Posted on 04/13/2020 2:12:53 PM PDT by babylon_times
Napoleon had also raised alarm throughout the Christian church all over Europe by his broad appeal to the followers of the dominant religions of the world. It has been believed by the church throughout the centuries that the antichrist would be all things to all people, and Napoleons use of religion for political purposes seemed to eerily resemble that. In his 1798 Egyptian campaign, Napoleon attempted to win over the Muslims throughout the middle east by announcing his faith in the religion of Islam:
People of Egypt! You will be told by our enemies that I am come to destroy your religion. Believe them not. Tell them that I am come to restore your rights, punish your usurpers, and revive the true worship of Mohammed. Tell them that I venerate, more than do the Mamelukes, God, his prophet, and the Koran....
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Tragic that a century later the most anchrist force of all — communism — completely took over Russia.
Tragic that a century later the most antichrist* force of all communism completely took over Russia.
Napoleon put an end to the French Revolutionaries who confiscate church property, burned monasteries and executed pastors by the hundreds.
Precursor to the Bolsheviks.
Yep, Napoleon restored the Church in France.
Yes, but this was purely political.
“Yes, but this was purely political.”
Not entirely. Like many national leaders Napoleon has complex views on religion. He used it as a tool, but was still drawn to it. Napoleon claimed, even to the end of his life, that the greatest day of his life was not when he won at Austerlitz or some other great battle but the day when he received First Holy Communion.
His police chief, Fouche, was literally a devil worshipper, and oversaw the murder of thousands in Lyon.
My great-great grandfather was at the battle of Austerlitz, and supposedly became a prisoner of war. He was about 12-13 years old at the time. This was in his obituary, written in German. He died in St. Joseph, Minnesota. My ggf was living in Luxembourg at the time of Napoleon, and as the French revolutionary Army passed through, it took quite of few of the young boys into their army. What function they did is unknown, but doing some research, I found an item on ‘boy soldiers’ during the Napoleonic wars. The English army had boy soldiers too. They carried water to the soldiers, carried the flag when the army was advancing [which was extremely dangerous], and possibly were messengers.
Needless to say, my ggf survived, returned home, married in January of 1815, and then when Napoleon escaped from Elba and formed a new army, they went through Luxembourg again and pulled all the young men into their army again. So, my ggf was also at Waterloo when Napoleon finally was defeated for good. If not for the obituary, my family would never have known this story.
You’ve got a point. It was definitely more nuanced than just being political. He also was attracted to Islam for a while.
Wow. That is incredible! I highly suggest visiting the Austerlitz Memorial. I visited a few years ago and was very impressed.
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