It reveals they know their position cannot hold up to scrutiny but are emotionally invested in their position, which is a form of IDOLATRY.

The Bible refers to such people as not have eyes to see or ears to hear. Modern lingo is willful ignorance.”

My readers should go directly to the source, using the link provided, and verify it for yourselves.

Post in thread 'The Islamic Jihadi’s War Against Christianity'
The Islamic Jihadi’s War Against Christianity

That describes him to a tee.

Jesus calls it being judged by the same standard by which you judge others. Shakespeare called it “being hoisted on your own petard” - captured, damaged, destroyed by the very trap, scheme, weapon which he created for others.

 

[Matthias]

This is wrong.

“Is there any church, anywhere in the world, which teaches ‘You are not following Jesus if you aren’t armed, ready to kill’?”

AI Overview responds -

“No mainstream or historically established Christian denomination teaches that you are not following Jesus unless you are armed and ready to kill. Mainstream Christian theology across Catholic, Orthodox, and Protestant traditions strongly rejects this premise, drawing from biblical passages like the Sermon on the Mount, where Jesus commands his followers to ‘love your enemies’ and ‘turn the other cheek’ (Matthew 5:39).

However, there is one highly specific fringe religious group - and isolated extremist, independent pastors - whose teachings come close to this ideology by fusing firearm ownership directly with salvation or true spiritual fidelity.

The Rod of Iron Ministries
The most prominent group matching this description is the Rod of Iron Ministries (also known as the World Peace and Unification Sanctuary). Based in Newfoundland, Pennsylvania, with a compound in Texas, this group is a schismatic offshoot of the Unification Church founded by Hyung Jin ‘Sean’ Moon.

• The Core Teaching: The group exalts the AR-15 semiautomatic rifle as a mandatory religious accoutrement. They interpret ‘iron of rod’ mentioned in the Book of Revelation (Revelation 2:27) - Which Jesus uses to to assert authority - not as as a metaphor, but literally as an assault rifle.

• The Requirement: During their ceremonies, worshipers wear crowns made of bullets and hold unloaded AR-15s. Pastor Sean Moon teaches that bearing these weapons is a divine right and a duty given by God to protect human flourishing and establish a ‘peace militia’. They teach that true believers must be sovereign ‘kings and queens’ armed to defend faith against satanic forces.

Isolated Extreme Pastors

Outside of that specific sect, individual independent pastors have generated controversy by integrating weapons directly into their definitions of active faith.

• Legacy Faith Church (Pennsylvania): In late 2025, Pastor Philip Thornton drew national attention during a sermon by holding an AR-15 style rifle on stage. He explicitly preached about the need to practice faith with the ‘force of violence,’ using tactical analogies like a soldier forcefully ‘clearing a room’ to eliminate unbelief.

The Stance of Mainstream Christianity

To contextualize how extreme these groups are, it is helpful to look at how mainstream Christianity views weapons:

• The Pacifist Tradition: ‘Peace churches‘ like the Mennonites, Quakers, and Amish believe absolute nonviolence and a refusal to kill are foundational requirements to truly follow Jesus.

•The Self-Defense / Just War Tradition: Major traditions (Catholicism, Reformed, Baptist, etc.) often allow for firearm ownership for sport, hunting, or lawful self-defense. However, they view it strictly as a civic or personal right - never a theological prerequisite for salvation or an essential metric of following Jesus. Mainstream theologians point to Matthew 26:52, where Jesus admonished an armed Peter to ‘put your sword back in its place, for all who draw the sword will die by the sword’.”

This is similar to an earlier AI search that I ran and posted in this thread. @Wrangler refused to answer* when asked if he belonged to any of those fringe groups. I think it is fair to say that he has cut himself off from mainstream Christianity and aligned himself with some extremist group that he doesn’t want to identify.

Read again what AI had to say about the Rod of Iron Ministries. Is that Wangler’s concealed identity church? Maybe so, maybe not. I’m certainly not saying that he is. But it sounds awfully like him and what he is teaching on this platform.

