The concept of a Christian Jihad at first glance seems rather oxymoronic. It seems to be the heretical consolidation of Muslim ideology and Christian theology. However, Drs. Emir and Ergun Caner give another, rather unorthodox, view of Christian history. Christian Jihad examines the events, circumstances, and belief systems of the early church Christians through the time of the Crusades and demonstrates how what is known as a “holy war” became a part of Christian life.
The Crusades was a war focused on the vanquishing of the peoples who had wronged Christians living in Moslem lands. This included Moslems and Jews alike. Ironically, the early church was infamously pacifistic; religiously shying away from war because of their faith and the extremely high frequency of persecution they faced on a regular basis during the first and second centuries AD. With that, the pressing question becomes, “What changed? Why did these historically temperate and somewhat passive people become warriors?” “The Unholy Marriage,” the unbiblical allegiance that united the church and the state and put Christians in the position of be a part of every societal venue including all aspects of government and the military. The same group of believers that had spent hundreds of years in solitude or oppression and maltreatment were now in the spotlights of their respective areas. Though not all church leaders of the time supported such involvement in political arenas, it became banal for Christians to be a part of these bodies, with a particularly high influence on military involvement.
Under the leadership, encouragement, and support of the papacy of Urban II, Christian armies ravaged the lands in retribution for their wrongdoing, with the ultimate Christian Jihad being called on November 27, 1095. It was this year, that Pope Urban II would have his army of warriors preach, pray, have “a procession in honor of God”, fast, worship, and retake the city of Jerusalem, slay thousands upon thousands of Moslem and Jewish men, women, and children, and have his soldiers at the end of the battle immersed in so many corpses that they were described as having blood up to their knees.
The army had become wholly Christian and impassioned by war. The soldiers were taught that by their fighting they would be given salvation for doing God’s work. They were told that it was their responsibility to honor the Lord by fighting. They were deceived, by the “church”.
Christian Jihad gives an authentic look at the history of our religion. The information was astounding, saddening, and absolutely necessary. It is the work that is needed for Christians to know where they’ve come from in order to plan where they are going. To move forward blindly is ignorant. To neglect the facts and truths of our (sometimes flawed) thinking is irresponsible. Christian Jihad gives the modern Christian some perspective on the root of the hostility between Christians and Muslims.
Though it is easy to look on history and play the “us/ them game” where we stand awe stricken by the horrific events done in Jesus’ name and act as if “we” would never do such a thing, this work gives us the opportunity to kneel humbly before God acknowledging that we all get it wrong at some point…in some way. Acknowledging that we do the same things today.
A brother in Christ once said, “Christians are mean” and my heart was saddened by it, maybe even a bit offended, until I experienced “the mean Christians” myself. In our being “more spiritually mature than others” how many times do we stand on our side and point fingers saying “you’re wrong”? How often do we “judge” or “label” the world and stand around with our fellow seminarians acting as if even on our own campus there had not been a time when people of other races were not admitted?
While having a rather “interesting” conversation with my mother about my a attending a Baptist institution, (I was raised Episcopalian), she told me that in 1986 she was asked to be in her best friends wedding that was being held in a Baptist church. Only, the leaders of the church told the bride she could not get married there if she had a black person in her wedding. She changed venues. But, the issue remains that there is a dissimilation not only between Christians and the world, but Christians and other Christians.
According to the dictionary, persecution is to “subject (someone) to hostility and ill-treatment, especially because of their race or political or religious beliefs.” In what ways do we maltreat others because of our worldview?
Sometimes the same separation that was between the converted Christians who were looked down upon during the Crusades for not being “real Christians”, and the separation of Christians of different denominations and races of today is still prevalent. Perhaps they are not being murdered with swords, but maybe murdered with mouths and that is only sometimes.
This book made me look at my own heart, my own worldview. It gave me perspective and much needed information to reflect on how I approach the world with evangelism. I hope we all can be honest enough to see how we do these same things (on a different scale) in our everyday lives.