BLOODLINES DOCUMENTARY- John Piper

Don't Waste Your Providence

WHAT WERE THE CRUSADES ALL ABOUT?

Here's a good article on the subject written some years ago by the same guy on the video:

http://www.frontline.org.za/articles/crusades_all_about.htm

The recent Hollywood epic Kingdom of Heaven has provoked a flurry of articles re-evaluating the crusades. According to the Director, Ridley Scott, the Knights Templar were the “rightwing or Christian fundamentalists of their day.” Scott, who describes himself as an agnostic, has gone on record stating: “If we could just take God out of the equation, there would be no f…. problem!” Reinforcing popular stereotypes about the crusades, Scott’s politically correct, anti-Christian Kingdom of Heaven has been described by Professsor Jonathan Riley-Smith, one of the foremost authorities on the crusades, as “Osama Bin Laden’s version of history” which “will fuel the Islamic fundamentalists.”

The popular misconceptions about the crusades are that these were aggressive wars of expansion fought by religious fanatics in order to evict Muslims from their homeland, and force conversions to Christianity. Those who really believe any of that betray their ignorance of history.

A REACTION TO JIHAD

The crusaders were reacting to over four centuries of relentless Islamic Jihad, which had wiped out over 50% of all the Christians in the world and conquered over 60% of all the Christian lands on earth – before the crusades even began. Many of the towns liberated by the crusaders were still over 90% Christian when the crusaders arrived. The Middle East was the birthplace of the Christian Church. It was the Christians who had been conquered and oppressed by the Seljuk Turks. So many of the towns in the Middle East welcomed the crusaders as liberators.

Far from the crusaders being the aggressors, it was the Muslim armies which had spread Islam from Saudi Arabia across the whole of Christian North Africa into Spain and even France within the first century after the death of Muhammad. Muslim armies sacked and slaughtered their way across some of the greatest Christian cities in the world, including Alexandria, Carthage, Antioch and Constantinople. These Muslim invaders destroyed over 3,200 Christian churches just in the first 100 years of Islam.

DEFENSIVE WARS

As Professor Thomas Madden in The Real History of the Crusades points out: “The crusades to the East were in every way defensive wars. They were a direct response to Muslim aggression – an attempt to turn back or defend against Muslim conquests of Christian lands. Christians in the 11th Century were not paranoid fanatics. Muslims really were gunning for them…Islam was born in war and grew the same way. From the time of Muhammad, the means of Muslim expansion was always by the sword…Christianity was the dominant religion of power and wealth…The Christian world therefore was a prime target for the earliest Caliphs and it would remain so for Muslim leaders for the next thousand years…The crusades…were but a response to more than four centuries of conquests in which Muslim had already captured over two thirds of the Christian world.”

THINKING THE UNTHINKABLE

As the London Telegraph points out: “A more realistic view of history requires less retrospective fantasy and more brain work. It means forcing your heads around to see what motivated men and women centuries ago. Try to think the unthinkable – that the Crusaders were right, and that we should be grateful to them.”

CHRISTIAN LOVE AND SELF SACRIFICE

Professor Jonathan Riley-Smith explains that crusading was “an act of love” for one’s neighbour. An act of mercy to right a terrible wrong. As one church leader wrote to the Knights Templar: “You carry out in deeds the words of the Gospel, ‘greater love than this hath no man, than that he lay down his life for his friends’.”

Professor Riley-Smith points out that the goals of the crusades were firstly to rescue the Christians of the East: Many thousands of Christians are bound in slavery and imprisoned by the Muslims and tortured with innumerable torments.” And secondly the liberation of Jerusalem and other places made holy by the life of Christ. The Medieval crusaders saw themselves as pilgrims, restoring to the Lord Jesus Christ His property. “The Crusader’s conquest of Jerusalem, therefore, was not colonialism, but an act of restoration and an open declaration of one’s love of God…It is often assumed that the central goal of the crusades was forced conversion of the Muslim world. Nothing could be further from the truth. From the perspective of Medieval Christians, Muslims were the enemies of Christ and His Church. It was the Crusaders’ task to defeat and defend against them. That was all. Muslims who lived in crusader won territories were generally allowed to retain their property and livelihood and always their religion.”

AGAINST ALL ODDS

When we think about the Middle Ages, we inevitably view Europe in the light of what it became rather than what it was. The fact is that the superpower of the Medieval world was Islam, not Christendom. The crusades were a battle against all odds with impossibly long lines of supply and cripplingly inadequate logistics. It was a David against Goliath enterprise from the beginning. The chances of success for the first crusade were highly improbable. They had no leader, no chain of command, no supply lines and no detailed strategy. The first crusade consisted simply of thousands of dedicated warriors marching deep into enemy territory, thousands of kilometres from home. Many of them died of starvation, disease and wounds. It was a rough campaign that always was on the brink of disaster.

