Bequest and Exemplification of Christian Worldview - Research Paper Example

? The crusades: The Bequest and Exemplification of Christian Worldview Introduction Crusades are a term used to describe a series of expeditions from west Europe to the east Mediterranean and the events which characterized those expeditions. The main aim of crusades was to recover the holy lands from Islam invasion so that it can be retained in Christian hands due to their high regards of Jerusalem. The crusaders other aim was to reduce the influence of the Ottoman empire through all means thereby the accomplices of crusades were granted the status of martyr in the event of their death during crusades. The first crusade is believed to be initiated by Pope Urban II in 1095AD when he learned that Muslims had taken Jerusalem considering that Jerusalem was the city of God. This was so much for the Pope to bear and he immediately began on his teachings on the significance of Jerusalem to Christianity and that Jerusalem was to be retaken at whatever cost. Christians received these teachings with a lot of enthusiasm and decided to follow the teachings of pope due high regards and respect they have for him. The people in the crusade were never recruited, its believed that they volunteered to fight for their land from the strong belief that whoever dies would become a messiah and were assured of heaven. Pope believed that Islam capture of Jerusalem would reduce the legitimacy of Christianity and that people may perceive Muslim to be stronger religion due to establishment in the city of God. There were a total of six crusades and none of them was successful except the first one.1 The first people to go to crusades were the Germans, French and Italians due to their strong belief in papacy during that period. The crusade had its negative consequences since most of the crusaders died of disease, hunger, thirst for water and some were killed during the fight for their proclaimed land.2 These crusades have influenced the behavior of people in both negative and positive ways and they are still of great essence in the modern day. Crusades are suspected and to have begun in 1905 when Pope urban II gathered the council of Clermont under his leadership to discuss the ways to promote Christianity. However, even though they are thought to have been inspired by their deep love for religion, it is highly believed that their actions are driven by avarice. The arrival of crusading armies in eastern shore of the Mediterranean became a remarkable event in the history of the Middle East and Europe and thus brought many significant changes. Poverty and misery prevalent is known to have made most of the population vulnerable to the activities of the crusaders especially in to those in church. These attractions together with their teachings changed the mindset of most people from that period to the present times. These motivations enabled the crusaders to further their actions, which were mostly motivated by worldly designs and not the spiritualty as suspected earlier. During the times of crusading, most of the places have witnessed to periods of peace and war consecutively and thus constant instability. An examination into the explanation and the cause of the crusade whether it signified the Christian worldview, and whether its legacy has been completely valuable to the western world. The effects of crusaders defined political and religious ways due to the nature they interacted with people in the society. Medicine was the heart of exchange during the early crusading years due to vulnerability of people during that time; therefore, it was hard to avoid the influence of crusades. The rulers managed hospitals and the capable doctors were dispatched by the same rules to their areas of interest to further their influence in those areas. Call for first crusade The Abbasid reign (750-1258) came to rule after a rebellion that led to the conquering of Syrian based Umayyad dynasty and these ended the Mongol execution of the last Abbasid.3 The Abbasids sought legitimacy and revolution leading to their subsequent rule and building a strong family dynasty. The Abbasids are believed to be part of the literal revolution that brought the Islamic community to its strong footing in the society. The Abbasids ruled in a more universally accepted ways and means thus unified the Sunni community thereby building a name for them. Due to the Abbasids strong and better rule, the Umayyad’s were exposed to be weak and unable to rule as the Arab elitist. This saw the Abbasids being given good titles like al-Qadir and al-Ma ’mum and others to show their close links to Allah and several traditional titles to honor them due to their good rule. The Abbasids also managed to integrate the Persian culture fully into their Abbasid government and thus extending their rule into the neighborhoods. The nature of Abbasid revolution was so unique due to incorporation of policies such as ethno linguistic and strong cultural backgrounds and this gave them a lot of legitimacy in the Arab background. They also advocated for the true cause of Islam in their system and even tried to extend this to the nearby society and thus extending his regional powers. The Abbasids ensured that they extended their