Dr.Stilley said in the first lecture, “Do not predict the ending from the beginning.” It was true for this book I read. Yet found not only true for this book but for everything in nature we never know how God is going to use what and how the means for His purpose.
I started off thinking, ‘Isn’t Crusade a history? Does it really have a valid story to tell more about it in retrospect for our age?’ I was totally wrong it is not only containing the valid story but also the very task, which was misunderstood and thus miscarried in Jesus’ own name, is still carried by so-called, we-Christians. And the retaliation from the opposite is definitely acting and reacting on behalf.
“Hoc est corpus meum.” Today is the Good Friday. Remembering His sufficient blood shed and crucified body for the salvation of all. Although standing over the shoulders looking out is clear it must have been confusing to them even to the very early Church Fathers; while Tertullian said Christians to participate in the military is to have a dual citizenship, serving Ceasar with Christ. However Origen thought it can be a lawful thing, argued isn’t the spiritual battle more brutal?
Some acts of your forefathers you hated often you realize that you eventually doing the same. Chapters two and onwards show that how Christians has been persecuted by different means, especially governments. And soon when the Constantine empire embraced Christianity; church-state oneness, no Christian found necessity of dying for their faith. Easy-believism came along.
“Deus Volt Deus Volt” This is one very thing really triggers my mind to look up the bible even in my day of my very life. So many times this has been used to justify their act and even more often used out of context. Unban II’s fascinating preaching gathered all the troops to go for the Holy Land. How plausible it is. Yes, that’s true I despise the liberal theology, not the men. Some little flaw or one little tiny chasm and even jot of tittle of compromise for God’s truth and His true meaning background in professing the ultimate authority of the Scripture can really be spread into something you never intended. The brutality of the crusade made millennial impression about Christianity and even Bin Laden’s speech makes so much sense and justice to the fanatics.
Yet it was interesting how the authors used Anabaptists as one of the attempt to recover form the wrong impression about easy believism and state-church brutality in sixteenth century. It just came short handed that time. (However we have many trained in that fashion in SWBTS so we still can have optimism in Him) The story goes on for the 150, 2,500 people who went on to the regions of those brutality of Crusades one millennium ago.
As finishing the book, I questioned what really Salvation is. How could all those brutality carried on in Jesus name and eventually one generation has to apologize for the act. Not saying they were all bad and we are all good. I am saying how can we please pursue the truth knowledge of the Gospel and bear the faith and keep the faith Jesus intended.
I want to conclude this review with one question. Tolerance and persecution are both two edged swords in my perspective. Authors seem to profess that the liberty of any religious acts should be tolerated and never be persecuted unless they broke the law or peace; of course this is very hard to define as well like the “hate-speech” vs. “freedom of speech”. But in this fashion, I believe, we all came up with all kinds of ecumenical and perverted “love and embrace all” kind of Christianity. In some church, you witnessed, invite imams and monks to listen. We should definitely be either cold or hot, hot if possible, but not into to extremes please.
JC (Mt6;33)
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