“Yet it was miraculously successful. By 1098, the Crusaders had liberated Nicea and Antioch to Christian rule. And in July 1099 they re-conquered Jerusalem and began to build a Christian state in Palestine.”

A JUDGEMENT OF GOD

When Jerusalem fell to Saladin in 1187, Christians across Europe perceived that God was punishing them for their sins. Numerous lay movements sprang up throughout Europe dedicated to purifying Christian society so that it may become worthy of victory in the East.

Professor Madden of St. Lewis University and the author of A Concise History of the Crusades has observed: “From the safe distance of many centuries, it is easy enough to scowl in disgust at the crusades. Religion, after all, is nothing to fight wars over. But we should be mindful that our Medieval ancestors would have been equally disgusted by our infinitely more destructive wars fought in the names of political ideologies…Whether we admire the Crusaders or not, it is a fact that the world we know today would not exist without their efforts. The ancient faith of Christianity, with its respect for women and antipathy toward slavery, not only survived but flourished. Without the crusades, it might have followed Zoroastrianism, another of Islam’s rivals, into extinction.” But for the crusades Europe would have probably fallen to Islam and the USA would never have come into existence.

LEARN TO DISCERN

Dr. Ted Baehr of Movieguide warns viewers to be “media wise enough to reject revisionist history. The problem is that the future generations could accept this politically correct, anti-Christian propaganda.”

MOHAMMED VS CHRIST

In his article “Self Hate, Revisionist History and Christophobia in the Movie Kingdom of Heaven” Dr. Ted Baehr notes some of the differences between Mohammed and Christ:

“ Mo hammed was the prophet of war; Christ is the Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6-7).

Mohammed's disciples killed for the faith; Christ's disciples were killed for their faith (Acts 12:2; 2 Tim. 4:7).

Mohammed promoted persecution against the "infidels"; Christ forgave and converted the chief persecutor (1 Tim. 1:13-15).

Mohammed was the taker of life; Christ is the giver of life (John 10:27-28).

Mohammed and his fellow warriors murdered thousands; Christ murdered none but saved many (John 12:48).

Mohammed ’s method was COMPULSION; Christ’s aim was CONVERSION (Acts 3:19).

Mohammed practiced FORCE; Christ preached FAITH (John 6:29, 35).

Mohammed was a WARRIOR; Christ is a DELIVERER (Col. 1:13; 1 Thess. 1:10).

Mohammed said to the masses, "Convert or die!"; Christ said, "Believe and live!" (John 6:47; 11:25-26).

Mohammed was swift to shed blood (Rom. 3:15-17); Christ shed His own blood for the salvation of many (Eph. 1:7).

Mohammed preached "Death to the infidels!"; Christ prayed "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do" (Luke 23:34).

Mohammed declared a holy war (Jihad) against infidels; Christ achieved a holy victory on Calvary's cross (Col. 2:14-15) and His followers share in that victory (John 16:33).

Mohammed constrained people by conquest; Christ constrained people by love (2 Cor. 5:14).

Modern terrorists derive their inspiration from Mohammed and carry out their despicable atrocities in the name of his god; Christians derive their inspiration from the One who said, "Blessed are the peacemakers" (Matthew 5:9).

Modern day disciples of Mohammed respond to the terrorist attacks by cheering in the streets; modern day disciples of Christ are deeply grieved at past atrocities carried out by those who were "Christians" in name only (the Crusades, the Spanish Inquisition, etc.).

Many Muslims are peaceful and peace-loving because they do not strictly follow the teachings of their founder; many Christians are peaceful and peace-loving because they do strictly follow the teachings of their Founder (Rom. 12:17-21).

Mohammed called upon his servants to fight; Jesus said, "My kingdom is not of this world; if My kingdom were of this world, then would My servants fight . . . but now is My kingdom not from here" (John 18:36)

Mohammed ordered death to the Jews (see A.Guillaume, The Life of Muhammad, Oxford University Press [1975], p. 369); Christ ordered that the Gospel be preached "to the Jew first" (Rom. 1:16).

The Koran says, "Fight and slay the Pagans wherever ye find them" (Qu'ran 9.5); Christ said, "Preach the Gospel to every creature" (Mark 16:15).

Mohammed's mission was to conquer the world for Allah; Christ's mission was to conquer sin's penalty and power by substitutionary atonement (2 Cor. 5:21; 1 Pet. 3:18).

Mohammed claimed that there was but one God, Allah; Christ claimed that He was God (John 10:30-31; John 8:58-59; John 5:18; John 14:9).

Mohammed's Tomb: OCCUPIED! Christ's tomb: EMPTY! ”

JIHAD VS THE GOSPEL

The word “crusade” does not appear in the Bible, nor is it commanded. However, Jihad is the sixth pillar of Islam and the second greatest command of Muhammad. It is not only commended, but commanded in the Quran.

The crusades ended many centuries ago. However Islamic Jihad is carried out to this day. Millions of Christians have been slaughtered throughout the centuries by Islamic militants – such as the 1.5 millions Armenians murdered in Turkey in 1915. Christians have continued to be slaughtered by Islamic militants in Indonesia, the Philippines, Sudan and Nigeria to the present day.

