After last Thursday’s evening devotion, the same group of friends met casually at a “kedai-pak-kopi” near Green Height Airport Road Kuching.
In starting their coffee-talk Alberto said and asked: “In reviewing history of wars, Christians were condemned for the Crusades or “Holy Wars”......In the light of what the Bible teaches, how do we seek to answer a question that: If Jesus Christ was still around during the Crusades, would He sanction the so called ‘holy wars’?”
Antonio replied: “The question is highly imaginative. However, I suppose that the question is well-intended and thought-provoking connected with real historical happening...it makes an interesting topic of open-discussions taken in the light of the recent and current happenings ....”
Earnesto was quick to explain saying: “As part of European history, Crusades had been badly misunderstood, miswritten and misinterpreted. The wars were sanctioned by Pope Urban II when he summoned the knights of Christendom through the Council of Clermont which met in 1095. Being Pope-sanctioned, the wars were portrayed as “holy wars”. In facts, the wars were direct responses to Islamic territorial conquests and expansions over Christians-inhabited lands in Europe during the 11th and 12th century. To “Christianize the wars” symbols of “The Cross” were used. The fighters or crusaders expressed sentiments of piety, self-sacrifices, and for the love of their Christian brethrens.....”
In joining the conversation Julio asked: “Whoever called the Crusades against the invading Muslim forces as “holy wars” were not quite right and abusive. How can any war be “holy” when it involved killings, taking women and children for sexual gratifications ... and slaves, plundering for war booths or treasury of wars.....?
Antonio said: “A war could not be “holy” in the light of what Jesus Christ said - God is God of LOVE and not of hate, revenge, slavery... not of an eye for an eye or not of a tooth for a tooth. Upon His death on the Cross, Jesus said of His accusers: Father, forgive them for they know not what they are doing.”.....There are religious scriptures...... including some parts of the Old Testament did encourage and justify killings and torturing ...also suicides as an acts of love in defending or enforcing God’s truths and honour..... Who are we as human beings proudly acted in defence of God...I believe that God is more that capable of defending His truths and honour through believers who live their lives exemplary of God’s love, compassion, mercies and forgiveness. In the Gospels (or Injeels), Jesus was in total opposition against in the use of sword (in His defence by His follower) which is readable in Injeel (Matthew: 26 verses 51- 52).
Alberto quipped: “In each of world’s greatest religion, there is interwoven golden threads of truth which relate mankind one unto another... revolving around godly love, compassion, tolerance.... Thus mankind have been turning to religion in their search for ideal life.......Religion has been one of the most powerful moving forces in human history to forge unity in diversity in nation building until today.....Theocratic government is to unite and also to segregate (disunite) people in the name of religion....... If men are so wicked and careless with religion, what would they be without one? .... With regard to the Crusades, I see it historically as united defensive-war-actions (unholy alliances) among Christians against the invaders with the objective of pushing and keeping-out the invaders out of their conquered lands.
Earnesto added: “We can agree to agree and also disagree. So in order to understand better the reasons for “branding” the Crusades as “holy wars” , we need to be open-minded and dig deeper into the history about the relationships between Judeo-Christianity and Islam post -Jesus Christ’s era..... In looking at the history from a safe distance of many centuries, it is easy enough for anyone to scowl in disgust at the Crusades. Religion after all is nothing to fight over.”
Antonio quickly chipped-in: “As far as I understand it, there was nothing to justify the Crusades as being “holy-wars” in the context of what Jesus Christ’s teachings which was against “an eye for an eye; a tooth for a tooth”. When challenged by the Pharisees, Jesus Christ said the two foremost commandments were to: (i) Love the Lord God [Yehovah] with all one’s heart, soul and mind; and (ii) Love one’s neighbours as oneself. (Ref:Matt.22:37-40).
Earnesto said: “For the invading forces, territorial expansion was justified theologically in view of the religious concept in dividing the physical world into two spheres or territories namely Darul al-Islam (Territory of Peace) and Darul al-Harb (Territory of War). By the theological concept and interpretation, Darul al-Harb became the prime sphere of territorial conquests and expansions..... That explained the conquests of Palestine, Syria, and Egypt—once the most heavily Christians dominated worlds in the eighth century including North Africa and Spain. In the eleventh century, the Seljuk Turks conquered Asia Minor (modern Turkey), which had been Christian in term of religion since the time of St. Paul. The old Roman Empire, known to modern historians as the Byzantine Empire, was reduced to little more than Greece. In desperation, the Roman emperor in Constantinople sent word to the Christians of western Europe asking them to aid their brothers and sisters in the East....”
Alberto said: “With the historical happenings, it appeared the “holiness of religion” was infused and exploited strategically as divine authority or ruling to do something in the name of a religion. The Crusades are most misunderstood event in European history. Most of what passes for public knowledge about it is either misleading or just plain wrong. Nonetheless, Christianity as a religion naturally became a powerful “uniting force” tantamount to “coalition-of-rights-of-defence”- in defending fellow-believers (practically neighbours) from destructive invading forces. My personal view is that the Crusades were not and could not be termed as ‘holy wars” by the true standards and teachings of Jesus Christ.”
“Brother!” exclaimed Earnesto, “May be one way of looking at the Crusades (as act of love toward one’s neighbours) is look into the mind of Pope Innocent III who wrote to the Knights Templar: ‘You carry out in deeds the words of the Gospel by saying that: Greater love than this hath no man, that he lay down his life for his friends.'... May I also invite us to imagine that we were also in the midst of our fellow-believers at the material time of the Crusades and asked ourselves - what would be our reactions to the call made by the Popes? Like all warfare, the violence was brutal (although not as brutal as modern wars). There were mishaps, blunders, and crimes.
Alberto concluded: “We’ve discussed enough. To weave the memories of Crusades into intractable modern political problems is to exacerbate present-day hatreds...... In the propagation of its teachings, any religion including Christianity cannot be religion of peace as long as it remains intolerance and justifies violence in the propagation of its teachings. If men are so wicked and careless with religion, what would they be without one?”
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NOTE (18.08.11): Story of GENESIS 1 - Readable in http://www.histruths.blogspot.com
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