the Crusades were for the Christian faith?

[silviawang]

the Crusades were for the Christian faith?

 

I do not  know the history of Crusades very well, but recent days took part in an argument about them(in Chinese forum),I said that the Crusades were for the Christian faith,but a guy told me that I am worng,they are for the wealth  but under the name of JESUS,

So who is right,he,or I?

Pls explain me the reason of the Crusades.

[Guest]

 

Beloved Take Most History (Except The Holy Bible) With A Grain Of Salt

 

~

 

So Here Goes

They Went On And Off For About Five Centuries Or So

But The Nine Big Crusades Happened Within A Two Century Time Span

 

There were many different crusades. The most important and biggest Crusades happened from the 11th century to the 13th century. There were 9 big Crusades in this time. They are numbered 1 through 9. There were also many smaller Crusades. Some crusades were even within Europe (for example, in Germany, Austria and Scandinavia). The smaller Crusades continued to the 16th century, until the Renaissance and Reformation. http://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crusades#Third_Crusade

 

And There Were Strong Religious Motivations Both Good And Bad On The Heart Of Most

 

For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Ephesians 6:12

 

And Enough Evil To Go Around For Any Who Might Wish To Share

 

The Fourth Crusade was started by Pope Innocent III in 1202, with the idea to attack the Holy Land through Egypt. The Venetians changed this crusade, and went to the Christian city of Constantinople, where they attempted to place a Byzantine exile on the throne. After a series of misunderstandings and outbreaks of violence, the city was sacked in 1204. http://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crusades#Third_Crusade

 

~

 

The End

 

In time, the people went on Crusades for other purposes. They had become sad because they had often lost, lost people they loved, and had to pay lots of tax to help the Crusades. The Crusades ended two centuries after they had begun.

 

Although the Crusades did not do their first purpose, and there were lots of bad results, there were some good results. People learned to be more understanding to others. They brought back new ideas, new materials for clothing, lots of cultures, and new spiritual views. Many Catholics began to think that gentle ways should be used to make people believe in Catholicism. Monks helped people of all religions. Sometimes, two religious groups fought together and also held their services in the same building. http://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crusades#Third_Crusade

[appy]

this page has a short explanation of who and why. 

 

http://www.gotquestions.org/Christian-crusades.html

[kwikphilly]

Blessings silvia.....

       Brother Joe has given you a good summarization & as you can see ,there were many crusades & they did have many causes besides Christianity & did many things in the Name of Jesus(good & not so good)....the very brief answer to your question is.......you are both right!

                                                                                                                                       With love-in Christ,Kwik

[OldSchool2]

...So who is right,he,or I?

Pls explain me the reason of the Crusades.

The Crusades were intended to reclaim Jerusalem after Muslims conquered the city, much like the Reconquista would eventually return Spain to Christendom after the Moors had conquered most of the Iberian peninsula and renamed it Andalusia.

During the crusades several orders of knights were formed to protect pilgrims traveling to Jerusalem.

[Macs Son]

the Crusades were for the Christian faith?

 

I do not  know the history of Crusades very well, but recent days took part in an argument about them(in Chinese forum),I said that the Crusades were for the Christian faith,but a guy told me that I am worng,they are for the wealth  but under the name of JESUS,

So who is right,he,or I?

Pls explain me the reason of the Crusades.

The history speaks for itself - by their fruits you shall know them.

Just a few points:

1. The new covenant given to us by Christ was meant to restore the soul of mankind from its fallen state its goal was never to enrich itself in this world but in the promise of eternal restoration to God in the next. It's mandate was call sin for what it was, the destructive force that degrades us and ruins us with its decadence and greed, an abomination in the sight of our Holy God who sees it all. The New Covenant endowed us with the Holy Spirit that would ennoble us to foretell of the coming judgment for sin. It also proclaimed the Gospel, and taught the Words of Christ, that we could find true repentance with God because of the cross of Christ. In coming to that Truth, enriched with Life, we had the Way to be washed clean by His sacrifice, once and for all, as well as the promised renewal of God's living presence abiding within us. Please read the post on the new covenant.

2.So then pure Christianity is a religion for the redemptive conquest of men's souls. It was never intended to be a religion of the physical sword. If we live by the sword, as Jesus said, we shall die by the sword. I do not take that however to mean we cannot defend our homes and families or defend the oppressed from the oppressor. So it does not mean we cannot bear the sword at all as some pacifists would imply.

3. Christianity by AD600 was the dominant religion of Europe, the Mid East, parts of Asia and all of North Africa. It also had far reaching outposts into Asia including India and China. For the most part the Church of Christ the Gospel was still being preached although wolves and deceivers had also crept into the Church, as St. Paul had prophesied. At this time there was no such thing as Islam.

4. When Islam did come on the scene it was immediately a religion of the sword and military conquest, sacking cities, peoples, and countries, executing its detractors, whether Jewish or Christian in a great many cases.

5. These conquests continued unabated for about 500 years with pockets of Christendom fighting mostly defensive wars against its expansion into their homelands. There were some wars to recoup their lands which had come under Islamic domination.

6. This then was the lead-up to the crusades

7. The Crusades began when the Pope declared Christendom should fight back with a goal of retaking Jerusalem. This is usually the point where most secularist history picks up the crusades and ignoring the previous 500 years they begin to claim this was uncalled aggression on the part o Christendom against a peaceful Islamic Caliphate. There is little doubt however, as the others here have already attested to, that some very worldly politics and very worldly men did see political and economic gain in liberating Jerusalem. They even went as far as sacking Constantinople the capital of the Byzantine Christians. Clearly many were acting out of ruthless greed, so Jesus was speaking truth when He said, 'By their fruits you shall know them."

You Will Know Them by Their Fruits

(Matt. 12:33; Luke 6:43–45 )

Matthew 7:15-20

“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles? Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Therefore by their fruits you will know them.

Matthew 7:21-23 also Luke 6:46; 13:26, 27  - Theme: I Never Knew You

“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’

7. There is a very good timeline on the history leading up to the crusades and the crusades themselves by which you will b able to give you a baseline to judge this whole period for yourself. It is very informative and exposes where the aggression emanated from. See below

http://www.thelatinlibrary.com/imperialism/notes/islamchron.html

In Christ, Pat

Edited July 12, 2014 by Macs Son

[Macs Son]

So who is right,he,or I?

Pls explain me the reason of the Crusades

I realize the answer I gave you was only laying the groundwork for your own discovery and edification.

If you want my opinion it is this:

The reason for the crusades was to check Islamic aggression against the territories within Christendom which had been plundered for over half a millennia. Up to this points there were local and nationalistic defenses against this aggression but the Pope sought to unify Christianity not only against the onslaught of Islamic jihadists but also go on the offensive and reclaim lands lost centuries beforehand, with the goal of Jerusalem being centric to his plan. However the crusades themselves went far beyond that plan by opportunists within these armies who really were seeking worldly gain by them.

In Christ, Pat

Edited July 12, 2014 by Macs Son

[Guest]

It was really based upon "Replacement Theology."

[Persuaded]

"How many Jewish babies can be fit onto a spear" gives some evidence as to just how Christian the crusades were.

Western culture has romanticized the crusades with Robin Hood and the stories of the knights of olde, but it appears to be just another example of Rev 12:4-

"...And the dragon stood before the woman who was ready to give birth, to devour her Child as soon as it was born."

[silviawang]

The history speaks for itself - by their fruits you shall know them.