Therefore, before Christians fall over themselves to apologise for the crusades, which ended over 700 years ago, it would be wise to first learn from reliable sources what the crusades were all about, and study the Islamic teachings and track record of Jihad over the last 14 centuries. “Slavery, Terrorism and Islam – The Historical Roots and Contemporary Threat” would provide a good introduction. Those who do not know their past have no future.

For an analysis of the distortion of theology and history in Ridley Scott’s epic, anti-Christian propaganda against the Crusaders, see our review: Kingdom of Heaven – Hollywood’s Crusade Against Christianity.

Dr. Peter Hammond

Why Sing So Many Cross-centered Songs - C.J. Mahaney

Amen!

Hebrews 6 Does Not Teach that a Christian Can Lose His Salvation - Tim Conway

What are You Offering to the Lord?

"'A son honors his father, and a servant his master. If then I am a Father, where is my honor? And if I am a Master, where is my fear? says the LORD of hosts to you, O priests, who despise My name. But you say, "How have we despised Your name?" By offering polluted food upon my altar. But you say, "How have we polluted you?" By saying that the LORD's table may be despised.
When you offer blind animals in sacrifice, is that not evil? And when you offer those that are lame or sick, is that not evil?  Present that to your governor; will he accept you or show you favor?' says the LORD of hosts"
Malachi 1:6-8

Rebellious Israel thought it acceptable to offer up to God a half-hearted sacrifice. They believed the Lord would approve of their pathetic sin offerings of defiled food. God commanded them to bring the best of their flock to be sacrificed on the altar, but for some reason they assumed He would not mind them bringing to His table their lame and sick animals. At least they were doing something for the Lord, right? After all, the rest of the nations were full of pagan idolatry...wouldn't God be pleased if this nation at the very least acknowledged His existence, came before Him and offered Him something, as defiled as it may be?

To these heinous sins of hypocrisy and presumption God responds: "I have no pleasure in you, says the LORD of hosts, and I will not accept an offering from your hand" (Mal.1:10). "Cursed be the cheat who has a male in his flock, and vows it, and yet sacrifices to the Lord what is blemished" (Mal.1:14). Those who were merely going through the motions of an external religious ritual, without offering to the Lord the internal devotion of their whole hearts (as is demonstrated by their unwillingness to obey God's precisely prescribed methods of sacrifice), were despising the name of the Lord, not showing Him any fear, and were therefore cursed wretches in His sight. God didn't need their sacrifices; He allowed them to partake in the incomparable privilege of glorifying Him through this glorious act of worship...but by their lukewarmness, indifference and disobedience they made a mockery of His name.

What does your devotion to God look like? Are you giving the Lord the firstfruits--the best--of each day? Is the body that the Lord commands you to present to Him as a living sacrifice truly holy and pleasing unto Him? Is spending time with the Lord in prayer and worship your daily priority? Are the Scriptures your daily delight? Could you really say like Job, "I have treasured the words of His mouth more than my necessary food"?  Do you cry with the Psalmist, "Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight"? Are the words that come out of your mouth for the glory of God and the edification of the brethren, or are they for tearing down, gossiping and slandering? How about your thought-life: is Jesus Christ your daily meditation? Do you earnestly make an effort to fill your mind and heart with the Scriptures? Do you contemplate on those things that are true, honorable, just, pure, lovely and God-glorifying, or do you find yourself often meditating on the sinful things of the world? And your time--is it used for the Kingdom of God and the furtherance of the Gospel? Are you redeeming the time, or are you squandering your precious hours meaninglessly on trite games, entertainment and distractions?

What are you presenting before the altar of the Lord? If you gave your boss at work what your offer to God, would you be fired? If royalty or the president of your country were to show up at your house to visit, would they be shown more attention, respect, dignity, time and devotion than what you give to the Lord?

"For from the rising of the sun to its setting My name will be great among the nations, and in every place incense will be offered to My name, and a pure offering. For My name will be great among the nations, says the LORD of hosts." (Mal. 1:11)

May our devotional life be a sweet-smelling incense, and may the sacrifice of our heart be a pure offering before Him. The Lord is worthy, and His glory is the only thing that matters.

Peruvian Martyr: Rómulo Sauñe

I just finished reading a book called The Path and the Peacemakers. It's about the Church's triumph over terrorism in Peru in the 80's and 90's, during the days of the Sendero Luminoso ("Shining Path"), a Marxist-Leninist-Maoist terrorist group that saught to "liberate" the country of imperialist oppression...killing more than 30,000 people in their "war for freedom". They succeeded in taking over many towns and villages in the Andean regions and in the jungles. Among their main enemies were the Christians, who stood against everything their murderous group represented. Thousands of believers fell victim to their brutal violence. Bible translator Rómulo Sauñe was one of them.