My advice to readers. Keep far away from fringe extremist groups. They’re dangerous.

”You are not following Jesus if you aren’t armed, ready to kill” - has no connection with mainstream Christianity, nor with Jesus, the apostles, and the early church.

* Don’t ever forget what he believes about people who don’t answer questions. He told on himself.

 

[Matthias]

The Rod of Iron Ministries. Thinking about their teaching, how effective do we think they are in evangelizing Muslims? Is evangelizing Muslims even something they attempt to do?

Echoing in my head are comments made by one member in this thread which strongly suggested that Muslims can’t be evangelized. That’s not a mainstream Christian belief. To his credit - I want to be fair to him - he did say that he is not part of mainstream Christianity.

As we have seen in this thread, extremist Christians - and at least some Muslims - sincerely believe that the Bible teaches Christians to kill their enemies. Mainline Christianity, as we have seen, rejects that idea.

What about that Christian speaker featured in post #1? I want to go back to that video again.

 

[Matthias]

What about that Christian speaker featured in post #1? I want to go back to that video again.

Nowhere in the video does the speaker say what church or denomination he is a part of.

”What Christian denomination does Bob at Speakers Corner in London represent?”

AI Overview replied -

“Bob, the prominent Christian apologist and debater at London’s Speakers’ Corner, identifies as Catholic. However, he generally avoids strict institutional labels, often referring to himself as an ‘ecumenist Christian’ or simply a non-denominational Christian focused on defending the foundational faith.”

Well, if he’s Catholic that puts him in mainstream Christianity. If he’s an “ecumenist Christian” or a “non-denominational Christian” that should keep him far away from the extremist fringe groups.

Based on this small amount of information, I don’t see a good case for arguing that Bob is in any way connected with the “You are not a follower of Jesus if you aren’t armed, ready to kill” teaching.

No appreciable support for @Wrangler from Bob.

 

[Matthias]

More on Bob (aka “Bob the Builder” but he prefers “Bob of Speaker’s Corner”).

He has a very interesting background. Unlike @Wrangler and his cadre of ”armed, ready to kill” comrades, Bob evangelizes Muslims, but not just your average Muslim whom you might run into at the office or grocery store. He evangelizes convicted Muslim terrorists!

He’s a Christian because he was evangelized by Muslims and took the matter seriously.

Bob the Builder became Christian because of a Muslim | God Reports

Today, Bob of Speaker’s Corner is one of the most formidable Christian debaters. He owes that to a Muslim.

www.godreports.com

Check it out.

 

[Matthias]

What percentage of parishioners in those unnamed churches are themselves “armed, ready to kill”?

No answer.





I’ll provide some statistical data for our readers to consider @Wrangler. From 2022 -

The Gun Ownership Bubble: Gun Owners Are More Likely To Have Other Gun Owners As Close Friends

As Congress remains gridlocked on the implementation of gun control measures after a mass shooter killed 19 students and two teachers at an elementary school in Texas on May 24—only 10 days after the…

prri.org

From 2025 -

America's Gospel of Guns

America has a gun problem. In Guns We Trust by veteran journalist William J. Kole exposes the unholy alliance between white evangelicals, guns, & politics.

blog.broadleafbooks.com

 

[Matthias]

Peace or Sword? Reaching Muslims in a divided world — Southern Equip

Resources for Church Leaders

equip.sbts.edu

This is an old article but still an interesting read. No Christians were beheaded (or otherwise harmed in any way) during this trip to evangelize Muslims @Wrangler.

The Crusaders weren’t evangelists. Just like any other military of the world, they were a killing machine.

 

[Matthias]

Have you ever read a book written by a Muslim author @Wrangler? I have. Bob of Speaker’s Corner has. Why do you think we have read them??

