The First Crusade, Was It Christian?

From the SelectedWorks of David C Taylor Jr Spring March 2, 2015 The First Crusade, Was It Christian? David C Taylor, Jr, Liberty University Available at: https://works.bepress.com/davidtaylorjr/9/

THE FIRST CRUSADE: WAS IT CHRISTIAN? A Paper Presented to Dr. Doug Bryant Liberty University Online In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for CHHI 301 by David Taylor, Jr. March 1, 2015

THE FIRST CRUSADE: WAS IT CHRISTIAN? On February 5 th, 2015, President Barack Obama addressed the audience at the National Prayer Breakfast. During this breakfast he made comments about the Islamic State and the Crusades that sent waves throughout the religious world. In his speech, he claimed that just like the Islamic State is doing things, terrible things, in the name of Islam, we should remember that terrible things were done in the name of Christ during the Crusades. 1 While it did not sit well with members of the church, the question must be asked. Was he right? This paper will examine the First Crusade, its cause, formation, execution, and conclusion. The conclusion will be the answer to the question, does this fit a Christian worldview? The history surrounding the First Crusade seems to have been lost in the mainstream media today. Common words that are spoken of the Crusade are evil, sinful, wicked, aggressive, oppressive, and many other synonyms. So what were the actual motives of the Crusade and the men that carried out the task? In 610 A.D., Mohammed began receiving revelations that would lead to the creation of Islam, but it wasn t until later in the century that Omar would become the second caliph and begin the Islamic aggression. 2 Over the next several decades, Islam began to expand throughout the Middle East region, Africa, and parts of Europe. 3 Islam continued to grow into the eighth 1 Barack Obama, "Remarks by the President at National Prayer Breakfast", The White House http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2015/02/05/remarks-president-national-prayer-breakfast (accessed February 28 2015). 2 Kenneth Boa, Cults, World Religions, and the Occult (Canada; England: Victor Books, 1990), 69-70. 3 1

century and the church began to take notice. In 732 A.D. the Battle of Tours put a stop to the Islamic Conquest in Europe. 4 Though the Muslims had been stopped in Europe in the west, this was not the case in the east. The Islamic Empire continued its military campaigns in the east conquering much territory until the eleventh century. 5 These conquests and battles resulted in the Eastern Church crying out for help to Pope Urban II. In 1095, Alexius I Comnenus sent an envoy to petition the West to come to the aid of the East in the fight against the Turks. 6 In November of that year, Pope Urban II answered that call with a sermon to the Council of Clermont. 7 Urban II made the case for the crusade by suggesting the necessity of aiding their brothers in the east and promising remission of sins for those who would participate. 8 It was this declaration that indicated this would be a Holy War as it is known today. The Pope claimed that he had the authority from God to forgive sins and was using that authority in the case of the Crusaders. 9 The response from those gathered was overwhelming with shouts of God wills it! 10 After the call to arms by Urban, men set out to proclaim and promote the campaign. One of these men was Peter the Hermit. Peter, who had the ear of the Pope prior to the decision to move, was in the forefront of this initiative. 11 Peter would spread stories about what he had 4 John Mark Terry, Ebbie C. Smith, and Justice Anderson, Missiology: An Introduction to the Foundations, History, and Strategies of World Missions (Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1998), 187. 5 Martin Sicker, The Islamic World in Ascendancy : From the Arab Conquests to the Siege of Vienna (Westport, Conn: Praeger, 2000), 62. 6 Thomas F. Madden, Critical Issues in World and International History : Concise History of the Crusades (Blue Ridge Summit, PA, USA: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2013), 7. 7 8 W. Robert Godfrey, "The Crusades," TableTalk, (May 2011). 9 10 Steven Runciman, The First Crusade (Cambridge [England]: Cambridge University Press, 1992), 43. 11 Philip Schaff and David Schley Schaff, History of the Christian Church, vol. 5 (New York: Charles Scribner s Sons, 1910), 226-227, 229. 2

already seen and heard in Jerusalem which added fuel to the fire of the already building emotion within the church. 12 After these men went out and stirred the masses the First Crusade began. 13 The first groups set out at the beginning of 1096 A.D. and included women and children and became known as the People s Crusade. 14 In August tensions were becoming high among the Crusaders. Instead of mounting an organized strategy, groups took to looting the area of Nicaea which resulted in the massacre of Peter the Hermit s forces. 15 This failure resulted in Peter having to wait for the main body of the Crusade which had not yet arrived. There were other minor setbacks in residual groups that were on their way to meet up with Peter but those events are not within the scope of this paper. The main body of the Crusade set off in August of 1096 A.D. and marched toward Constantinople. 16 By the end of that year the Crusaders had arrived at Constantinople. 17 It should be noted that by this time many of the Crusaders had been massacred as previously mentioned. It can be assumed that this would have had an impact on the remaining armies, as well as the enemies they were about to face. The first goal of the Crusaders was to overtake Nicaea which was accomplished in June of 1097 A.D. 18 During the battle, a detachment of Turks had been overtaken by the Crusaders and the defeated men were decapitated and their heads paraded through the streets on poles. 19 12 Peter Frankopan, First Crusade : The Call from the East (Cambridge, MA, USA: Harvard University Press, 2012), 118. 13 Edwin Charles Dargan, A History of Preaching, vol. 1 (New York: Hodder & Stoughton, 1905), 177-178. 14 Frankopan, 119. 15 Madden, 19. 16 17 Schaff and Schaff, 234. 18 Madden, 23. 19 Frankopan, 140. 3

