What difference is there between the Christian Right's Crusade and Osama's Jihad?

Question

What difference is there between the beliefs of the Christian Right, the Israel lobby, and the gang of terrorists run by Osama bin Laden. They all basically have the same beliefs. That is, they all believe in waging a "holy" war, whether it be a Crusade or a Jihad.

I recognize that genuine Christianity, Judaism, and Islam all teach to treat other people with respect and do not support these crazy beliefs. However, why is it that we have people promoting war under the guise of religion?

What difference is there between the Christian Right and their promotion of a Crusade against Muslims and the supporters of Osama bin Laden who promotes a Jihad against Jews and Christians? Why do people use religion as a cover for their own hateful beliefs so frequently? Why don't more people realize that Jesus is the Prince of Peace and that true Islam promotes tolerance for other religions? Why do so many people engage in hate-mongering?

Answer 1

Spiritually, through the revelations of GOD in THE TRUE LIFE IN GOD, both crusades do not have the approval of GOD. Thus, GOD did not send the Christian crusades nor the Bin Laden terrrorists crusade. Moreover, THE LORD GOD has a heart, THE SACRED HEART, with unfathomable love which is a suffering love and HIS mercy and compassion are boundless and so has not space for violence propounded by both violent crusades. THANK GOD; FEAR GOD; PRAISE GOD; GLORIFY GOD; HONOR GOD; LOVE GOD AND WORSHIP GOD.

Answer 2

First of all, Osama bin Laden has never really been proven to have had anything to do with starting a Holy War. If he is considered to be powerfull, he would make himself seen, not be a coward, and hide! I am a Jew who would gladly fight for G-d and my people, if there was real proof! I know all too well that trouble is all around us most of the time. I also, being a Jew must follow the Torah! The matter must first be investigated, and the man must be found guilty before G-d and country. Although other Islams are fighting with us, this does not constitute the murder of one man's life. The U.S. Military might have been given an order to stand down, just to start a war such as this! Old Bush pushed his weight around in the Middle East, and now his son is doing the same thing! It is quite apparent that with all the mis-information found out after the fact, that there might have been a plot by some U.S. officials to fool the American public to believe they were under attac, when in truth, it was not a forign enemy at all. Look at all of the protesters world-wide against this war, and George, Jr. still won't pay heed! G-d will pay him back for all lies and innocent deaths on all sides! The Christian Rights Crusade was mass murder and so is this. I can only Pray to G-d, that the whole world puts on their thinking caps, and do not wage war with the US, rather let them war only with the Guilty.

Answer 3

The European crusaders conquered much of the territory held within the Islamic state, dividing it into four kingdoms, the most important being the state of Jerusalem. The Crusades originally had the goal of recapturing Jerusalem and the Holy Land (former Christian territory) from Muslim rule and were originally launched in response to a call from the Eastern Orthodox Byzantine Empire for help against the expansion of the Muslim Seljuk Turks into Anatolia. There was little drive to retake the lands from the crusaders, save the few attacks made by the Egyptian Fatimids. This changed, however, with the coming of Zangi, ruler of what is today northern Iraq. He took Edessa, which triggered the Second Crusade, which was little more than a 47-year stalemate. The stalemate was ended with the victory of Salah al-Din al-Ayyubi (known in the west as Saladin) over the forces of Jerusalem at the Horns of Hattin in 1187. It was during the course of the stalemate that a great deal of literature regarding Jihad was written.[44] While amassing his armies in Syria, Saladin had to create a doctrine which would unite his forces and make them fight until the bitter end, which would be the only way they could re-conquer the lands taken in the First Crusade. He did this through the creation of Jihad propaganda. It stated that any one who would abandon the Jihad would be committing a sin that could not be washed away by any means. It also put his amirs at the center of power, just under his rule. While this propaganda was successful in uniting his forces for a time, the fervor burned out quickly. Much of Saladin's teachings were rejected after his death.[

Answer 4

The Israel lobby is primarily motivated by religious beliefs? And you know this, how?

And even though the Christian right is motivated by religious beliefs, I would like to know of any prominent (not fringe or kooky) member of them who has characterized anything as a religious Crusade? And for the record, I would like to know of any Christian or Jew who are members of those groups who have supported the same tactics that the terrorists have.

Since you can't do that, everything you have said is bunk.