influence and consolidated strong support within their community by removing potential rivals to avoid unnecessary enmity thus avoiding conflicts as possible. Those who opposed his rule and refused to be his friends were assassinated to reduce their influence in the Abbasid rule. He founded Baghdad as the new capital city of the present Iraq; moreover, he promoted scholars and increased efforts in translation of writings to strengthen their culture as soon to be strong in the Arab world. This strong culture led to the biggest Islamic consciousness and the result of the Islamic awareness across the region. This finally resulted into the building of Islamic theology and law and the foundations of for development of Islamic mysticism leading to the establishment of a vast empire. This establishment resulted to well structure education systems with options in medicine, chemistry and optics and thus Baghdad became a place for scholars in the region. In the 9th century, the abyssal began to face many challenges thus severely affecting their ability to rule effectively. This was worsened by the disastrous war between two brothers al Amin and al ma’mun over succession problems and this further weakened the effectiveness of the abyssal rule in the Arab world. The Abbasids began acquiring troops in form of slaves from the turkey empire and that signaled the beginning of the good days to come. The troops were established in the northern Bagdad but the troops would eventually turn against the Abbasids thus further weakening their already weak system. These finally led to the worst of Abbasids Empire since they started facing reduction in resources, increased revolt and uprising enmity kingdoms and thus they faced the greatest test of their time. The Abbasids faced a lot of challenges up to the seventh century when they began to gain some strength within to correct the mistakes they have done so far about to establish their once strong kingdom.4 In addition, another crusader was Abd al Latif who was a generally learned scholar with vast knowledge in grammar, tradition and medicine among others, He documented his autobiography that depicted a lot about temporary beliefs and philosophies and he incorporated his ideas with the works of Aristotle to enhance their credibility. He travelled extensively in the Arab worlds and its neighborhoods that made him acquire the patronage of al Qadi al Fadi when he finally set in Cairo where he introduced to the works of alexander, al Farabi and Themistius. He learned a lot from these people in return but the bad relationship with Themistius saw him being turned away back to Jerusalem where he was subsequently jailed and died two years later. These were some of the personality the led to strong Muslim nation that would later attack and conquer Jerusalem. It’s due to the attack of the Holy city of Jerusalem by the Muslims that crusades began in an attempt to reclaim Jerusalem.5 Crusades may be divided into several periods, the first crusade occurred around 1005-1204AD and it was proclaimed by Pope Urban II at the council of clement with double object of relieving the pressure of the Seljuk Turks. In the year 1071, the battle of Manzikert (1071AD) was aimed at freeing the holy sculpture from the Muslim control so that it comes into the control of the Christians. They establish several armies to go and complete the mission, which was of great importance to the crusader of that time. This led to the capture of Antioch in 1098AD and Jerusalem in 1099AD thus marking a great achievement to the crusaders during that time.6 Godfrey of Bouillon was appointed to be the first Latin ruler of Jerusalem and take care of the Christian mission based in Jerusalem in order to avoid the resurgence of Muslims in that area. He did his best to promote Christianity and at the same time protect the interest of the crusaders by setting Jerusalem to be a strong Christian base. Upon his death, his brother was made the king to continue pursuing the interest of his late brother and that of the crusaders. In the next 20 years of the first crusading, a series of Latin state were established along the east coast of the Mediterranean and this marked a great success for the crusaders who were willing to sacrifice anything for their task to be accomplished. The second crusade was revoked by Edessa in the year 1147AD and was preached by Bernard of Clairvaux and led by Louis VIII of France, Conrad III and the king of romans. It was really tough to the crusaders and in the year 1187AD, Saladin captured Jerusalem. The capture of Jerusalem by Saladin was motivated by the need to revenge after Chatillon a very cruel crusader murdered a number of Muslims in the cold blood just because they stepped into his turf. The sultan Saladin was so mad that even after capturing Jerusalem, he was not yet contented with his actions and he needed further revenge. Saladin was the sultan of Egypt through a coup when and he was so powerful that he concurred Damascus and Syria. Saladin was so successful because he led the Saracens to defeat the crusaders in the plain of Tiberius in the year 1187AD. With his revenge mission, he ensured that Charlton is slew from Jerusalem, and this made him very happy. Saladin then through his charming