Discuss Yoda's Ugly Cousiin's answer to: Did Jesus advocate the killing of non-believers?

First off, I want to point out that I am not a believer.  I do agree with the previous two responses you have gotten in two things:  One:  Jesus was most likely not advocating serial killing in the mortal sense of the word.  Two: Biblical passages, just like anything else, must be read in context with the rest of the material.  You cannot take a single line of scripture and have the complete summation of the passage.  It's like looking at a picture frame without having the picture in it.  Can you admire the artist's work with only a frame?

But, in any case, this is where I will diverge from the previous two responses:

Most biblical scholars believe that Jesus was not advocating killing.  They believe that he was simply illustrating the eventual fate of non-believers.  The Church believes that death, in New Testament terms, can either be physical or spiritual.  You can die physically or you can die in damnation rather than live in eternal life in heaven. 

Now, here is what I would say.  The New Testament does not have a single book that was written at the time of Jesus' life.  They were re-written and copied after his death by almost 60 years, minimum.  Also, I would point out that, while the books may be faithful, they are still written by men whom lived at a time where there were a LOT of political issues going on in the region.  It is possible there is influence and bias on the basis of the authors.  It is possible that the author of the book may have warped the teaching of Jesus to advocate killing non believers as a means of political power. 

Finally, my last thought on this.  As I said, the New Testament does not have a single book in it that was penned at the time of Jesus' life.  This means that some books were copied, others re-written.  This also means that some books had to be pieced together. There is historical evidence that some books, like the Book of Mark, have actually had passages excised by The Church by religious leaders going as far back as 200-215 AD.  A letter was discovered in 1958 written by Bishop Clement (Titus Flavius Clemens) of Alexandria that praised the church for this kind of action.

I leave it to you to choose for yourself.  However, I would recommend that you consider this about the church.  For whatever flaws or issues you may have with religion or the church, keep in mind that the church does advocate the betterment of mankind and kindness and love between its neighbors.  That can scarcely be a bad thing.

Take care and live well!