Posted on 11/26/2001 9:07:31 PM PST by ouroboros
Five days after declaring war on terrorism, the president urged Americans to be patient: "This crusade ... is going to take awhile." Immediately, the cry arose, "How could he be so cruelly insensitive!"
Bush was scourged and admonished that he had insulted the Islamic world. Did he not know the Crusades were wars of criminal Christian aggression marked by pillage and massacre? The president apologized, and no one has since embraced the dreaded term.
At Georgetown, Bill Clinton suggested Sept. 11 may even be payback. "Those of us who come from various European lineages are not blameless," said the paragon of the Woodstock generation. "In the First Crusade, when the Christian soldiers took Jerusalem, they first burned a synagogue with 300 Jews in it, and proceeded to kill every woman and child who was Muslim on the temple mount. The contemporaneous descriptions of the event describe soldiers walking on the temple mount, a holy place to Christians, with blood running up to their knees. I can tell you that story is still being told today in the Middle East, and we are still paying for it."
But why Americans, whose first president was a Mason who did not take office until 1789, should be slaughtered in 2001 because of a crusade preached by a pope in 1095, Clinton left unexplained.
A little history. In 600 A.D., the Mediterranean basin was largely Christian. But within a century of the death of Mohammed in 632, armies of Islam had conquered Syria and Palestine, swept over North Africa, and overrun Spain, only to be defeated at Poitiers by Charles Martel. Had they triumphed, Christianity might have died in Europe, as it would in the cities of Augustine and Athanasius.
"The common assumption that the Crusades were an act of unprovoked Christian aggression" is false, writes Warren Carroll, the historian of Christendom. Before 1095, "all the aggression had been Muslim. The Muslims were the original and continuing attackers and conquerors of Christian territory." Only after centuries living in fear of the hosts of Islam did Urban II preach the First Crusade.
The goal that animated the Crusaders was Jerusalem. "Those who deride this as a Christian objective have lived too long in books and under lamps," writes Carroll. "Real men and women, as distinct from scholarly abstractions, have homes which they love. Jesus Christ was a real man. He had a home. He loved it. His followers [and] worshipers who came after Him loved the land and places He had loved and trod, simply because He had loved and trodden them. Utterly convinced that He is God, they could not believe it right that any people not recognizing Him as God should rule His homeland."
A majority in Palestine was probably still Christian in 1095, writes Carroll, "They had ... as much right to their land as the Muslim conquerors." If Mecca were overrun by heathen armies, would not Muslim peoples be justified in launching a "jihad" to liberate their holy city? Would they apologize or be ashamed of having done so?
The Crusader armies, led by Godfrey of Bouillon and Raymond of Toulouse, captured Jerusalem in 1099, where a massacre did occur. But that same evil befell the knights, and their wives and children, when the last Crusader castle, Acre, fell to the Mameluks in 1291. Have we heard any apologies for the slaughter at Acre?
Offered the title King of Jerusalem, Raymond and Godfrey both refused to wear a crown of gold in the city where Christ had worn a crown of thorns. It was an age of faith. The First Crusade, writes Carroll, was "a just war conducted for a deeply spiritual purpose, though often seriously flawed in its execution." As was World War II.
After that Good War in which British Air Marshal "Bomber" Harris incinerated thousands of refugee women and children in Dresden, Dwight Eisenhower titled his memoir "Crusade in Europe." If he was not ashamed of the term, why are we?
Because this generation has been indoctrinated in a pack of lies by the moral sappers of the 1960s nesting in our schools. To them, Western Civilization is an abomination. The greatest explorers, like Columbus, are genocidal racists. Our founding fathers were slave-owning hypocrites. The soldier-statesmen of Western empires were brutal imperialists. Now, we must also be ashamed of crusades launched to recapture, in the name of our Lord, the Holy Land seized from Christendom by the armies of Islam.
The great enemies of the West today are its over-privileged children who are undermining this greatest civilization the world has ever seen. If we should be ashamed of anything, it is for having twice elected one of them as president. Bill Clinton could not carry the sandals, let alone the sword, of Godfrey of Bouillon.
Patrick J. Buchanan was twice a candidate for the Republican presidential nomination and the Reform Party’s candidate in 2000. Now a commentator and columnist, he served three presidents in the White House, was a founding panelist of three national televison shows, and is the author of six books. His current position is chairman of The American Cause. His newest book, "Death of the West," will be published in January.
