Reason for The Crusades explained

[rockytopva]

And a Jewish timeline with the crusades campaigns included...

https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/3915966/jewish/Timeline-of-Jewish-History.htm#Creation

 

[Matthias]

Anyone who studies warfare …

“neither shall they learn war anymore.”

(Isaiah 2:4)

“neither shall they learn war anymore.”

(Micah 4:3)

That’s the vision of the prophets for the administration of the Messiah.



The early Christians believed that in following the Messiah they were to show the world what it looks like to live under his administration.

What happened to them? They were persecuted in varying degrees.

How did they respond to the persecution?

They weren’t ”armed, ready to kill.” That’s the way of the world.

They weren’t “armed, ready to kill.” Their enemies were, and their enemies did.

Remaining faithful to the teaching of Jesus and the apostles, they suffered at the hands of their enemies. Rather than treating their enemies as their enemies treated them, they treated their enemies as the Messiah and the apostles treated theirs.

***

”You aren’t following the Messiah if you aren’t armed, ready to kill.”

What would the earliest followers of Jesus - who don’t meet your criteria for being a follower of Jesus - think about that?

They tell us with their words and show us with their lives.

@Armour of God @NayborBear

 

[Matthias]

… would rather you turn the cheek, have your head cut off by the sword, have your children killed, your wife raped and your land taken.

That’s not what the followers of Jesus would rather for you or anyone else. That’s what some, not all, of the enemies of Jesus would rather for the followers of Jesus.

”We do not use the weapons of the world” are the words spoken in scripture by a follower of Jesus, not by an enemy of Jesus.

You’ve made out those of us who practice the words and example of Paul to be enemies of Jesus.

Proposition: Those who practice the words and example of Paul are the brothers and sisters of Jesus.

Will you pause for a moment to consider the proposition? Will you agree with me that it is true?

@Wrangler @NayborBear

 

[NayborBear]

Jesus and the apostles did that, without killing their enemies. So do those who believe their teaching and follow their example.

Well?.......Jesus and the apostles DID DO things, such as healing the sick, WITHOUT "big pharma", healing the lame and blind, WITHOUT hossipols!........In other words? MIRACLES!!
Jesus and the apostles were ALSO doing something else! And THAT was their ESTABLISHING the "GOOD NEWS!"
FIRST to the Jews! Which they rejected! THEN? To the Gentiles! Until the "fulness OF the gentiles (time) is come!" To WHICH it APPEARS? NO ONE is able, or has an ability in being able to "unravel" this particular "Mystery" even after some 2200+ years (and counting)!
But? I digress here.
Ya see? They didn't HAVE to use "Physical Force/s" in defending, NOR contending AGAINST the adversary! They had "WORKS (efforts) OF THE SPIRITUALLY MATURE NATURE" that KEPT and HELD their ENEMIES at bay!
Yet? As HIStory rolls on (time marches on, if you will), IT didn't take too very Long AT ALL, until the adversarys of GOD, not to mention the apostles, as Jesus had already ascended to His Father's Throne, and took a seat on HIS right hand side, to WHICH? GOD considered this: "NOT ROBBERY" that He (Jesus Christ of Nazareth) should sit beside HIM!

What I'm getting at here? "CESSATIONISM" (apostasy) crept in, and ALL the Miracles and SPIRITUAL GIFTS? For some odd reason? STOPPED!
Point #2! (the reason!)
GOD? DOES DO (how can I say) "CREDIBILITY CHECKS, OR PROOFS" ON HIS Children! Defined in the Bible as "TEMPT!"
And? In much the same MANNER of the "Jews of O.T. days?" Always offers an "Off Ramp!" To which? Back THEN? As WELL as these days? To which people are SO RELIEVED, as PROBABLY the adversarys are "celebratory" in their successful "undermining" of HIS "SOVERIGNITY!" aka: "GOD IN A BOX!"
But THAT? As was seen in O.T. days?
Only goes SO FAR!

Meaning? That IF GOD had NOT released (how can I say) "Dogs of WAR" as "Preventative Measures" in the "PRESERVATION OF THE FAITH?" FOR the Sake and CAUSE of His ONLY "begotten?" There MOST CERTAINLY would NOT be ANYONE LEFT!