characteristics shamed the ruthless crusaders by ensuring that he delivered all his promises to the people. This made Islam to have a great influence in this region because most people were impressed with Saladin’s rule. Saladin’s wanted to extend his influence to Palestine but he was defeated by crusader Richard Lion Heart and Philip Augustus in a fierce battle. Richard Lion Heart was so strong that he defeated Saladin again in the battle to control the middle east and this made him a legend among the crusaders. Richard was so strong that it is argued that in one battle he slaughtered 400 men with his sword. Due to the defeat and pressure, Saladin yielded to the Europeans to construct port in Palestine coast. This led to Christian’s making pilgrims in the sacred shrines in Jerusalem and it was a great achievement for crusaders.7 Due to Saladin courage and respect, he became highly interested in him and that earned him a lot of respect. Christians were justified in their attacks to the Islam because they knew they were only taking back what belongs to them. They knew that through these crusades, attack of Europe by the Islams would be difficult that why they felt it was a worthy cause.8 Pope Pascal 2 who also had storing beliefs for Jerusalem like Pope Urban II initiated the second crusade. Unlike the first crusade, it was less successful due to the resistance they received in in their attempt to hold control of the holy city. King Lion Heart was the initiator of the third crusade after he raised monies and campaigned fiercely for it. He was not happy with the Saladin capture of King Guy of Hattim and he was determined to revenge, Emperor Fredrick Barbarossa and King Philipp II led this crusade. Fredrick drowned, Philip left, and this was a major setback for King Richard who was determined to revenge and take control of their holy land. Unlike other crusades, men only fought this crusade as women were forbidden from taking part. On his way, King Richard was capture and fined twice the price of the crusade an even which almost lead to the bankruptcy of England and its downfall. Due to England worst experience in the third crusade, they feared taking chances in the fourth crusade. Fourth crusade was poorly planned because most countries were shying away due to bad experiences coupled with little success from the past attempts. Venice took control of the fourth crusade and it tried so much to rally other countries behind her but they were very reluctant. The amount of money needed for the execution of the fourth crusade could not be raised thus forming a major setback for this crusade. Since England was reluctant to take part in this crusade, the number of men needed in the fight for this crusade could not be realized when they only managed to get a third of the men. This was another great setback, which predicated limited chances for this crusade in their attempts to control the holy city of Jerusalem. According to Smith, crusades were a holy war with a due cause and were not driven by avarice as stated by some scholars9. Smith’s admits that defining crusade is hard since its strange that Christians can justify war in and kill their opponents in the name of defending Christianity. Smith argues that the proof of resurrection and salvation was the driving force behind these Christians who believed that this kind of unethical killing is justified under Christianity. Smith believes that jihad came after crusades and that crusades may be the reason of Islam formation of jihads to counteract the crusades. The state of Israel resulted due to the impact of the European crusaders in their attempt to end Arab effect in the Middle East. This is from the belief that a purified Islam would lead to world’s dominion, which according to crusaders is very dangerous state of affairs. According to smith, this type of religious violence, both medieval and modern may lead to secular ideology, which is not good for Christianity. Smith admits that crusading isn’t really a phenomenon; it’s a phenomena since the medieval Christians didn’t have a word for their strange activity until after the first crusade therefore it was quite strange. This is evidence from the fact that the crusaders used many words and phrases to describe what was going on therefore it was a strange setting especially for professed Christians. The organizations of the first crusade was different with that of the second crusade to and only killing was constant to mean that they crusaders themselves might have missed some very important clue of what they were undertaking. The only constant thing even though strange is the massive killing of the non-Christians in the name of reclaiming the Christian land. The actions of crusaders might have led to the Arab nationalist taking 19th century imperialism literally because of their earlier experience of medieval ancestors. Smith also argues that crusades might have led to the formation of reformed papacy that instilled aristocracy in the system of the church. The Arab resentment of the west could be legitimate due to the experiences of the cruelty of the crusaders may still be lingering into their minds to date. The Arab nationalist believes that they are in their lands legitimately therefore; they cannot