Go and read their own words and you will find, for the most part, a group of very religious people.
redrock
"It is impossible to rightly govern the world without God and the Bible." -
George Washington, 1752, personal prayer book
"Religion is the basis and Foundation of Government." -
James Madison, June 20, 1785
"Providence has given to our people the choice of their rulers, and it is the duty, as well as the privilege and interest of our Christian nation to select and prefer Christians for their rulers. "-
John Jay, October 12, 1816
"The highest glory of the American Revolution was this; it connected in one indissoluble bond the principles of civil government with the principles of Christianity." -
John Quincy Adams, July 4, 1821
Could it be, dare I suggest, that those long dead Christian warriors were communicants in the dreaded form of Christianity known as "Roman Catholicism"?
Ah yes. Men (and women) who sprang from warrior stock. Men who could get it up---a sword I mean, of course.
Now let's see--how many occupants of Jericho died when Joshua and his cohorts attacked? And, of course, there were all those First Born Egyptian children. Oh, but wait. that was all God's doing--of course.
And while I'm at it, what about the ritual denunciation of the "Inquisition"? Does anybody in this, the best of all possible worlds, remember WHAT that was all about? Now it's just a curse word in the mouths of good little globalist entrepeneurs--like Clinton and his successor--Everything-Clinton-Wanted-And-Even-More-Than-He-Dared-Hope-For-Because-I-Sleep-With-My-Wife Bush.
(In my opinion, Christendom is in desperate need of an Inquisition right now. What are the chances tha Il Papa will institute one, I wonder? It will be hard to fit it into his busy schedule of Public Apologies. I understand he'll be issuing an apology next week for the artistic heritage of Catholocism--all those buxom babes peeking out from behind all those broad-chested men interferes with proper humility in the presence of Elohim/Yahweh/Allah, you know.)
Could it be, Mr. Buchanan, that our beloved America is not quite the Nation we imagined it to be? That when push comes to shove, the material needs of the Movers and Shakers are better served by a stern and faceless God, unfettered by Mothers and Sons and all that pagan folderol? Better served by a compliant, submissive People who bow to their inevitable fate? People who need a religionized legal system rather than a messy, confusing, melancholy, terrrifying tradition of thinking thoughts about stuff from the past and stuff in the future.
That sort of thing makes individuals uppity--makes them think they're somebody--makes them think they deserve more than three dollars a day in wages.
Oh well. Maybe it's simply the Just Punishment for that little trip over into Constantinople to sack and pillage--and rape, I suppose. After all these centuries maybe Orthodoxy is about to step back into the center ring as the Defender Of the Faith. If the US government doesn't humanitarianize all of them first...
You have a point here, but I think your conclusioin is wrong. Pat Buchanan has become THE message here, the message that most Americans reject. Much like Andrew Sullivan, Pat is unable to get Americans to hear his views because HE is in the way.
Like it or not, Pat Buchanan is the biggest obstacle to Pat Buchanan's objectives.
"In every country and every age, the priest has been hostile to liberty. He is always in alliance with the despot ... they have perverted the purest religion ever preached to man into mystery and jargon, unintelligible to all mankind, and therefore the safer engine for their purpose."
--- Thomas Jefferson, to Horatio Spafford, March 17, 1814
"Shake off all the fears of servile prejudices, under which weak minds are servilely crouched. Fix reason firmly in her seat, and call on her tribunal for every fact, every opinion. Question with boldness even the existence of a God; because, if there be one, he must more approve of the homage of reason than that of blindfolded fear."
--- Thomas Jefferson, letter to Peter Carr, Aug. 10, 1787
To compel a man to furnish contributions of money for the propagation of opinions which he disbelieves and abhors, is sinful and tyrannical.
--Thomas Jefferson, Bill for Establishing Religious Liberty in Virginia 1779
Our civil rights have no dependance on our religious opinions, any more than our opinions in physics or geometry
--Thomas Jefferson, Bill for Establishing Religious Liberty in Virginia 1779
"It is too late in the day for men of sincerity to pretend they believe in the Platonic mysticisms that three are one, and one is three; and yet that the one is not three, and the three are not one. But this constitutes the craft, the power and the profit of the priests."
--- Thomas Jefferson to John Adams, 1803
"But a short time elapsed after the death of the great reformer of the Jewish religion, before his principles were departed from by those who professed to be his special servants, and perverted into an engine for enslaving mankind, and aggrandizing their oppressors in Church and State."
--- Thomas Jefferson to S. Kercheval, 1810
"History, I believe, furnishes no example of a priest-ridden people maintaining a free civil government. This marks the lowest grade of ignorance, of which their political as well as religious leaders will always avail themselves for their own purpose."
