Crusades of Convenience

The Crusades. Possibly one of the greatest blunders in all of Christian history, a stain that still lingers even after centuries of washing. Not our proudest, but most certainly one of the biggest, event(s) in history. But why?

Why "In the name of God" did thousands of knights of Europe charge off into the middle east to cut down tens of thousands of stalks in Gods grain field? Why were they so convinced that these people were beyond God's reach to save? Was their blood not red? Did their skin tone turn them into unearthly monsters that didn't come under John 3:16, or 2 Peter 3:9?

There are no easy answers to why those people embarked on the Crusades. And there are a flurry of factors and reasons ranging all the way from kingdom politics to personal affairs. But I stumbled upon a hypothesis today, that the Crusades we spawned out of laziness. "What!?! How is that possible?" you ask thinking in a purely physical labor mindset. Although true, a Crusade required an extraordinary amount of physical labor, there was little mental work and absolutely no spiritual work.

My hypothesis is that the people of the Crusades were attempting to make the battle we fight against Satan into a physical battle. It is far faster and easier to cut someone down with a sword, sling or arrow then it is to learn their language, learn their customs/culture, become their friend, and explain that they need to come back to the God that they already believe they are following. It was simple, easy, and didn't require them to become better or more holy people. They could wipe all of God's enemies off the earth in a simple motion, and it was far faster than converting them. They could see that a mental battle would take lifetimes of dedicated work, and laziness won out.

Brain waves

So I was going to write a big blog post. But I don't have enough time left.

The basic gist though was that I have a song stuck in my head. But I've never heard the song before, it's one that my brain has composed to listen too. I've been trying all afternoon to write it, but a combination of poor musical equipment and difficulty determining the notes required have hindered my progress. If I ever manage to finish it I'll upload it for your listening convenience.