I was skimming through this one this evening.

https://aaiil.org/Files/Literatures/Books/2/ENGswordwieldedbyislamchristianitycomparison.pdf

(Maulvi Mohammad Ali, The Sword of Islam and Christianity: A Comparison)

I’ve excerpted the last paragraph for you:

“I have stated only the facts and I leave it for the reader to draw his conclusion and see for himself whether it was Islam that acted upon the principle of persecution for the sake of religion and converted people by force or Christianity, and which of the two shed human blood mercilessly and unjustifiably. Christianity has learned the lesson of toleration from Islam, though it ungratefully blames its benefactor for crimes of which it was itself guilty.”

Islam the religion of peace vs. Christianity the religion guilty of violence.

I can flip the script. All you can do is reinforce the Muslim’s perception that Christianity is evil and help him or her become further entrenched in their position.

With your “You are not following Jesus if you aren’t armed, ready to kill” teaching, you’re a hindrance to the spreading of the gospel to Muslims.

 

[Matthias]

This is a sad and tragic story but the same thing that happened then and in that field is happening now and in this field.

Many more lives at are stake in this field than were in that field.

It’s going to blow up, just like it did in the Crusades of the past, but the warning is ignored. They have a fatal design flaw.

Loving your enemy, not killing your enemy, is the way Jesus and the apostles fought and triumphed over Caesar.

 

[Matthias]

“You can’t kill an ideology with a gun.”

Do you know who he was @Wrangler?

 

[David Lamb]

No. I'm right. Jesus didn't tell us to buy a sword to be a dust collector.

As has been said many times, here is the full context of those words of Jesus about swords:

(Luk 22:36) Then He said to them, "But now, he who has a money bag, let him take it, and likewise a knapsack; and he who has no sword, let him sell his garment and buy one.
(Luk 22:37) For I say to you that this which is written must still be accomplished in Me: 'AND HE WAS NUMBERED WITH THE TRANSGRESSORS.' For the things concerning Me have an end."
(Luk 22:38) So they said, "Lord, look, here are two swords." And He said to them, "It is enough."

(Joh 18:10) Then Simon Peter, having a sword, drew it and struck the high priest's servant, and cut off his right ear. The servant's name was Malchus.
(Joh 18:11) So Jesus said to Peter, "Put your sword into the sheath. Shall I not drink the cup which My Father has given Me?"

This is wrong. Many churches these days have armed security at all the entrances. Purpose is not dust collection.

I suppose it depends where you live. Churches here in the UK do not have armed security.

 

[Wrangler]

As has been said many times, here is the full context of those words of Jesus about swords:

Context doesn't change the fact; The Apostles were armed and Jesus did not condemn it but commanded it.

I have yet to see your answer FOR the Crusades. Your posts read more as if this thread is the reasons AGAINST the Crusades.

I suppose it depends where you live. Churches here in the UK do not have armed security.

100% wrong. The claim was NO church anywhere embraces this. I showed proof to the contrary. Christian churches to this day embrace Christs words to buy a sword. Christians always have and always will despite the pacifist contagion. It started with the Apostles and continues to this day as 75% of American large churches are armed, mostly by parishioners.

 

[David Lamb]

Context doesn't change the fact; The Apostles were armed and Jesus did not condemn it but commanded it.

But when Peter used his sword, Jesus told him to put it away. Jesus also healed the injured man's severed ear.

I have yet to see your answer FOR the Crusades. Your posts read more as if this thread is the reasons AGAINST the Crusades.

I am not sure why you would expect a post in favour of the Crusades from me.

100% wrong. The claim was NO church anywhere embraces this. I showed proof to the contrary. Christian churches to this day embrace Christs words to buy a sword. Christians always have and always will despite the pacifist contagion. It started with the Apostles and continues to this day as 75% of American large churches are armed, mostly by parishioners.

It is not 100% wrong to say that churches in the UK do not have armed security. There are very strict firearms controls here, and churchgoers who armed themselves with firearms would be breaking the law.

 

[Matthias]

The claim was NO church anywhere embraces this. I showed proof to the contrary.

