Crusades And Crusades

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The Crusades: Salvation or Exploitation?
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The Crusades: Salvation or Exploitation?
Crusade originates from the French word ‘croisade’ which literally translates to ‘the condition of being marked by a cross’. It describes maneuvers mostly about religious, social or politics matters. The origin of crusades can be traced back to approximately 1054, when the Roman Catholic Church invaded the Muslims in Turkey. The Church convinced its believers that agreeing with the church and fighting its cause would absolve them from sin or overlook their sins. It essentially became a Holy War to reclaim the “Holy Land” from the Muslims.
For a period stretching up to two centuries, various powers come together to intensify the struggle to take over the Holy Land. These included the aspiration of Popes to gain Rome’s "Spiritually consecrated canonical role" and the business ambition of Italian traders. Christian and Muslim leaders came to the realization that the plan of Holy War could be harnessed to vindicate programs of solidarity and military action, even to expedite the enforcement of autocratic governments. This way, the crusaders war sought to shape and direct violence. Essentially, this ended up serving the ruling class. Those involved in the fight for running of the Holy Land truly believed that their activities were entangled with the divine purposes. Popes Innocent III together with Urban II advocated for crusades to stamp their power, though also hoping to assist the Christians navigate their way to salvation. (Asbridge, 2010)
The role of propaganda especially sermons in creating the public portrayal was crucial. The well-established coordination by the Papacy encouraged the growth of propagand...

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... of religion, thereby exploiting innocent souls that seeked God through promises of remission and forgiveness of sin. Acts of war led to destruction of property, lose of lives, rape and slavery all in the name of saving the souls of those who believed. Crusades ended up being exploitation of man's desire to be at peace with his God, rather than actual salvation of souls.

References
Asbridge, T. (2010). Crusades: The War for The Holy Land UK. Simon and Schuster UK Ltd.
Christiansen, E. (1997). The Northern Crusades (Vol. 927). Penguin UK.
Maier, C. (2004). Crusade Propaganda and Ideology: Model Sermons for the Preaching of the
Cross. Cambridge
Taesoo, Y. (2006). Minjung Theology: Towards a Second Reformation. Christian Conference of
Asia
Riley-Smith, J., & Riley-Smith, J. S. C. (2005). The crusades: A history. Continuum.

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