Because GOD'S WRATH? Yeah? He WOULD DO IT!
HE HAS done this very thing at LEAST once BEFORE, during these "slices of Eternity!"

Genesis 1:
2 And the earth BECAME without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.

I say these things to the readers to bring (back) a "REMEMBRANCE!"
Not EVERYONE, mind you, as certainly is your case Matthias and others!
But?.....To SOME! In which a very deep and oft times "flitting memory" may become "stirred!"

 

[Matthias]

“The Israeli military has captured a strategic, Crusader-era castle …”

(Kareem El Damanhoury, Todd Symons, “Israel seizes Crusader-era castle as Netanyahu orders forces deeper into Lebanon”)

https://www.cnn.com/2026/05/31/middleeast/israel-captures-beaufort-castle-lebanon-intl-hnk

One wonders what the crusaders would think if they knew about unbelieving Jews capturing their castle. Would they call for a Crusade to get it back?

@Wrangler @Armour of God @NayborBear

 

[Jay Ross]

And a Jewish timeline with the crusades campaigns included...

https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/3915966/jewish/Timeline-of-Jewish-History.htm#Creation

There are too many errors in this referenced internet Chronology of the Jewish history. The first error I saw was that the duration of one year for Noah's Flood was ignored for when the birth of Shem's son Arpachshad was born.

Another glaring error in the timeline was that not enough time was allowed for the birth of Judah's descendant Peraz and his son Hezron to have been born before Jacob went down to Egypt. It is my understanding that Joseph was probably around 55 years of age when he brought his father Jacob down to Egypt.

I also noticed that the time span for how long they spent in Egypt was shortened to only 210 years, whereas the Book of Exodus tells us that they spent 430 years in Egypt before they exited Egypt to then spend 40 years in the desert before crossing the River Jorden to enter the Land of Canaan.

Based upon my chronology, the timespan between when Isaac was born and the 1948 year when some of Abraham's descendants returned to the land of Canaan in their own strength was 4,000 years, whereas in the referenced chronology this timespan was only 3,661 years.

What the referenced Chronology highlighted though was that the "Church" was also heavily involved in trampling God's sanctuary and God's earthly hosts over many years. This trampling of God's earthly hosts is still ongoing even during this present time because of a lack of understanding of our scriptures.

The "Crusades" are still continuing, even during this time period if we are prepared to look at what is happening.

Shalom

 

[Matthias]

… the chances of success in evangelizing muslims in general are slim to none!

From my X / Twitter “Following” feed this afternoon -

“I did not meet Jesus in a church. And I definitely was not looking for Him.

I was not saved by a pastor.

I met Jesus while reading the Quran.

And the wildest part was this:

He was already there.

Surah 3:45 calls Him the Messiah, honored in this world and the next.

Surah 4:171 calls Him a word from Allah and a spirit from Him.

Surah 3:49 says He gives life to the dead, heals the blind and the leper, and creates from clay.

And I remember sitting there thinking:

There is no way this is ‘just another prophet.’

One gives life.

The other led wars. …

I did not leave Islam because I hated it.

I left because I followed the clues honestly.

And every single one of them led me to Jesus Christ.”

(Shahriq Khan)

https://x.com/realshahriqkhan/status/2061149578414444768?s=46&t=T64e94h2unfHH-VO4i01zA

A former Muslim, evangelizing Muslims.

Have you read the Quran?

@Wrangler @Armour of God

 

[NayborBear]

One wonders what the crusaders would think if they knew about unbelieving Jews capturing their castle. Would they call for a Crusade to get it back?

I can't say that "you ASSUMING" EVERY single "Swinging Richard" and "Sashaying Sally" in Israel are of the "UNREPENTIVE" type?
Speaks very favorably for your cause!
But? It DOES bode WELL that Israel has taken back that "Castle!"
Which SHOULD demonstrate to you that the "APPLICATION" AND use OF the "Physically Armed" nature in taking back that which HAD been taken?
Is OF a much BETTER demonstration, than those of YOUR belief of "sitting on your proverbial laurels" saying:
"WE DON'T CARE!" "Jesus and the apostles wouldn't MIND!"
and, it's not because I believe that Jesus and the apostles wouldn't mind! Because I don't!

