<i>&gt; Granted, I have taken the quote out of context. But so do religious fanatics.</i><p>You can&#x27;t hand-wave this sort of thing away, since anyone can make the Bible say anything they want by selectively quoting it. You are doing more harm than good here.<p>The Old Testament law was set up to create a theocracy. Many infractions of the law were punishable by death. Contrast that to Jesus&#x27; teaching:<p><i>&quot;You have heard that it was said, &#x27;Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.&#x27; But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.&quot; (Matthew 5:43-8)</i><p>But of course, you&#x27;ll need to understand the context in which Jesus is teaching to understand all of what he&#x27;s saying in Matthew 5 and during his whole ministry.<p>In the very same chapter he addresses the law and says that he did not come to abolish it but to fulfill it. That statement has been a great point of contention through the ages as well.<p>Did I just make things worse by pulling a couple verses out of context? At least the ones I quoted don&#x27;t advocate homicide.<p>As far as radical clerics&#x2F;rabbis&#x2F;priests&#x2F;etc, religious leaders worth anything should encourage the congregation to look to the original texts rather than relying only on their words as final truth.