# Did Christianity Spread by the Sword? > Christianity spread for three centuries without state power, under persecution. Later rulers sometimes forced baptism. The New Testament does not command that. - Canonical: https://apologetics.wiki/christianity/did-christianity-spread-by-the-sword - Religions: Christianity - Denominations: none - Beliefs: none - Tags: crusades, history - Updated: 2026-10-11 - Author: [Paul Ambrose](https://apologetics.wiki/author/hi-its-paul) ([GitHub](https://github.com/hi-its-paul)) For its first three centuries Christianity spread without state power, and often under persecution. Jesus told Peter to put up his sword, and he said his kingdom is not of this world. Later Christian rulers sometimes did use force to baptize, in Saxony, in the Baltic, and against people they called heretics. Teachers in the church often condemned that force. They did not always condemn it. ## Key Points - [Matthew 26:52](/bible/matthew/26/52) says to put the sword back. [John 18:36](/bible/john/18/36) says the kingdom is not of this world. [John 18:11](/bible/john/18/11) repeats the command to sheath the sword. [Matthew 5:44](/bible/matthew/5/44) says to love enemies and pray for persecutors. - [2 Corinthians 10:4](/bible/2-corinthians/10/4) says the weapons of this warfare are not carnal. [Luke 22:38](/bible/luke/22/38) records two swords and the words “It is enough.” [Luke 3:14](/bible/luke/3/14) and [Romans 13:4](/bible/romans/13/4) speak to soldiers and to the state’s sword. - Augustine says the real evils in war are the love of violence, revengeful cruelty, fierce enmity, wild resistance, and the lust of power. Aquinas says war is for the sake of peace, and that unbelievers are not to be compelled to believe. - The Capitulary for Saxony, section 8, in D. C. Munro’s English, orders death for a Saxon who scorns baptism and wishes to remain a pagan. In 1234 the Livonian Swordbrothers were charged with oppressing converts and hindering baptism. - Aquinas’s same article that forbids compelling Jews and heathens allows bodily compulsion of heretics. The Albigensian Crusade (1209–1229) included the massacre at Béziers. “Kill them all” is only allegedly said. - [Were the Crusades Justified?](/christianity/were-the-crusades-justified) is the wars for Jerusalem. [What Does Jihad Mean in the Qur’an and Hadith?](/islam/what-does-jihad-mean) is the other book’s fighting verses. Conquest and conversion are different questions in both histories. ## What the New Testament Says Jesus is speaking to Peter in the garden. [Matthew 26:52](/bible/matthew/26/52) (King James Version): > Then said Jesus unto him, Put up again thy sword into his place: for all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword. [John 18:11](/bible/john/18/11) says, “Put up thy sword into the sheath.” [John 18:36](/bible/john/18/36) says the kingdom is not of this world, and that if it were, his servants would fight so that he would not be delivered to the Jews. [Matthew 5:44](/bible/matthew/5/44) says to love enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who persecute you. [2 Corinthians 10:4](/bible/2-corinthians/10/4) says the weapons of this warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds. [Luke 22:38](/bible/luke/22/38) is the verse people quote the other way. The disciples say, “Lord, behold, here are two swords.” He answers, “It is enough.” The verse does not say “two swords are the church’s method of conversion.” It sits in the same night as the command to put the sword away. Reading “It is enough” as a military plan ignores the next scene, where the sword is ordered back into its place. Soldiers are not told that their work is a sin by definition. [Luke 3:14](/bible/luke/3/14) tells them to do violence to no one, not to accuse anyone falsely, and to be content with their wages. [Romans 13:4](/bible/romans/13/4) says the civil minister bears the sword to punish the one who does evil. That is a state’s justice. It is not a command to baptize a nation at spear-point. ## Just War, and the Hard Edge Augustine, Contra Faustum XXII.74: > The real evils in war are love of violence, revengeful cruelty, fierce and implacable enmity, wild resistance, and the lust of power Aquinas, Summa Theologiae II-II, question 40, article 1, says, “We do not seek peace in order to be at war, but we go to war that we may have peace.” He requires a lawful authority, a just cause, and a right intention. In II-II, question 10, article 8, he says heathens and Jews “are by no means to be compelled to the faith, in order that they may believe, because to believe depends on the will.” He allows war “not indeed