I am a Catholic who has gone to Catholic school his whole life and always thought that the Crusades were wars to defend the faith from invasion by Islam. This year, I'm taking AP World and according to my highly liberal teacher and Peter N. Stearns' "Experiencing World Civilizations" the Crusades were wars of Christian expansion and personal gain on the part of the pope. What is the truth?
2007-12-17 14:38:49 · 14 answers · asked by #1MetsFan 3 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
The Crusades were political adventures under religious pretext.
Islamic followers taking the 'Holy Land' from Jews & Christians.
Something like the situation we see playing out today.
2007-12-17 14:46:58 · answer #1 · answered by Robert S 7 · 1⤊ 1⤋
It was as much politically and financially driven as it was about religious conviction. Sure there were Christians who really did want to defend their faith but most were only in it for the glory and wealth.
Back then the Catholic Church was the most powerful organization in the world. It controlled vast lands in Europe that in turn generated large amounts of money - money which the Pope used to finance his own political endeavours and to further his agenda. But with that kind of power comes a great potential for corruption. Corruption made worse by the fact that the Church was more than just a religious institution but also a political one.
The Crusades where the greatest epitome of Papal influence. For the first time since the Romans, most of the warring Princes of Europe united under Christianity to fight a common enemy. It was done in the name of God and Christendom but the truth is that those behind its conception did it for power and wealth.
Even if you take into account the sad fact that the Crusades were only done because the Pope and Byzantine emperor feared Muslim expansion and wanted to further their own political agendas, it was still quite a achievement. The constantly bickering and disunited rulers of Western Europe united and waged a coordinated campaign that took large parts of the Holy Land just because the Pope called for it.
Truly the Crusades are a testament to the political shrewdness, influence and former power of the Holy See. It was done for the two Gs. God and Gold.
BTW, I'm a Catholic.
2007-12-17 23:07:47 · answer #2 · answered by d3slyn 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Your highly liberal teacher is quite right. The crusades were deadly to those who did not accept the Christian faith as the RC church taught. If your choices were to believe what the church taught or die what would anyone do? They would try and save themselves, the church took over and it hasn't stopped even today. Now the Evangelicals are touting the truth as they see it and it is getting worse all the time. You are not allowed truth of any kind, and if you find it even accidentally the church is all over you with damnation.
So how did Christianity remain to this day? Believe or die.
Churches are unbelievably rich today, not all of them, some honestly believe in what they say, but it is the biggest money makers of all time. It does not pay taxes so their income is easily hidden. Some get caught with their extravagances, but most get away with it. Nothing has changed, the poor get poorer and the church gets richer. Now they want to push it into the public schools. People do not realize how damning the whole thing is because they are not allowed to know the truth. If this deity thing is pushed down your throat constantly you actually start to believe it, the problem is the only winner in the scenario is the church.
2007-12-17 22:55:23 · answer #3 · answered by Tricia R 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Your highly liberal teacher is right, sorry!
Although not particularly for the personal gain of the Pope (I bet he made quite a bit of money though), the whole thing was about the big bucks.
The Crusades were bloody, heartless wars over the best tourist attraction (the best of the best being Jerusalem)
2007-12-19 18:00:38 · answer #4 · answered by CanadianFundamentalist 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
1. to drive back invading Muslims-definitely not Christian expansion, thats ridiculous.
2. personal gain for the pope. A one time the pope "personally" controlled 1/3 of Europe.
2007-12-17 22:46:58 · answer #5 · answered by Higgy Baby 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
The Crusades certainly weren't Christianity's finest moments, which is why I have a hard time understanding why anyone would want to use a Crusader as a mascot. Would you name your team the "Jihadists"?
2007-12-17 22:46:36 · answer #6 · answered by 222 Sexy 5 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Christianity is a black mark on Western civilization
2007-12-18 04:47:41 · answer #7 · answered by youngmoigle 5 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Any time you have civilations going to war and killing each other on the basis of their relegions, it is a black mark, the biggest problem being that rational people who could not give a rats *** about their relegions, get caught up and killed too.
2007-12-17 22:47:52 · answer #8 · answered by Scott H 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The crusades are just one of the many horrible things religion has caused.
2007-12-17 22:45:01 · answer #9 · answered by Canadian Scientist 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
yea you should know by now what the crusades were
thats a controversial part of history and religion in general
2007-12-17 22:46:54 · answer #10 · answered by Jai K 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