Considering the Crusades in the Context of the Current Conflict with Radical Islamists

Archdiocese of Washington ^ | 02-16-15 | Msgr. Charles Pope

[RobbyS]

I take it you are against self-defense?

[RobbyS]

Gnosticism is a heresy that is in the bloodstream of every Christian.

[redleghunter]

Please read my posts. I did not make such a statement.

[Alamo-Girl]

Thanks for the ping!

[Mrs. Don-o]

->> egged on by the presence of unfettered islam - nearly brought Christianity down<<

I know but little about the Abigensian Crusade, but the little I know sure looks like a protracted series on crimes and aggressions on the part of Simon de Montfort et al.

So educate me (I know I’m ignorant) — was there a Muslim connection? Really?

[x_plus_one]

In the 8th century, southern France was a separate country known as Occitania. It was in play for hundreds of years between Franks, moslems and the local gentry.

Recent research by Toulouse historian Sydney Forado shows that it was in fact the battle of Toulouse in 721, much more than the battle of Poitiers - sometimes called the battle of Tours - 11 years later, which prevented further, and possibly more permanent, Muslim gains in southern France. Just as significantly, Eudes's victory at Toulouse resulted in a number of Islamo-Christian political alliances in southwestern France, initiating those first crucial cultural and commercial exchanges between Muslim Spain on the one hand and Languedoc, Gascony, southern Aquitaine, the Pyrenees, Septimania and Provence on the other.

https://www.saudiaramcoworld.com/issue/199302/the.arabs.in.occitania.htm

Some claim protestant ideas are actually derived from Catharism - http://www.cathar.info/

Troubador culture was the high point of Le Languedoc. Their influence was profound and far-reaching, giving rise to the development of virtually all modern western literature other than religious "legends".http://www.languedoc-france.info/1904_troubadours.htm

Origins of Cathar heresy are still unknown.- http://www.cathar.info/cathar_origins.htm

The big picture is that the Christian church was competing with many ideologies and nearly died (according to the Catholic online histories and they would know).

Waldensian Germans - Italian Cathars and more were taking over.

Today, the Orthodox Church in Moscow sees itself as the inheritor of the mantle of Christianity. They see western protestants as heretics and the Roman church as slackers. Orthodox priests are in every army unit. If Rome and western cities get nuked, the orthodox establishment will move in. They have no problem calling a spade a spade and targeting western heretics for conversion.

[Mrs. Don-o]

Thank you.

[NorthMountain]

“Recall how many died in the 20th century for secular ideological reasons.” English historian Paul Johnson, in his book Modern Times, places the number at 1oo million.

The late Prof. R. J. Rummel made a career of studying and documenting government mass murder.

[dsc]

“It is written somewhere that there is nothing new under the sun. It escapes my mind right now where I read that.”

Ecclesiastes 1:10.

[redleghunter]

Some claim protestant ideas are actually derived from Catharism - http://www.cathar.info/

Seems from the linked source the answer is no. Cathars were dualists. There are no Protestant or Evangelical churches which teach such. Why? Because the Scriptures do not teach dualism.

Claims the Cathars somehow espoused the same theology as the early reformers is as believable as the Vatican creating Islam.

[RobbyS]

The religious wars in , including the wars between Cathars and Catholics, were like the wars in Spain, also civil wars, Each side claimed to be acting in self-defense, which was true in some cases but not in others. The people of south France did not forget what happened, and this resentment against the Church was one reason why Calvinism took such hold in the region, why despite a policy of tolerance after Henry IV came to the throne, peace never came, and the explosion of the Huguenots did not end the matter,

[redleghunter]

A most bloody history. Surprising the Muzzies didn’t roll us all up.

[RobbyS]

They came close several times. The attacks on Vienna in the 1520s by Sulieman came close to opening the door to Germany and Italy. The attack at Lepanto and Malta in 1571 were equally dangerous. The last assault was on Vienna in 1683, but this time, the Hapsburgs counter-attacked and over the next 30 years drove the Turks out of Hungary. In Prinz Eugen, the Austrians had a commander with the ability of a Napoleon. But the Austrian “crusade” eventually ran out of steam. In the next century, the Russians took up the land war and their drive on Constantinople, which they finally achieved in 1878, brought them into collision with the Hapsburgs and the English. All along, European division kept the Continent in danger. The papacy was the unifying force, but the crusader tax became a matter of contention. Germany hated sending money to Rome, and all of that got mixed up with the indulgences controversy and resistance to Hapsburg rule in Germany, of which Luther was cheerleader. A dangerous situation. The Ottoman Empire was the greatest military power in Europe, in size , population, and wealth a true successor of the old Roman Empire. for moire the 250 years.