--- Thomas Jefferson to Baron von Humboldt, 1813
"On the dogmas of religion, as distinguished from moral principles, all mankind, from the beginning of the world to this day, have been quarreling, fighting, burning and torturing one another, for abstractions unintelligible to themselves and to all others, and absolutely beyond the comprehension of the human mind."
--- Thomas Jefferson to Carey, 1816
"The truth is, that the greatest enemies of the doctrine of Jesus are those, calling themselves the expositors of them, who have perverted them to the structure of a system of fancy, absolutely incomprehensible, and without any foundation in his genuine words. And the day will come, when the mystical generation of Jesus, by the Supreme Being as his father, in the womb of a virgin, will be classed with the fable of the generation of Minerva in the brain of Jupiter."
--- Thomas Jefferson to John Adams, Apr. 11, 1823
"What influence, in fact, have ecclesiastical establishments had on society? In some instances they have been seen to erect a spiritual tyranny on the ruins of the civil authority; on many instances they have been seen upholding the thrones of political tyranny; in no instance have they been the guardians of the liberties of the people. Rulers who wish to subvert the public liberty may have found an established clergy convenient auxiliaries. A just government, instituted to secure and perpetuate it, needs them not."
--- James Madison, "A Memorial and Remonstrance", 1785
"Experience witnesseth that ecclesiastical establishments, instead of maintaining the purity and efficacy of religion, have had a contrary operation. During almost fifteen centuries has the legal establishment of Christianity been on trial. What has been its fruits? More or less, in all places, pride and indolence in the clergy; ignorance and servility in the laity; in both, superstition, bigotry and persecution."
--- James Madison, "A Memorial and Remonstrance", 1785
"As I understand the Christian religion, it was, and is, a revelation. But how has it happened that millions of fables, tales, legends, have been blended with both Jewish and Christian revelation that have made them the most bloody religion that ever existed?"
--- John Adams, letter to F.A. Van der Kamp, Dec. 27, 1816
"I almost shudder at the thought of alluding to the most fatal example of the abuses of grief which the history of mankind has preserved--the Cross. Consider what calamities that engine of grief has produced!"
--- John Adams, letter to Thomas Jefferson
"What havoc has been made of books through every century of the Christian era? Where are fifty gospels, condemned as spurious by the bull of Pope Gelasius? Where are the forty wagon-loads of Hebrew manuscripts burned in France, by order of another pope, because suspected of heresy? Remember the 'index expurgatorius', the inquisition, the stake, the axe, the halter and the guillotine."
--- John Adams, letter to John Taylor
"The priesthood have, in all ancient nations, nearly monopolized learning. And ever since the Reformation, when or where has existed a Protestant or dissenting sect who would tolerate A FREE INQUIRY? The blackest billingsgate, the most ungentlemanly insolence, the most yahooish brutality, is patiently endured, countenanced, propagated, and applauded. But touch a solemn truth in collision with a dogma of a sect, though capable of the clearest proof, and you will find you have disturbed a nest, and the hornets will swarm about your eyes and hand, and fly into your face and eyes."
--- John Adams, letter to John Taylor
. In fact, it is comfortable to see the standard of reason at length erected, after so many ages, during which the human mind has been held in vassalage by kings, priests, and nobles; and it is honorable for us, to have produced the first legislature who had the courage to declare, that the reason of man may be trusted with the formation of his own opinions....
--Thomas Jefferson, letter to James Madison from Paris, Dec. 16, 1786.
Who does not see that the same authority which can establish Christianity in exclusion of all other religions may establish, with the same ease, any particular sect of Christians in exclusion of all other sects? That the same authority which can force a citizen to contribute threepence only of his property for the support of any one establishment may force him to conform to any other establishment in all cases whatsoever?
--James Madison, "A Memorial and Remonstrance,"
The law has the further advantage of having been the result of a formal appeal to the sense of the Community and a deliberate sanction of a vast majority, comprizing [sic] every sect of Christians in the State. This act is a true standard of Religious liberty; its principle the great barrier agst [against] usurpations on the rights of conscience. As long as it is respected & no longer, these will be safe. Every provision for them short of this principle, will be found to leave crevices, at least thro' which bigotry may introduce persecution; a monster, that feeding & thriving on its own venom, gradually swells to a size and strength overwhelming all laws divine & human.
