Allow me to jump in. the Injil has been changed too many times to count. Have you read the actual Aramaic version of the Injil and understood it. The Aramaic as it was when it was revealed to Jesus (as) 2000 years ago? I don't think so. You read translations of the Bible which have been changed. So let's not call a changed text historical, shall we? It is dishonest and above all, intellectually dishonest. Every Christian I have talked to so far in my life, in person, has openly admitted the Bible has changed. This is why so many Christians became Atheists, because they knew the Bible is changed and they are not following a text which is authentic.
As for living by the sword, Christians have done so for a long time. Many countries with people of Christian background and religion are war-mongers. Look at the United States! Republicans are conservative Christians, and most Christians there are just hoping for Armageddon and the destruction of the Muslim countries. Christians do more than living by the sword. They hold the sword above other people's heads and blame them for when it falls on them. Your text has no bearing on the acts of Christians. I know just how hypocritical they are. Do evil and Christ forgives your sins, right? Right, just go baptize in a river and all is okay. Even if you were the worst person on earth. That is some form of salvation! I discussed Christianity with Christians before and the hardcore believers truly stand by this. If Christ saves the evildoer, according to you, then what about the ones who did not find justice? Is justice found for a crime if the victim's perpetrator of the crime is vindicated just because they get baptized in a river?
To be honest, even if you think that river of water for baptizing saves you, it is really a river of fire. For that river does not save, and it does not erase sin. Sin hangs to you by your neck, and you bring your deeds with you on the Day of Judgment. Everyone bears their own cross, pardon the pun. But I congratulate you if you are a Christian who doesn't stick to this type of doctrine like the hardcore Christians I spoke with on this subject. I commend you if you believe that sins are stuck with you until you truly ask God for forgiveness. Forgiveness doesn't happen with a splash. It happens with tears, with sweat, with fearful and sad prayers to God, hoping that He pardons you because you love Him and for fear of His wrath.
Crusades happened, Spanish inquisition happened. These were Christians. Tell me, how clear is your scripture with such groups? Again, Republican war-mongers, who are right conservative Christians are no different. They all speak of war. It was war that caused ISIS to spring up. It is a political problem, and it is not religious. This is a problem which started with the Gulf Crisis in Iraq. This did not come up overnight.
Are you talking about the incident in which some people came as believers to Medina, fell sick and they were treated by a shepherd of the Holy Prophet (saw), and then after they got better they killed his (saw)'s shepherd, and took the flock of sheep and released them, even though this flock was from the charity of the people and meant to be utilized for charitable purposes? These people rode off having declared war on the Muslims. That was a clear act of war because the following verse was revealed in regards to this very situation:
5:33
The recompense of those who wage war against Allah and His Messenger and do mischief in the land is only that they shall be killed or crucified or their hands and their feet be cut off from opposite sides, or be exiled from the land. That is their disgrace in this world, and a great torment is theirs in the Hereafter.
The object underlying the injunction embodied in the words, "their hands and their feet be cut off on alternate sides," is, on the one hand, to disable the culprit from carrying on a war of aggression, and on the other, to leave him fit enough to earn his living by doing some work. The cutting off of the hand and the foot on the same side would leave the victim utterly helpless. The verse also shows that Islam does not hesitate to take extreme measures to uproot an evil when the interests of society or the State demand it. Islam is not a religion of false sentiments but of sound judgement and true reason.
Christianity does not speak of such laws. If this happened to Christians, then should they go run after that group of renegades, and tell them, "hold on! Kill another one of us! We have to follow the motto ,'turn the other cheek'!" I highly doubt it. If that was your shepherd, and they took care of those people who killed him, then would you not bring them to justice? Your Bible does not provide any solutions to this problem, it only feeds fuel to the fire and allows more innocent lives to be killed. Turning the other cheek every time someone does injustice to you is very wrong. If a rapist were to rape someone, would you say, "Hey! Rape them again!" These extreme situations do not call for turning the other cheek. There needs to be punishments that do justice.
I already explained these verses to you before. Yet you ignored them. If the Bible says this:
Matthew 10:34
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"Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword."
Then what do you say? I could keep quoting this again and again, allow you to explain yourself, and then ignore you and talk about this verse in my own interpretation again. Then I could say, "well, it's not clear!"
Funny how you twist what you say. You said the Qur'an is clear before to me, and yet you say the Qur'an is not clear to IntotheRain! This is low-handed Genesis. If you don't know something, then just ask. Don't twist things and throw your own opinionated interpretations into the mix.
The Qur'an was revealed 1400 years ago, and is a text which must be understood with the context of the time and place it was revealed in. It requires that knowledge so we can extend that knowledge to what we know ourselves. It was a different time period, in a different part of the world, and it requires some sides knowledge.
The Sunnah is the actions we learn. These actions are transmitted through the people who observed the Holy Prophet (saw) and his actions. These are actions we follow and which are preserved. The strictness in interpretations is so that deviations don't occur. Even if they do, there is one guideline to following it. The following Hadith explains this:
It has been related by, Yazid b. al-Asamm that he heard Mu'awiya b. Abu Sfyan quote a tradition from the Holy Prophet (may peace be upon him) which he related from the Prophet (mail peace he upon him) -and he did not hear him quote from the Holy Prophet (masy peace be upon him) any tradition other than this in the course of his sermon from the pulpit-that whom Allah wants to do a favour, He grants him an understanding of religion. A group of people from the Muslims will remain on the Right Path and continue until the Day of Judgment to triumph over those who oppose them. (Book #020, Hadith #4720)
(Sahih Bukhari)
Islam is a certain religion with certain rules. Nothing is not explained. Every common Muslim is different, but the religion remains the same always, and there is always a group which is correct. They started off strange in the beginning of Islam, and end up strange once again in the End of Times. So even if a time comes when most Muslims do not know what is correct, then this does not harm the group which is always in the right.
And Allah gets the message of Islam to mankind. He does so through His Prophets:
9:33
It is He Who hath sent His Messenger with guidance and the Religion of Truth, to proclaim it over all religion, even though the Pagans may detest (it).
This is destined to occur in the time when Isa (as) descends and spreads the truth of Islam everywhere. That is what this verse refers to. Because Islam is destined to become dominant over all religions in his time period, not in anyone else's. The Day of Judgment cannot happen until that time. So there is no doubt that Islam will spread everywhere.
When Islam is dominant, then after some time after Isa (as) is gone from this world, for God knows how long, the world will be in peace, then the believers will slowly die off because Allah wants that to happen. Only the worst of people will be left in the world and then the Hour is established on these people who live comfortable lives, but they do not remember Allah. They would return to idolatry and fornicate like animals in the streets.