The claim was that no church, anywhere in the world, teaches “You are not following Jesus if you aren’t armed, ready to kill.”

An AI search was done - by me, not by you - to locate a church that does. The only thing AI could find that was close to it was a small number of fringe extremist groups.

We all know that you don’t attend a mainstream Christian church. What we don’t know is the name of the church you attend. You keep it hidden from your readers. That is a red flag.

Christian churches to this day embrace Christs words to buy a sword.

His instruction doesn’t extend to all Christians. Even the followers he spoke directly to only had a grand total of two swords among the entire group. When one of them, Peter, drew his sword and cut off a man’s ear, Jesus rebuked Peter and healed the man. Jesus then explained why his followers don’t use the weapons of the world. Later, Paul said the same thing - “We do not use the weapons of the world.”

The early church didn’t use the sword. They expressly spoke against using the sword!

You are bearing false witness against Jesus, the apostles, and the early church.

Christians always have and always will despite the pacifist contagion.

Christians who lived before the 4th century didn’t; at least not for the purpose of killing their enemies. There is a long history of Christians down through the centuries who have not purchased weapons to use against enemies. You foolishly apply your extremist standards and assert that they aren’t Christians.

It started with the Apostles ….

The apostles didn’t kill their enemies. They were killed by their enemies.

... and continues to this day as 75% of American large churches are armed, mostly by parishioners.

Statistics show that the majority of individual Christians don’t own firearms. By your foolish standard of measure, the majority of individual Christians, not armed - and 25% of American large churches - aren’t Christian (because they don’t meet your extremist standard).

And always remember this:

* Mainstream Christian churches do not teach your “You are not following Jesus if you aren’t armed, ready to kill” doctrine. They oppose it.

* There is no requirement in scripture for anyone to be “armed, ready to kill” in order to be or become a follower of Jesus.

 

[Matthias]

@Wrangler how many Christians participating in this thread have told us that they aren’t “armed, ready to kill”?

To single out only one, the member who started this thread. By your extremist standard of measure, the author of the OP - a moderator and registered “Christian” member of Christianity Board - isn’t a Christian. That’s scandalous.

I’ll stand up for her. She’s a Christian. You’re not acting like one.

 

[Matthias]

Spurgeon is one of my favorite Christian authors …

I’ve taken the liberty of bolding the word “Christian” in your comment.

C.H. Spurgeon was a well-known pacifist.

I‘m certain you remember what you’ve said about pacifists. I want our readers to remember what you you’ve said about pacifists: “Man in form but not substance.” ”Cowardly.” They “disgust” you. Fhdy are “anti-Scriptural.”

”You are not following Jesus if you aren’t armed, ready to kill.”

That’s your standard of measure. Is it not?

A Christian is a follower of Jesus. I learned this in Sunday School and it was reinforced in my home by my paternal grandparents.

Applying your opinion of pacifists and your standard of measure to the Christian / follower of Jesus whom you said is one of your favorite Christian / follower of Jesus authors, what do we have?

We have this: one of your favorite Christian authors - C.H. Spurgeon - is not a follower of Jesus. He is a man in form but not substance. He is cowardly, and he disgusts you. He is anti-Scriptural.

Spurgeon, a pacifist and prominent figure in mainline Christianity, didn’t teach “You are not following Jesus of you aren’t armed, ready to kill.” He knew that such a teaching is in opposition to the teaching and example of Jesus and the apostles. He would have come down hard against it, and he would have stood firm against you.

 

[Matthias]

“Christ - the ultimate evangelist … Live like you believe that his message really can save lives.”

(Bill Hybels, Just Walk Across the Room, p. 138)

I live like I believe that his message really can save lives @Wrangler.

His message to his followers is love your enemies, not kill your enemies. That is a Christian apology. That is Spurgeon’s Christian apology. That is my Christian apology.

”Matthias is certainly not a Christian apologist!” - you. Remember?