for the purpose of forcing them to believe,” even if prisoners are taken, “but in order to prevent them from hindering the faith of Christ.” The same article says heretics and apostates “should be submitted even to bodily compulsion.” The sentence that protects the unbeliever and the sentence that coerces the heretic are both his. The second is part of the background of the wars against the Cathars. ## Rulers Who Used Force The Capitulary for Saxony, from the years 775–790, section 8, in D. C. Munro’s English, says that if a Saxon “shall have scorned to come to baptism and shall have wished to remain a pagan, let him be punished by death.” That is a Christian king’s law ordering death for refusing baptism. On 20 November 1234 Pope Gregory IX’s correspondence records charges against the Livonian Swordbrothers, including that they oppressed new converts and hindered baptism. The English of that file is a modern translation, so this page states the charge and does not quote it. A crusade that was explained as opening the way for baptism, and a military order charged with blocking baptism for its own gain, are both in the record. [Britannica on the Albigensian Crusade](https://www.britannica.com/event/Albigensian-Crusade) dates the war from 1209 to 1229 and includes the massacre at Béziers. The sentence “Kill them all” is only allegedly said. The massacre does not depend on that sentence. Aquinas’s permission of bodily compulsion against heretics is the theological line. The bodies at Béziers are the event. Albert of Aix, on the Rhineland killings of 1096, wrote that the Lord “orders no one unwillingly, or under compulsion, to come under the yoke of the Catholic faith.” That condemnation is in [Were the Crusades Justified?](/christianity/were-the-crusades-justified), beside the fact that the killings happened. ## Conquest and Conversion Islamic law, in [Qur’an 2:256](https://quran.com/2/256) and in the jizya option of [Sahih Muslim 1731a](https://sunnah.com/muslim:1731a), does not force People of the Scripture to convert, and the conquests themselves were military. [The Islamic Conquests (632–1071)](/islam/islamic-conquests) keeps those two facts apart. Christian history needs the same distinction. The gospel spread for centuries without an army. Charlemagne’s capitulary, the Baltic charges, and Béziers are later uses of force, and they contradict [Matthew 26:52](/bible/matthew/26/52). A Muslim army’s conquest does not become righteous because a Christian king later copied the method. A Christian king’s forced baptism does not become the New Testament because the king was baptized. The military history is [What Is the History of Islam?](/islam/history-of-islam). [The Islamic Dilemma](/islam/the-islamic-dilemma) is what the Qur’an says about Jesus and the earlier books. ## The Christian Claim Jesus is God. He refused the sword in the garden and said the kingdom is not of this world. The church’s message is that crucified and risen Lord, not a law that kills the person who will not be baptized. Where Christians killed to spread or to police the faith, the act was theirs, and it was wrong. Augustine’s list of the real evils in war still names the love of violence. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### Did Jesus Tell His Followers to Fight? [Matthew 26:52](/bible/matthew/26/52) and [John 18:11](/bible/john/18/11) tell Peter to put the sword away. [Luke 22:38](/bible/luke/22/38) says two swords are enough, on the same night, and the sword is then forbidden. ### Does “It Is Enough” Mean Two Swords Are the Plan? The words are in [Luke 22:38](/bible/luke/22/38). The next command, in John and Matthew, is to sheath the sword. “It is enough” is not a charter for conversion by war. ### Did the Church Always Oppose Forced Baptism? No. The Saxon capitulary orders death for refusing baptism. Aquinas forbids compelling Jews and heathens, and he allows bodily compulsion of heretics. Albert of Aix condemned compulsion in 1096. The record contains both the condemnation and the law. ## Passages Quoted on This Page ### John 18:36 King James Version. > Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence. ### John 18:11 King James Version. > Then said Jesus unto Peter, Put up thy sword into the sheath: the cup which my Father hath given me, shall I not drink it? ### Matthew 5:44 King James Version. > But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; ### 2 Corinthians 10:4 King James Version. > (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) ### Luke 22:38 King James Version. > And they said, Lord, behold, here are two swords. And he said unto them, It is enough. ### Luke 