Christian Jihad acts as a splash of cold water in the face of a historically illiterate society. The book recalls to life over a thousand year period which has almost been forgotten in the pages of time. The word crusade is recognized as a familiar term but its horrors and caprice have been diluted along with the general facts and truth of what took place. In Christian Jihad, Ergun and Emir Caner gave a detailed account of the atrocities in which both the Christian and Muslim worlds took part; all having believed themselves to have been fighting a holy war. The evaluation of these occurrences testifies to the evil mankind is capable of when he strays from the Word and rests instead on his own understanding.
The first issue the Caner brothers addressed is the pacifistic stand taken by the Early Church. The Churches were against participating in violence for the reason that they themselves for many years had been the recipients of such pain and bloodshed.
With the shifting of times, there also came a shifting of motive. Beginning with the first persecution under Nero in the year 67 AD, most Christians vehemently opposed conflict; though this stance was taken by the majority, there persisted a small vein of believers who were not against Christian involvement in the military. As time progressed into the third and fourth centuries, changes took place in which some Christians were allowed to serve under strict conditions. It is stated by the authors that [1]“the ascension of Constantine in 324 marks the point of transition in the teaching of the church regarding warfare.” The book addresses the tumult of conflicts and decisions the Christians were facing which accompanied this new found freedom. After enduring centuries of persecution, hatred and scorn, the Church was now able to participate in every realm of society. Once Constantine established Christianity as the official Roman religion, the next six hundred years [2]“served as a bridge in between the Church persecuted (30-324) and the Church powerful and political (1095-1300).” Christian Jihad covers this tragic history.
In response to the circumstances of the Christian Church, Augustine of Hippo attempted to formulate a just war criteria. Thereby he gave believers a guide by which to measure and justify their involvement in military. The Caners wrote that [3]“If Pope Urban had not abandoned the Just War thesis, perhaps the Crusades would not be as dark a spot on the map of Christian history.” Unfortunately, the Caners go on to paint a different picture as this dark history is revealed.
The first major war between the Christian forces and Islam was the battle of Tours in 732. Charlemagne came on the scene in 768 and was responsible for the marriage of Church and State. The consequences of such an arrangement were quickly unveiled as soon as the views of Emperor and Pope clashed. One would have to bow to the other. In 1084, Guibert of Ravenna was named Pope and consequently subjugated himself to the king.
The Church and State took on opposite roles in 1088, when Pope Urban II came to the throne. From the beginning of his reign, his independence of providence made crooked the dark paths he chose to follow. The Caner brothers explained [4]“Urban’s method of rescuing the church at Rome was simple. He proclaimed a larger cause that would stir the hearts of all – the recapture of the Holy Land of Jerusalem.” This motive started a fire in the hearts of the Christian military which soon spread into a conflagration of twisted theology and self-serving revenge.
In Christian Jihad, the Caners evaluated the tragic battles which ensued after the spring of vengeance erupted into a blood bath of martyrs both Christian and Islamic. After a detailed account of the crusades, Ergun and Emer Caner wrote of the long-lasting effects that the period had on later generations and how today society is still tainted by its influence.
Christian Jihad acts as a beacon warning this present generation of the eminent consequences which prevail when a society kills God. The Caners offer an imperishable gift by allowing people the opportunity to relive history before it is lost forever. Humans have long been slipping into amnesia which threatens man to repeat his past mistakes. The historical account of the Crusades is much closer to America than people would believe. It all began with a shift in purpose. The Post-Modern worldview has long taken its eyes off of Jesus. All that has followed is an echo of historical patterns. For when a nation forgets God, it is doomed to suffer unfathomable consequences in His absence.