There have been some heated conversations about how some in the Reformed Christian community have glorified the crusades and are advocating for modern crusades against what they believe are muslim invaders of Europe and to some extent, the United States. This is an extension of the Christian Nationalism debate and is driven by a number of factors including national identity and how some Christian Nationalists see Christendom as being under attack by modern invaders of traditional Christian lands. Others see it as a conflict involving political and theological authority. The idea that religious leaders could call for and even lead military campaigns is rooted in the history of the crusades. This debate is also fueled by what many see as the moral decline of the West and the need for righteous legislation regarding abortion, same-sex marriage, public prayer, the boundaries of free speech, and even administering a truly Christian kingdom by a “Christian prince” who has the ability to wage spiritual warfare in the name of Christ. Those who oppose such, accuse these of historical revisionism or, at a minimum, ignorance of history. But in this heated political season where stakes are high and candidates on both sides are telling us that America will not survive if their side doesn’t win, tensions are running extremely high. This has led to strange unions and alliances of Christian Nationalists, Right-wing political commentators, religious extremists, and political strategists who are looking to impact the election and the culture. So where do I stand in all this? I can appreciate the desire to have a Christian nation and I believe we should be salt and light in this world. It is not wrong to desire righteousness. But we are not allowed to act “unrighteously” in order to accomplish our goals. This is not a case of the ends justifying the means. We must remember who we are and whose we are. We are to be guided by scripture alone for all matters of faith and practice. To be blunt, using the crusades as a battle cry or as a positive example of what is needed today is nothing less than either ignorance of history or historical revisionism. For this reason, I want to begin a series where we talk about the crusades. We will talk about the good, bad, and especially the ugly. And there is a lot of it. If you are a fan of history, you will love this series. If you hate history, I argue it is because you never had a good history teacher. I want to share with you many important things that you need to know and that will hopefully persuade you to not glorify the crusades or look to them as something that needs to be repeated or used as a pattern for any future movement. So pause this video, pop some popcorn, kick your shoes off, flop down in the recliner, and let’s go back in time to the First Crusade lasting from 1095-1099 AD. And whatever you think the crusades were about, I bet you are going to be shocked at what you learn in this series.
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