Fact of the matter is? I don't think you'd mind SHOULD the WHOLE PLANET be OVER RUN by islam!
WOULD YOU?
You just keep on "chanting:"
"Jesus and the apostles wouldn't do that!" "They followed the teachings of Paul!"
"Jesus and the apostles wouldn't do that!" "They followed the teachings of Paul!"

 

[Matthias]

I can't say that "you ASSUMING" EVERY single "Swinging Richard" and "Sashaying Sally" in Israel are of the "UNREPENTIVE" type?
Speaks very favorably for your cause!
But? It DOES bode WELL that Israel has taken back that "Castle!"
Which SHOULD demonstrate to you that the "APPLICATION" AND use OF the "Physically Armed" nature in taking back that which HAD been taken?
Is OF a much BETTER demonstration, than those of YOUR belief of "sitting on your proverbial laurels" saying:
"WE DON'T CARE!" "Jesus and the apostles wouldn't MIND!"
and, it's not because I believe that Jesus and the apostles wouldn't mind! Because I don't!

Fact of the matter is? I don't think you'd mind SHOULD the WHOLE PLANET be OVER RUN by islam!
WOULD YOU?
You just keep on "chanting:"
"Jesus and the apostles wouldn't do that!" "They followed the teachings of Paul!"
"Jesus and the apostles wouldn't do that!" "They followed the teachings of Paul!"

My counsel in every circumstance -> Follow Jesus and the apostles.

 

[Wrangler]

A god who is ALL love ALL THE TIME, ALL grace ALL THE TIME, ALL mercy ALL THE TIME, NO sovereignty WHEN IT CAN BE UNDERMINED, NO justice EVER, NO holiness, and NO wrath EVER?....... IS an IDOL!

Love your signature. The IDOLATORS must hate it.

 

[Matthias]

One gives life.

The other led wars. …

Jesus vs. Muhammad

I don’t think it’s necessary for me to identify which one gives life and which one led wars.

”War can’t give life. It can only take it away.” - Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong

@Wrangler @Armour of God @NayborBear

Don’t allow the fear of evil men and what they can do turn you away from following Jesus and the apostles.

 

[Matthias]

“The Crusades failed permanently to restore Christian control of Jerusalem, but they did have many other effects. The Crusaders strengthened the power and influence of the pope over the church in Europe. They seriously weakened the Byzantine Empire, which continued to lose territory to Islam until the city of Constantinople fell. Perhaps most seriously and most lastingly, the Crusades implanted a violent image of Christianity and the West in the minds of Islamic people.

Ironies surround the Crusades and their reputation. Islam initiated the wars against Christian lands, at times being as savage as Christians in war, and Islam continued aggressive war against the West for centuries after the end of the Christian Crusades. Yet today many Muslims continue to view Christianity as a violent religion and project their Islamic convictions that religion and state should be united on the West, as if Christianity and the state were still united there.

Most importantly, the history of the Crusades must teach us as Christians to recognize the great damage done to Christ by these wars. The very word crusade comes from a French word meaning ‘the way of the cross,’ first used a century after the beginning of the Crusades. What a betrayal of the Christ, who poured out His life on the cross, enduring injustice and making peace, to identify Him with the slaughter of political enemies. As Christians, we must seek always to advance Christ’s cause through truth joined by love and sacrifice, not through violence.”

(W. Robert Godfrey, “The Crusades”)

The Crusades by W. Robert Godfrey

The Bible can be a dangerous book if misused and abused. In the history of the church, the misunderstanding of the Bible has led to many serious problems, rangi

learn.ligonier.org

Surely we can agree that damaging and betraying the Messiah is extraordinarily evil. Can’t we?

A followup: We couldn’t.

It isn’t just Muslims and Jews who have the “Christianity = Violence” formula implanted in their minds; a formula which damages and betrays the Messiah.