--James Madison, "Monopolies. Perpetuities. Corporations. Ecclesiastical Endowments,"
Is conformity of sentiments in matters of religion essential to the happiness of civil government? Not at all. Government has no more to do with the religious opinions of men than it has with the principles of the mathematics. Let every man speak freely without fear--maintain the principles that he believes--worship according to his own faith, either one God, three Gods, no God, or twenty Gods; and let government protect him in so doing, i.e., see that he meets with no personal abuse or loss of property for his religious opinions. Instead of discouraging him with proscriptions, fines, confiscation or death, let him be encouraged, as a free man, to bring forth his arguments and maintain his points with all boldness; then if his doctrine is false it will be confuted, and if it is true (though ever so novel) let others credit it. When every man has this liberty what can he wish for more? A liberal man asks for nothing more of government.
--John Leland, "The Rights of Conscience Inalienable, and Therefore Religious Opinions not Cognizable by Law" [a pamphlet], New London, Connecticut, 1791.
As to religion, I hold it to be the indispensable duty of government to protect all conscientious protesters thereof, and I know of no other business government has to do therewith.
--Thomas Paine, Common Sense, 1776.
"I believe in one God, Creator of the universe.... That the most acceptable service we can render Him is doing good to His other children.... As to Jesus ... I have ... some doubts as to his divinity; though it is a question I do not dogmatize upon, having never studied it, and think it needless to busy myself with it now, when I expect soon an opportunity of knowing the truth with less trouble."
--Ben Franklin 1790
Religion is good, I conceive it will support itself; and when it does not support itself, and God does not take care to support it so that its Professors are obliged to call for help of the Civil Power, it is a sign, I apprehend, of its being a bad one.
Benjamin Franklin, 1790
Thirteen governments [of the original states] thus founded on the natural authority of the people alone, without a pretence of miracle or mystery, and which are destined to spread over the northern part of that whole quarter of the globe, are a great point gained in favor of the rights of mankind.
--John Adams, "A Defence of the Constitutions of Government of the United States of America" 1787-
It will never be pretended that any persons employed in that service had interviews with the gods, or were in any degree under the influence of Heaven, more than those at work upon ships or houses, or laboring in merchandise or agriculture; it will forever be acknowledged that these governments were contrived merely by the use of reason and the senses....
--John Adams, "A Defence of the Constitutions of Government of the United States of America" 1787
Jesus Christ was a real man (A Jew). He had a home (The Land of Israel). He loved it (The Land of Israel.........His homeland (The Land of Israel, with Jerusalem at it's core.
Now Pat, explain to me again why you think the Arabs should have any part of it.
They were for the most part....very Religious.
But NOT in the sense of T.V. Preachers.....theirs was a quiet,personal religion.
As it should be..........
redrock
MOST did disapprove of a lot of the 'standard' religions.......but that is a case against 'Form' and not 'content'.
ALso...look up some of Patrick Henry's writings....
redrock
*think Klinton carrying a (gasp!) bible to church after the monica affair.
pat has it right. america has fallen away from god in many ways in over 200 years. i am greatful that we have a leader like pat who reminds us that god played a huge role in forming our nation.
however, pat wants crusades to recapture the holy land in the name of our lord. i know that a number of fundamentalists will disagree with me, but it does not matter that the holy land is not part of christendom anymore. st. paul explicitly states in the new testament that references to israel are the spiritual israel or people of true believers, not the earthly nation of israel.
supporting the middle east may or may not be a good idea. but claiming that it is god's will and we must do it to please god is wrong.
"The founders" is a term I prefer to avoid in making blanket statements regarding this nation's origins. The founders were not of a collective mind, and varied greatly in their religious beliefs and observances.
Washington was very likely a deist (even according to his own pastor). He attended church primarily to satisfy the whims of his wife Martha, and refused on principle to take communion.
Jefferson openly question the divinity of Christ, and even on occasion the existence of God. He respected the teachings of Jesus, but rejected the notion of miracles, even going as far as to rewrite the Bible, removing all references to miracles.
Franklin was without question a deist. He stated openly as much on many an occasion. While he recognized significant fellowship value in church, he considered most of it to be abject hypocrisy.
Paine was also a deist. He believe in a single creator, who subsequently set his creation adrift, having no further contact with it.
Ethan Allen was an absolute and avowed atheist.
James Madison was likely a Christian, but recognized human reason (as opposed to divine inspiration) as the source of our rights, and as the guiding force in the emerging nation.
John Adams, was perhaps the most devout of Christians among the prominent founders, and yet even he held much of the organized faith of the day in contempt as perverters of the truth.
"The founders" were by no means of one mind. Approach any claims regarding the thinking of "the founders" with great suspicion.
And once again, the "Anti-Buchanan" bunch prove themselves ridiculously incapable of acknowledging the truth, fact and wisdom of the message because of their infantile animus for the messenger.
How sadly, pointlessly petty.
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