3:14 King James Version. > And the soldiers likewise demanded of him, saying, And what shall we do? And he said unto them, Do violence to no man, neither accuse any falsely; and be content with your wages. ### Romans 13:4 King James Version. > For he is the minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the sword in vain: for he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil. ### Qur’an 2:256 Saheeh International. [Open on quran.com](https://quran.com/2/256) > There shall be no compulsion in [acceptance of] the religion. The right course has become distinct from the wrong. So whoever disbelieves in ṭāghūt and believes in Allāh has grasped the most trustworthy handhold with no break in it. And Allāh is Hearing and Knowing. ### Sahih Muslim 1731a Abdul Hamid Siddiqui. [Open on sunnah.com](https://sunnah.com/muslim:1731a) > Fight in the name of Allah and in the way of Allah. Fight against those who disbelieve in Allah. Make a holy war, do not embezzle the spoils; do not break your pledge; and do not mutilate (the dead) bodies; do not kill the children. ## Sources Numbered to match the HTML References list. Item 1 is `#ref-1` under `#references`. Scripture links to the King James Version on this site. 1. [Gospel of Matthew, 26:52; 5:44](https://apologetics.wiki/bible/matthew/26/52). King James Version 2. [Gospel of John, 18:36; 18:11](https://apologetics.wiki/bible/john/18/36). King James Version 3. [Gospel of Luke, 22:38; 3:14](https://apologetics.wiki/bible/luke/22/38). King James Version 4. [Second Letter to the Corinthians, 10:4](https://apologetics.wiki/bible/2-corinthians/10/4). King James Version 5. [Letter to the Romans, 13:4](https://apologetics.wiki/bible/romans/13/4). King James Version 6. [Augustine, Contra Faustum, XXII.74](https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/140622.htm) 7. [Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologiae, II-II, question 40, article 1](https://www.newadvent.org/summa/3040.htm) (English on New Advent.) 8. [Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologiae, II-II, question 10, article 8](https://www.newadvent.org/summa/3010.htm) (Unbelievers are not to be compelled to believe. Heretics may be compelled. English on New Advent.) 9. [Dana C. Munro, trans., Capitulary for Saxony, Section 8](https://sourcebooks.fordham.edu/source/carol-saxony.asp) (Translations and Reprints from the Original Sources of European History, from Boretius, no. 26.) 10. [Britannica, Albigensian Crusade, 1209–1229](https://www.britannica.com/event/Albigensian-Crusade) (The words “Kill them all” are only allegedly said at Béziers.) 11. [Gregory IX on the Swordbrothers, 20 November 1234](https://sourcebooks.fordham.edu/source/12-13Cbalticcrusade.asp) (The brothers were charged with oppressing converts and hindering baptism. The English on that page is Helen J. Nicholson’s. This article paraphrases the charge and does not quote her translation.) 12. [August C. Krey, The First Crusade, Albert of Aix, pp. 54–56](https://sourcebooks.fordham.edu/source/1096jews.asp) (Princeton, 1921.) ## See Also - [The Fourth Crusade and the Sack of Constantinople (1204)](https://apologetics.wiki/christianity/sack-of-constantinople-1204) — In April 1204 a crusade called for Jerusalem sacked Constantinople. Innocent III condemned the killing of Christians. John Paul II expressed deep regret in 2001. - [Were the Crusades Justified? Holy War, Conquest, or Response to Conquest](https://apologetics.wiki/christianity/were-the-crusades-justified) — The Crusades were armed pilgrimages to recover Jerusalem after centuries of Muslim conquest. They also produced massacres of Jews, Muslims, and fellow Christians. - [Did Jesus Really Exist?](https://apologetics.wiki/christianity/did-jesus-exist) — Yes. Jesus of Nazareth was crucified under Pontius Pilate. Paul, the Gospels, Tacitus, and Josephus all place him there, and a skeptic who rejects the resurrection still says the man was real. - [Does Archaeology Confirm the Bible?](https://apologetics.wiki/christianity/does-archaeology-confirm-the-bible) — The Pilate stone, the Tel Dan stele, Hezekiah’s tribute on the Taylor Prism, the Siloam tunnel inscription, and the Cyrus Cylinder name people and events the Bible also names. Each find has a limit. - [The Resurrection of Jesus](https://apologetics.wiki/christianity/resurrection-of-jesus) — The Christian claim that Jesus was crucified, buried, and raised, and the main ways that claim is doubted. ## History [View history on GitHub](https://github.com/Apologetics-Wiki/apologetics-wiki/commits/main/src/content/articles/did-christianity-spread-by-the-sword.md)