Christian Jihad, written by Ergun and Emir Caner, brings focus to a subject that many post-modern Christians turn away from. Within the book, the Caner’s take the reader through a dark history of the Christian church and take a deeper look at the church’s stance on violence. Drawing from historical documents, Christian Jihad paints a picture of the Crusades and the church that killed “in the name of Christ.”
The book begins by addressing the pacifistic views held by the early church in comparison to modern pacifist ideologies . These views set forth a foundation for the church on how they should address conflicts of the world. In accordance with these views, the early Christians felt that their lives should be solely devoted to the preparation for the Lord’s return and felt that the work of the kingdom left no room for their participation in earthly warfare. Even when faced with heavy persecution, these Christians would have nothing to do with violence. Believing that killing was contradictory to the Lord’s command to love unconditionally, the early church applied this view to their interactions and relationships with all people in all circumstances.
Moving forward in history, the book addresses a dark period when the aforementioned pacifism diminished and the Christian church would take the offense. Slowly, the Christians became involved in the military; engaging the wars that they once spoke against. This shift occurred around A.D. 173-175. Thus, the gradual softening of the church’s position had begun and history shows how the church and the state began coinciding with one another. Christian military involvement soon became commonplace and the “fusion” of church and state grew stronger. The Caner’s craft the word “Christian Jihad” to explain how this merging led to the belief that Christianity could accomplish God’s will through warfare.
Examining one of the lowest moments in Christian history, the Caner’s go on to point out painful truths about the murder and vicious pillages of the Christian church. The pacifism and love shown by the early church had been dismissed. The “gospel message” was found at the end of a sword. These Crusades prove to the church that “Christendom” can easily sway the wrong way when meshed with a world of sin. The Caner’s stress this point to challenge the reader to examine the mistakes of the past and prepare for the future.
This can not happen again.