“In a Nutshell

Looking back at the history of Christianity spreading in Europe, it’s clear that calling it a peaceful religion is far from accurate. The four key events discussed - the Sack if Jerusalem, the Albigensian Crusade, the Reconquista, and the Baltic Crusades - offer stark reminders of the violence, bloodshed, and societal upheaval that accompanied the spread of Christianity.

From the massacre of Muslims and Jewish inhabitants of Jerusalem to the suppression and annihilation of Cathar communities in southern France, and from the centuries-long military campaigns to reclaim territories in the Iberian Peninsula to the violent subjugation of pagan peoples in the Baltic region, Christianity’s historical footprint is stained with the blood of millions.

These stories tell us that history hasn’t always been quite peaceful, and Christianity has been methodically used to justify violence and force people to change their beliefs. Looking at these stories, we need to face the fact that Christianity has a past of hurting others and is not any better than other Abrahamic religions.”

(Tyler the Skeptic, “4 Reasons Why Christianity Is Anything But the Religion of Peace”)

https://medium.com/@tylerthesceptic/4-reasons-why-christianity-is-anything-but-the-religion-of-peace-e92a3d68194c

@Wrangler @Armour of God @NayborBear

Defending the Crusades isn’t a persuasive counter. Pointing to the teaching and practice of Jesus, the apostles, and the history of Christians who treated their enemies properly is the only counter that is.

 

[Matthias]

My counsel in every circumstance -> Follow Jesus and the apostles.

“Believe in Jesus and trust him and you shall never be made ashamed of your confidence.” - C.H. Spurgeon

@Wrangler @Armour of God @NayborBear

A quote from one of Wrangler’s favorite Christian / pacifist authors.

The apostles believed in and trusted Jesus. My confidence in him is their confidence in him.

Whatever evil men might say about us or physical harm inflict on us, we will never be made ashamed of our confidence. We are followers of Jesus.

 

[Matthias]

“Let us do good to all people” (Galatians 6:10), from the mouth / pen of the apostle who said “We do not use the weapons of the world” (2 Corinthians 10:4).

@Wrangler @Armour of God @NayborBear

In waging physical war, noncombatants are inevitably killed and wounded. Right?

When I learned war (as an Air Force ROTC student in college) the instructor used the term “collateral damage” to describe it.

Can we agree that killing our noncombatant enemies isn’t doing good to all people?

 

[Lambano]

And a Jewish timeline with the crusades campaigns included...

https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/3915966/jewish/Timeline-of-Jewish-History.htm#Creation

With a link to another page on the Chabad site pointing out the Crusaders' attack on Jews in Speyer, Worms, Mainz, and Köln in Germany while on the way to massacring Jews and Muslims in Jerusalem, setting a precedent for future anti-Jewish pogroms throughout Europe.

https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/2617029/jewish/The-Bloody-Crusades.htm

"The Jews were offered the option of conversion to Christianity or death; the vast majority chose the path of Kiddush HaShem, sanctification of G_d's name. Rather than submit to forced conversion, in many cases Jews killed their wives and children, and then themselves."

 

[Lambano]

For those of you who like to quote Psalm 110:1, it is my hope that you will turn from a path that will make you the Lord Jesus's enemies. Which is where I see this inevitably leading.

What, you don't think you could become Jesus's enemies? While counseling violence, unholy alliances with the secular authorities, and disobedience to Christ?

 

[Wrangler]

With a link to another page on the Chabad site pointing out the Crusaders' attack on Jews in Speyer, Worms, Mainz, and Köln in Germany while on the way to massacring Jews and Muslims in Jerusalem, setting a precedent for future anti-Jewish pogroms throughout Europe.

How does this answer the question of the reasons FOR the Crusades?

 

[Wrangler]

What, you don't think you could become Jesus's enemies?

No.

While counseling violence and disobedience to Christ?

We're counseling violence IN obedience to Christ. Or do you suppose he meant for us to buy a sword to be a dust collector?

 

[Lambano]

How does this answer the question of the reasons FOR the Crusades?

What, are you surprised that a little "mission creep" happens once you let slip the dogs of war?

 

[Lambano]