This serves as an example of some of the horrific scenes from the Crusade. The next objective would be Antioch. Antioch proved to be a difficult endeavor with a siege that lasted the better part of a year. During that time desertion became a problem as Crusaders lost heart while waiting out the battle. 20 The resolve of the participants was being tested to its highest degree. Unfortunately, during the battle to take Antioch the Crusaders killed many Christians that lived within the cities in addition to the enemy they faced. 21 This would be a problem through the era of the Crusades. After an eight month long siege and battle, Antioch finally fell and was taken by the Crusaders. 22 However, they had sustained many losses and desertions as previously mentioned. But they had obtained a victory and hopes of the mission had been renewed. The First Crusade ended with the fall of Jerusalem in July 1099 A.D. 23 It was said that nobody was spared in Jerusalem and that they were utterly destroyed. 24 This was the culmination of a campaign that had shown a purging of all peoples who did not claim the name of Christ as their own. The history of the Crusades is dark. There were many events that make us shutter when we think about them in today s culture. It is unfathomable to think of some of the atrocities that were committed during the times of the Crusade Era. 20 Conor Kostick, "Courage and Cowardice on the First Crusade, 1096-1099," War In History 20, no. 1 (2013): 36. 21 Frankopan, 163. 22 23 Schaff and Schaff, 238. 24, 240. 4

It is certain that the barbaric acts of the Crusade were certainly not Christian nor followed the teachings of Christ in any way. However, the focus now is whether or not the Crusade itself was in line with a Christian worldview. How can the Crusades be reconciled with verses such as Matthew 5:29 that tells us to turn the other cheek? How can they be reconciled with the commands to not kill? Is war ever the answer? It seems to be clear in Scripture that sometimes war is unavoidable. In the Old Testament there were many times that Israel went to war. Sometimes these wars were defensive, but other times Israel went on the offense as well. However, it is understood that these wars were from direct command of God. Can the same thing be said about the Crusades? The Bible states that we are to follow those in authority over us (Romans 13:1). At the time of the Crusades the Church had become a governing authority in the land and the papacy commanded great power. They received a call for help from the East and they answered that call. This would support a Just War Theory. This theory puts in place several determining factors to decide whether or not the war is justified. Of course, the theory assumes and advocates that war is always a last resort and should always be a defensive endeavor and never aggressive. 25 The question then becomes, were the Crusades defensive or offensive? While there were definitely acts of offensive aggression within the individual factions of the Crusade, it most certainly was defensive in premise against the tyranny of the Islamic 25 John S. Feinberg and Paul D. Feinberg, Ethics for a Brave New World (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 1993), 362. 5

Conquest. The Church felt that it must defend itself and war would have been the only option. The Muslims were already engaged in warfare to gain their territory and spread their new religion. The Church set out to defend itself when Pope Urban II called for action. With this in light, yes, the Crusades did fit a Christian worldview. However, though the Crusades themselves may be justified, it does not mean that they should have taken place in the manner that history has shown. Christians must take extra care when determining how to defend the church and once that determination has been made precautions must be put in place to ensure that atrocities that were present during the Crusades do not repeat themselves. 6

Bibliography Boa, Kenneth. Cults, World Religions, and the Occult. Canada; England: Victor Books, 1990. Dargan, Edwin Charles. A History of Preaching. Vol. 1. New York: Hodder & Stoughton, 1905. Feinberg, John S. and Paul D. Feinberg. Ethics for a Brave New World. Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 1993. Frankopan, Peter. First Crusade : The Call from the East. Cambridge, MA, USA: Harvard University Press, 2012. Godfrey, W. Robert. "The Crusades." TableTalk, (May 2011). Kostick, Conor. "Courage and Cowardice on the First Crusade, 1096-1099." War In History 20, no. 1 (2013): 32-49. Madden, Thomas F. Critical Issues in World and International History : Concise History of the Crusades. Blue Ridge Summit, PA, USA: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2013. Obama, Barack, "Remarks by the President at National Prayer Breakfast", The White House http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2015/02/05/remarks-president-nationalprayer-breakfast (accessed February 28 2015). Runciman, Steven. The First Crusade. Cambridge [England]: Cambridge University Press, 1992. Schaff, Philip and David Schley Schaff. History of the Christian Church. Vol. 5. New York: Charles Scribner s Sons, 1910. Sicker, Martin. The Islamic World in Ascendancy : From the Arab Conquests to the Siege of Vienna. Westport, Conn: Praeger, 2000. Terry, John Mark, Ebbie C. Smith and Justice Anderson. Missiology: An Introduction to the Foundations, History, and Strategies of World Missions. Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1998.