Answer 5

Good questions! Since religion is such a powerful force with great emotional attachment to it, and since there are many ignorant and unquestioning adherents, cunning politicians in the guise of fellow adherents exploit them. Our ignorance is further guaranteed in public school systems which teach propaganda to protect the interests of the power elites and fail to teach children to question and think critically, especially elected leaders. It's really unfair to blame religion per se, but if the religion itself teaches unquestioning acceptance, you get what what we've seen in the past and what we see today. In the past, when people were illiterate and dependent upon literate clergy, ignorance was forgivable. Today, however, at least in countries with large numbers of literate folks, such ignorance can only be described as abominable neglect and laziness.

Answer 6

Practically there is no difference.
The thing is that, ever since the beginning of human history, people used religion for political purposes. Why? Because religion is deeply rooted in people's minds and people trust God more than anything else. And how can you manipulate people easier than telling that God wants us to do this and that. It's the strongest thing that can drive a person to do something.

I believe that God is One, either if we call Him Lord Our Father, and although it's a trinity, it's still one God, or if we call Him Allah, or however we call HIm, it's the same God, the same Creator. And how can a Creator want that his creation fight against each other for any reason at all?

The First commandment in Christianity is: love thy neighbour.
Thus... God equals LOVE. If God equals Love, how can He be compatible with war?
War equals haterid.
Does God ask us to hate those who don't believe in what we believe? Of course not!
Then:
All so called holy wars, whether they are crussades, Jihad, or whatever, have nothing to do with religion or God or, in the end, anything human. Holy wars are instruments used by politicians to reach their selfish purposes.

Answer 7

The Crusades were a series of defensive wars against Islamic aggression in the Middle Ages and attempts to recapture the Holy Land from Muslim conquerors in order to allow safe pilgrimage and to protect and maintain the Christian presence there. Jerusalem had been Christian for hundreds of years when Caliph Omar seized it, and following that victory, Muslims warred their way into Egypt, other parts of Africa, Spain, Sicily, and Greece, leaving Christians dead and churches in ruins. They stole lands in the area now known as Turkey, destroying Catholic communities founded by St. Paul himself. They siezed Constantinople -- the "second Rome" -- and threatened the Balkans. They warred their way as far north as Vienna, Austria and Tours, France.


When they [Muslims] had despoiled all the country near to Damascus, they advanced to Jerusalem, took it by storm, and put all the Christians to the sword. The women and girls, having suffered every insult from a brutal disorderly soldiery, were loaded with chains. They destroyed the church of the Holy Sepulchre; and when they found nothing among the living, to glut their rage, they opened the tombs of the Christians, took out the bodies, and burnt them.

Why are Catholics hated for defending Christendom? For the same reasons Christians of all kinds, Protestant or Catholic, are hated in our increasingly secularized world: "I have given them thy word; and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world." (John 17:14) Christianity and its virtues have been under attack since the time of Christ, and even more so since the so-called "Enlightenment." After centuries of attacks on the Catholic Church in "Reformation" circles and the later, consequent rise of secular humanism, moral and cultural relativism, and Marxist political correctness, the Crusades came to be seen and taught as an example of "Western Imperialism" or "Colonialism." Because members of the Church were doing the fighting, Christianity itself (and Catholicism in particular) was slandered as a cause of war. Note how the same people who scream about the Crusades tend to be those who scream about "religion" in general as being at the root of wars, ignoring the fact that atheistic communism and pagan Nazism killed hundreds of millions in the 20th century alone.

All this understood, it must be said that the Popes' noble, reasonable purposes for the war, however, became entangled with the purposes of those with secular interests and more interested in dynastic feuds, economic concerns over Mediterranean trade, or destroying the Eastern Roman Empire. Many "bad guys" jumped onto the Crusade bandwagon and evil was done by some of the Crusaders: the sacking of Constantinople (including the destruction of churches) and the murder of Jews along Crusade routes most definitely took place and are deeply lamentable. There is no excuse for such behaviors except human evil, but this evil was not sanctioned in any way by the Church, in no way reflects on Church teachings or her purposes for the Crusades, and resulted in the excommunication of many Crusaders responsible.

Answer 8

When religion is used as a weapon it's results as we have seen can be catastrophic and it has been far too often. I really do not see any real difference between any of the above mentioned parties.

Answer 9

There's not much difference. As long as religion exists, so to will war, hate and violence.

Answer 10

Same agendas, different names.