in watching the history channel about the knights templar, i got more of a feeling that these knights described a Mafia, and charged money LIKE the MOB would ask for protection money.
2007-02-05 22:25:55 · 9 answers · asked by Anonymous in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
I don't think they were a shining example of humanity, but as a historian it's important to judge people's actions in the context of their own worldview, not ours. I believe people who went on Crusade genuinely believed they were fighting for their god, yes. And yes, that included, to some extent, the more protection-money style activities of the Knights Templar. It's important to remember that these were people who actively believed that their god had a living agenda to carry out in their world. God's favour and forgiveness had long been subject to commerce - one could buy indulgences for sins, and set up chantry houses to get people to pray to help your soul through purgatory. Donations to the church were seen as making one more godly. So if your god had a job to do, and needed to equip huge armies to do it, then you were free to raise that money in any way you saw fit because your purpose was higher, serving your god. In the same way, crimes committed against practitioners of non-Christian faiths were seen (though this is a generalisation) as not being inherently sinful because the worldview of crusading Christians was a lot more black and white than it is today, and the 'not-we' were largely viewed as instruments of Satan, so any blow you could strike against them was somehow justified.
So I believe that they wholeheartedly believed they were a holy cause and a holy band, yes. Do I with the hindsight of hundreds of years think they acted in a holy manner? No of course not, but then I'm an atheist, and I see only war and death and human beings destroying themselves. But this I think is an example of how dangerous it can be to be utterly certain you have the correct interpretation of the will of a ruling deity - once you believe that a god justifies actions that are counter to human understanding and happiness, you can do essentially anything in their name and believe that it is holy.
2007-02-05 22:50:02 · answer #1 · answered by mdfalco71 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
No one can prove that the crusades were against God's will. The crusades were launched to defend Christian communities from persecution and Islamic terrorism. In the Old Testament, we read of many holy wars fought by God's people--Moses, Joshua, the Judges, King David, King Solomon,--all with God's blessings.
Have a blessed and peaceful day
2007-02-05 23:20:34 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
if you are speaking about the crusades may be you need to read all their history.
one of the crusades went and destroyed the Capitol of the Byzantine empire instead of liberating Jerusalem.
another crusade was based on children that were later taken and sold as slaves in north Africa.
it is interesting to know that during the time of the crusades it was illegal for someone other than the clergy to carry a bible.
God bless
2007-02-06 00:08:07 · answer #3 · answered by Temsah 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The crusades were an attempt by the pope to regain territory he had had control of, from the Muslims. It was political mainly but common people put a religious significance to it. The pope had always contended with the kings or emperors for supreme religious and secular power.
2007-02-05 22:42:06 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
The Crusades were little more than two street gangs having a turf war. It wasn't about liberating anything it was all about taking land.
2007-02-06 01:16:20 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
ur ceremony. those books r no longer guy written. in basic terms take the quran as an occasion. the e book is so mathematically and scientifically precise, tht NO way it became into written via an illiterate guy 1400 years in the past. in the Quran, all the antinoms r reported the comparable form of cases, like guy and lady. in the Quran, the notice "days" is reported 365 cases. in the Quran, the notice "months" 12 cases, "hours" 24 cases, and so on and so on. this no longer have been ritten via a illiterate guy 1400 yrs in the past. its in basic terms no longer conceivable.. in spite of the incontrovertible fact that, the bible is erroneous now. it relatively is been replaced especially and is now no longer GOD'S notice. the torah and Quran r nonetheless God's notice, however the Quran is the main precise b/c it relatively is cutting-edge and as much as date.
2016-10-01 12:23:55 · answer #6 · answered by clarice 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
They are a fine example of the deadly, violent nature of religion.
2007-02-05 22:34:07 · answer #7 · answered by Murazor 6 · 2⤊ 2⤋
All wars aren't holy.
2007-02-05 22:28:36 · answer #8 · answered by Green Lantern 4 · 0⤊ 1⤋
they weren't holy from my perspective either.
2007-02-05 22:29:17 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