If Jesus Christ were living in today's world where terrorism is a real threat, would he allow the killing of Islamic State (ISIS) militants? The answer would be yes as far as this Christian militia fighter is concerned.
In a recent interview with BBC News, Rayan al-Kildani, the head of the 100,000-member Christian militia group known as the "Babylon Brigade," said while Jesus Christ taught about mercy and compassion, wielding the sword to end the lives of these jihadists would have been acceptable to Him given the various atrocities they have committed. Kildani said he has personally killed several members of this terror group.
He made it clear that his group's primary mission is to prevent the ISIS from advancing further and taking more territories in Iraq.
"What Islamic State is doing to the Christians is terrible. They are the devil," Kildani said, as quoted by The Gospel Herald.
"I know the Bible says that if you get hit on one cheek you should offer the other. But we have really good defence forces now. No one is going to do anything bad to the Christians. Some Christians had their homes taken over. I have personally been to those houses to tell the new people living there to get out. Christian suffering is over," he added.
When asked about how he would reconcile his militia group's actions to the Fifth Commandment, "Thou shall not kill," Kildani answered: "We have to fight. We have to defend ourselves...Jesus himself told us that if you don't have a sword you should go out and buy one."
The militia leader even used this Bible quote from Luke 22:36 to justify his group's actions: "If you have a purse, take it, and also a bag; and if you don't have a sword, sell your cloak and buy one."
Some theologians interviewed by BBC, however, said that this verse should not be taken literally.
Thousands of Christians have already suffered in the hands of the ISIS since 2014. Members of the terror group have been torturing, raping and killing Christians and taking over their homes in the Middle East.
Syrian Orthodox Church leader Patriarch Ignatius Aphrem II revealed that at least 230 citizens, including scores of Christians, were recently kidnapped by the ISIS from the town of Qaryatain in central Syria.
Aphrem reported that some Christians were killed while attempting to escape, while some were killed for breaking the terms of their "dhimmi contracts," which require them to submit to the rule of Islam.
