I know what Why don't we just declare the worlds national boundaries be set at the largest expansion of the old Persian war. Yeah that should settle all the following conflicts including the present looming one. It would also protect the claims of the so called native americans. Jeez.
The history of the Crusades would not be of much concern today in a rational world. However, we have a president who detests the country he purports to lead and who found it expedient to insult Christians by citing the Crusades as a blemish on history that somehow makes us morally equivalent to current day islamist terrorists. Even a cursory examination of the history of the Crusades shows what an imbecilic comparison he made.
Talk about not being able to learn anything. Obama is stupid and there are people who are even dumber who voted for him again after his first disastrous 4 years. AND these same stupid people will vote for Hillary. Low IQ obviously.
Unlike the intellectually-superior Bush and the geniuses who voted for him twice. And those same geniuses would vote for yet another one.
Gore and Kerry vs Bush .... those were choices between turds or shit sandwiches. But, who knew Bush would sell us out so badly at the time. So it was really Bush vs Kerry. After seeing that Obama and Kerry are trying to arm Iran with Nukes... Bush looks better and better. But agreed vote for a Bush or Clinton once shame on them vote for them 3 times... shame on us.
From Calvin to the Caliphate: http://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/143326/john-m-owen-iv/from-calvin-to-the-caliphate
Jem: That was the excuse used by the Catholic Church to commit human rights violations, except Muslims were not their only targets. The Catholic Church also targeted Jews, non-Christians, and even other Christians who rejected false religious dogma that the Catholic Church was trying to force on everybody else. This is confirmed by numerous sources, including the following: The Crusades The Crusades were a series of military campaigns first inaugurated and sanctioned by the papacy that were undertaken between the eleventh and thirteenth centuries. Originally, the Crusades were Christian Holy Wars to recapture Jerusalem and the Holy Land from the Muslims, then to defend Christian-held Jerusalem, but some were directed against other targets, such as the Albigensian Crusade against the Cathars of southern France, the Fourth Crusade which conquered Orthodox Christian Constantinople, and Crusades targeting Jews, non-conformist Christians, and un-Christianized populations living in Europe. You will find the above at paragraph 1 when you click the following weblink: http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/The_Crusades Alter2Ego ________________ "That people may know that you, whose name is JEHOVAH, you alone are the Most High over all the earth." ~ Psalms 83:18
Jem: Sorry to burst your bubble, but Catholic Christians in the 11th century were indeed fanatics. And paranoia had nothing to do with it. It was all about greed for wealth and power. The Catholic Church summarily seized the territory (and wealth) of those it persecuted. And then there was that good old "get-out-of-hell-free" card for those who took part in the "holy" military campaigns--the fighting men on the side of the Catholic Church who were promised that if they did their duty (kill off the Jews, Muslims, and heretics) they could commit any crimes thereafter--for the remainder of their lives--and not worry about winding up in Christendom's version of Dante's fictional hell. This is confirmed by the following source: "Crusades and Crusaders The Church regarded crusaders as military pilgrims. They took vows and were rewarded with privileges of protection for their property at home. Any legal proceedings against them were suspended. Another major inducement was the offer of indulgences for the remission of sin. Knights were especially attracted by what were effectively Get-Out-Of-Hell-Free cards allowing them to commit any sins throughout the rest of their lives without incurring liability in this or the next world." You will find the above at paragraph 5 when you click the following weblink: http://www.medievalwarfare.info/crusades.htm Even those that started off supporting the Catholic Crusades had to duck for cover when the fanatics in the Catholic Church decided to kill off whomever they decided was a "heretic" or a pagan, in addition to killing off Muslims and Jews. Needless to say, the Catholic killers could expect a reward in paradise--which is the same sick mentality that present-day Muslim jihadists have. This is confirmed by the same source I quoted earlier. You will find the following in the last part of paragraph 1 when you click the following weblink: http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/The_Crusades "The Crusades Initially, the Crusades had the blessing of both the Western (Catholic) Church under the Pope and of the Eastern Orthodox Church under the Byzantine Emperor. However, the Emperors withdrew their support as their own subjects became targets of Crusading efforts to root out what they saw as Christian heresy or paganism. Killing Muslims, Jews, or heretics was regarded as an act of merit, rewarded by paradise, and forced conversion was also widespread, although many chose death to renunciation of faith." The irony is that the Catholics were as pagan as those they were intent on killing off. Alter2Ego ________________ "That people may know that you, whose name is JEHOVAH, you alone are the Most High over all the earth." ~ Psalms 83:18