understand the cruel behavior they received from the west in the name of Christianity.10 The crusades gave rise to trade between the west and the Arab world, this is because new roots were established that never existed before and traders later too advantage of these roots to make a fortune for themselves but doing business which never existed before. The demand for various goods and services during war and after the war led to many businesses like ships, which were used during crusading battles. Crusades led to loss of lives between Christians in their attempt to capture Jerusalem killed many Muslims and Muslims also killed many Christians in their attempts to defend themselves and revenge. This was because of senseless wars and violence, which was uncalled for instead of engaging each other in talks. Some kings became great during crusades for their courageous fight while other were weakened due to their poor performances. The crusades is believed to have brought England out of dark ages into prominence since before the time of crusade England was barely known for any significant thing. The crusade also led to the undermining of church morals authority due to the slaughter of the Muslims senselessly. It is believed that these were one of the reasons Protestants come up to challenge the rational of Roman Catholic Church and the subsequent formation of many churches across the globe. Several attempts by Christians to execute the Muslims led to a lot of mistrust between the two religions and it’s believed to be the driving force behind the formation of jihad. Crusades led to an increase in the value of education in Europe due to several things fighter learned in the foreign lands. The people who came with a lot of knowledge used this knowledge to teach other hence increased value of intellectualism and the start of renaissance.11 The crusades led to the change in the shift in the way people view Christianity from Eurocentric to global phenomenon. This was after the evidence that Christianity has the potential determining whether the global community can stay in peace or at war. The crusade period of a transformational period where there was a paradigm shift in the way churches are managed and the type of gospel preached. These crusades led greatly to the transformation of the Catholic Church, which saw many changes within its institution. People learn after mistakes and the mistake the religious leaders did in senseless murders of their fellow human beings was the turning point for Christians to respect humanity as a whole. This led to new approach by Christians to welcome their enemies by dialogue and not by forcefully evictions by embracing spiritual reforms.12 The crusades saw a rise in church independence whereby churches began making their own choices not with the political institutions. This enabled Christianity to become a global phenomenon unlike the past where it was only concentrated in Europe. Christian churches began to establish in Middle East and African using a civilized approach and not war. The twentieth century marked the era of drastic change in the orthodox traditions to both catholic and protestant churches and it extended to the Muslim world. According to Gonzales, the earlier religion was more of a political movement and rarely represented a true face of religion and it was corrupt. This is evident when he argues that the churches started facing resistance form reformist like Martin Luther, John Calvin and Ulrich to suggest that there was a problem in the way it was run and managed. Due to tremendous reforms, which have been witnessed in our churches to this day, it is now evident that the church learned from its mistakes that war, is not the best way to deal with non-Christians.13 Conclusion Christian’s presence and influence was first witnessed through the series of crusades. Even though it is considered a mistake by some theological and history scholars, some believe that the Christians were justified in acting the way they did. This is because it is believed that it is due to this crusades that made a turning point in the management and influence in Christianity especially to the west. The several crusades fought by Christians in their attempt to reclaim Jerusalem will still be a matter of worldview concern due to its strangeness. Religious leaders should take stern caution before embarking on any mission that may paint a negative picture of their institutions. My view is that without crusades, the world could have been more peaceful and more united and uprisings like jihad would not have been witnessed. Bibliography Gonzalez, Justo L. The Story of Christianity, Vol. 1: The Early Church to the Dawn of the Reformation. New York: HarperOne 2010. Joseph W. Meri. Medieval Islamic Civilization: An encyclopedia. London: Routledge 2006 Powell, James M. Rereading the Crusades.The International History Review Vol. 17, No. 4 (Nov., 1995), pp. 663-669. Riley-Smith, Jonathan. Crusades, Christianity and Islam. New York: Columbia University Press. 2011. Scham, Sandra. “Legacy of the Crusades”. Archaeology Magazine http://archive.archaeology.org/0209/abstracts/crusades.html (accessed 28 July 2013) Tyrman, Christopher. Fighting for Christendom. Oxford: Oxford University Press. 2005. Read More