Were the Crusades justified?

[Sketcher]

They really weren't even politically justified. Certainly not initially.

I simply said they were understandable. Not everything understandable is also justified.

 

[Armoured]

I simply said they were understandable. Not everything understandable is also justified.

I don't even think they are particularly understandable, not in the sense you mean. Alexius wanted a regiment or two's worth of crack troops, the Pope preached it as a holy duty, hoping to get enough soldiers to go without having to pay them, and ended up getting a mass migration. No one expected it, no one asked for it.

 

[Sketcher]

I don't even think they are particularly understandable, not in the sense you mean. Alexius wanted a regiment or two's worth of crack troops, the Pope preached it as a holy duty, hoping to get enough soldiers to go without having to pay them, and ended up getting a mass migration. No one expected it, no one asked for it.

I'm not sure that anyone could have predicted the response, especially the Children's Crusade. It is understandable to me that Urban II capitalized on a chance to gain political power while bringing Europe closer to unity, reducing warfare between confessing Christians, and retaking land that had been lost to non-Christians. I can see how to a pope of that time, it would have seemed like a good idea. That doesn't justify it, however - even if it wouldn't have run out of control, and even if he hadn't perverted the Gospel in the process of launching it.

 

[MoonlessNight]

The Crusades are a rather complicated topic, since there were multiple crusades over centuries. Saying that they are justified or not justified may not be possible as a whole and would take more discussion than what is likely on Christian Forums.

But based off some of the responses on this thread, I'm wondering whether people think that the Reconquista was justified, or even whether Christians were justified to fight in the Battle of Tours.

 

[VanillaSunflowers]

The perfect thread given the world climate. It reminds me of that old saying, we don't make history anymore. We just give ourselves a new script and a pale reason to repeat it.

Were the Crusades justified?
Being that they're over and a Christian anywhere can read the question, the answer is self evident.

What is anything else except our contemporary bias on the old times? So as to contemporaneously superimpose reason or cause to have the same attitude toward today's world. And particularly the friction between Christian and Muslim in the ME.

We're strategizing as people of the King of peace and arguing as to how mass murder was justified.

Love your neighbor as yourself.

Love your enemies and pray for those that persecute you.


We say that now but we had to kill a lot of people in order to claim we're pro-life right now.

 

[rjs330]

Is it not true that the Muslims had conquered and attacked the Italian penninsula? Purely from a political pespective didn't the government at the time in Italy have a right to defend themselves and request aid? I admittedly do,not know a,lot about the crusades. I'm not defending the atrocities of the crusades I am merely wondering if the original intent to push back the Muslim agression was justified.

 

[Uber Genius]

35Then Jesus asked them, “When I sent you out without purse or bag or sandals, did you lack anything?” “Nothing,” they answered.36“Now, however, He told them, “the one witha purse should take it, and likewise a bag; andthe one without a sword should sell his cloakand buy one. (Luke 22:35-36)

The disciples were ordered to defend themselves by Jesus. We don't have to defend what Popes and Kings did as if they were the true representation of God's will on earth. Clearly that is not the record found in scripture.

Not everyone claiming to be a Christian is one. Even if they are it doesn't mean they are mature ambassadors accurately representing Jesus and the HS.

But let's remember why we are here. Often philosophically-challenged opponents to theism and Christianity use these appeals to anachronism (something that was common in the culture of its day but looks drastically inconsistent with the worldview based on modern standards.)

So slavery, and how women were treated are two other common anachronistic fallacious examples.

We need to develop rigor in responding to fallacious claims.

Great background and post.