REVIEW: The Chronicles of the Christians - Part II
Part II: The Truth About the Crusades
Human Events Daily with Jack Posobiec have created a four part documentary about the story of Christians from their rise as a small group of persecuted believers, to the foundational system that created the entire Western Civilization and our modern world. Each episode deals with a different aspect of the tale of Christianity, bringing to light many stories that most modern people simply do not know about.
Virtually everyone today was robbed of their Christian patrimony that they are the rightful owners of. It was stolen from you intentionally because a people who do not know their history is a people that can be conquered easily. It does not matter if you are Catholic, Orthodox, Protestant, Jew, Muslim or unbeliever, you need to watch them. You need to know the history of the civilization that you live in.
In this season of Christmas, which runs until February 2nd & Candlemas (bet you didn’t know that), now is the perfect time to start watching these episodes. This post will discuss Part II: The Truth About the Crusades.
The Chronicles of the Christians - Part I: The Rise of Christianity
The Chronicles of the Christians - Part II: The Truth About the Crusades
The Chronicles of the Christians - Part III: The Shroud of Turin
The Chronicles of the Christians - Part IV: Notre Dame
As mentioned in the review of Part I: The Rise of Christianity, so much of what we have been taught was simply false, or such a gross oversimplification and twisting of history, that we are basically unlearned in our actual history. This is excessively true of the “history” you were taught about the Crusades.
One of the biggest revisions of history revolves around the Crusades. Christians today are embarrassed by the Crusades, and the weakest Christians are always willing to bend the knee to the mob and apologize for them. This needs to stop. Christians need to learn about the Crusades, be proud of the Crusades, and they need to defend the Crusades without hesitation. Islam started in the early 600’s, and went on a campaign of violence and aggression to conquer vast swaths of Christian lands. After four CENTURIES of Muslim aggression, Christians finally began to stand up and fight back against the false & violent religion of Islam.
Jack and Blake begin by laying out the situation around the Mediterranean in the 11th century. For centuries, Christians had been attacked, kidnapped, killed and conquered by Muslims. Once conquered, the Christians remaining were often forced to convert or die. The only reason that so many Catholic/Orthodox churches still remain in the Middle East today is because these churches had been standing for centuries before the Muslim conquests. Over time these churches would have been destroyed if not for the Crusades. The Crusades not only pushed back on Muslim aggression, it also sent a warning signaled to Muslims that destroying these churches would be a red line they could not afford to cross.
The discussion does a good job of talking about how the Crusades began and the nature of them. Many view them as just another conquering force as seen throughout history. But that is not correct. First, there was no single controlling authority for the Crusades. The Crusades were called for by Pope Urban II, but he was not in charge of the military force. It was essentially an armed pilgrimage to the Holy Land to free it from Muslim control and to free the Christians who lived there.
Second, the Crusades were not forced upon those who went and fought. It was voluntary and those who were going had to settle all debts before leaving. Military campaigns are not optional, which is why the Crusades were drastically different. Thirdly, the Crusaders, once they retook Jerusalem, did not mistreat the Muslims.
One good part of the video talks about warfare during this period. It was wildly different from warfare we see today. With modern machinery, we are able to deploy military forces within hours and days to a battlefront. During that time, it took weeks or months to travel long distances for such a fight. It took an incredible amount of skill and fortitude just to make the journey. Once they reach the Holy Lands, they then face the Muslim armies who are prepared for them. The Muslim armies have walled cities, defensive weapons and fortifications, plus a vast store of water and food. Sieges were very difficult to deploy and could take months. They were brutal for both sides.
Next there is a discussion about the entire worldview of those during that time and ours. Those Christians were willing to put everything at risk to promote the Christian faith and to free fellow Christians from being conquered. We today can’t even comprehend fighting over these things, and yet we are willing to fight for many other reasons. We are simply unwilling to fight for what is most important in life, which is Our Lord and His religion.
Jack and Blake discuss the outcome of the First Crusade, the further Crusades with their successes and mostly failures, and the success and glory shown when Christendom fought back Islam to a standstill that has lasted for many centuries. The conquests of Islam were basically stopped by several battles waged throughout Europe and the Holy Lands. Of course Jack brought up the glorious story of John III Sobieski and the Winged Hussars who permanently stopped Muslim invasion into eastern Europe. They also discuss the many centuries of Christians in Spain finally reconquering their home and expelling the Muslims.
This concludes Part II of the Christian Chronicles. If you have not watched it, please do take the time and watch it now. You need to know where you came from to even begin to understand where you are going.