New War. Old Wounds.

Last Friday, an article of mine appeared on what has been referred to as the most popular website on the Internet, WorldNetDaily.com. This site gets over 5 MILLION visitors each month. Unimaginable!

I was blessed and encouraged by the many emails I received from complete strangers, individuals who are NOT regular recipients of my online ministry broadcasts. In my message, one that I entitled, “It’s a Mahdi, Mahdi, Mahdi, Mahdi World!,” I wrote the phrase

, “…the bloodiest wars ever fought involved Christians and Muslims.” What I was NOT prepared for were the venomous messages I received that zeroed-in on that one phrase.It hit a nerve.

It offended.

I had no idea!

The problem? In each case, the respondent made the point that the Crusades were NOT wars between Christians and Muslims but wars between the CATHOLIC Church and Muslims.

Well, although I did my best to write a concise 750-word article (in comparison to my usual 2700-Word PLUS offerings) and, therefore, could not cover everything as I would have liked, the truth is that the Crusades WERE actually the wars of Popes who empowered various groups (e.g. The Knights Templar) who engaged various Muslim leaders, notably Saladin, on a number of occasions. Yes, these readers were correct: the Crusades WERE wars between the Roman Catholic Church and the Islamic world. Much like the Catholic Inquisition which followed in Spain and other parts of Europe, these were actions that were rejected by non-Catholic Christians and even later “protested” by the likes of Martin Luther and others, the beginnings of the Protestant reformation.

That’s it for the history lesson. That’s not my point of concern here. I have heard it said that Islam had a long memory and that the Crusades will never be forgotten. A few days after the unprovoked attack of September 11, 2001, speaking spontaneously, without the aid of advisers or speechwriters, George “Dubya” dubbed our righteous cause as “This crusade…this war on terrorism.”

He used the “C” word. Ouch! In his defense, it was an offhand reference. His embarrassed aides tried covering for their boss, suggesting that he had meant to use the word only as a synonym for ’struggle.’ But even offhandedly, Bush had said exactly what he meant.

Nearly a thousand years earlier, the Catholic pope rallied leaders and commoners alike with a rousing call to a Christian-style “jihad” - to steal a term from the Islamic terrorist playbook; a holy war. From the Christian perspective, Muslims were the infidels who had taken the Holy Land hundreds of years before. Their occupation was defined as the ultimate and intolerable blasphemy. The Holy Land had to be reclaimed for Christ. Within months of the pope’s call, 100,000 people had “taken the cross” to reclaim the Holy Land for Christ. For perspective, a comparable movement today would involve more than a million people, all dropping everything to go to war.

In the name of Jesus, convinced they were doing God’s bidding, Crusaders used “shock and awe” tactics everywhere they went. In Jerusalem, they savagely slaughtered Muslims and Jews alike and practically wiped-out the whole town. They decapitated their Muslim enemies and used their heads as fodder for their catapults. Eventually, Latin Crusaders would turn on Eastern Christians, and then on Christian heretics, as blood lust outran the “holiness” of their initial call-to-arms.

Have Muslims been carrying a grudge all these years? You bet your pretty red fez they have!

Have Protestant Christians been holding a similar grudge against the Roman Catholic Church? It appears that some of us have.

Whatever you may personally feel for Catholics, the pope, the Catholic Church in general, speaking as a former Catholic, I can honestly report that many Catholics really do love Jesus - proportionately, probably about the same ratio as the Baptists, Presbyterians or any other mainline Protestant group. Others are merely clueless church-goers at best, just like their Protestant counterparts. Many Catholics have Abrahamic faith. I’m in agreement with Max Lucado who said that he learned his reverence for God from his Catholic friends. Ditto.

THE RECONCILIATION WALK

Though the Crusades had nothing to do with anyone living today and nothing to do with any Christians except the Catholics, the Crusaders corporately represented the Body of Christ while sowing enmity among Jews, Eastern Christians and Muslims. Today, only we, as the unified Body of Christ, can act according to Scripture to reconcile that enmity. Scripture instructs us to make sure that no root of bitterness is allowed to defile others; it commands us to live at peace with all men.

Jesus teaches us to seek reconciliation with anyone who has anything against us. Thanks to the Crusades, entire nations hold something not only against US, but against Jesus Himself.

In a January 23, 2007 WorldNetDaily article by Jim Rutz, he wrote: “…did the liberal media tell you about the Reconciliation Walk? From 1996-1999, teams of Christians trekked along the same route that the Crusaders did 900 years before – from Cologne, Germany, to Jerusalem. About 2,000 marchers, cycling in and out, visited Muslim and Jewish villages and cities. And as they went, they wore T-shirts proclaiming in Arabic or Hebrew, “I apologize” and called out, “We’re sorry.” Astonished Muslims poured out of their homes and into the streets, many of them applauding and cheering wildly, some of them weeping. The marchers were hugged warmly and invited in for dinner. City mayors welcomed them with heartfelt, emotional speeches. That beats bullets six ways to Sunday…”

The heart of the Reconciliation Walk is the statement carried by the walkers throughout the Middle East. Translated into local languages, it expresses the remorse and optimism of Christians everywhere. Well…some of us anyway. It reads:

“Nine hundred years ago, our forefathers carried the name of Jesus Christ in battle across the Middle East. Fueled by fear, greed and hatred, they betrayed the name of Christ by conducting themselves in a manner contrary to His wishes and character. The Crusaders lifted the banner of the Cross above your people. By this act they corrupted its true meaning of reconciliation, forgiveness and selfless love.

“On the anniversary of the first Crusade we also carry the name of Christ. We wish to retrace the footsteps of the Crusaders in apology for their deeds and in demonstration of the true meaning of the Cross. We deeply regret the atrocities committed in the name of Christ by our predecessors. We renounce greed, hatred and fear, and condemn all violence done in the name of Jesus Christ.

“Where they were motivated by hatred and prejudice, we offer love and brotherhood. Jesus the Messiah came to give life. Forgive us for allowing His name to be associated with death. Please accept again the true meaning of the Messiah’s words: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor”.

Do YOU have a problem with Catholics or, for that matter, any OTHER people group?

How about that coworker?

Or that person in the next pew?

Today, as I write this article, it just “happens” to be the 5th Anniversary of the war in Iraq. I’ll always remember the night we initiated the war. I had just crawled into bed and the Lord said to me, “Osama doesn’t know his Redeemer.” I knew instantly that I was to pray for the man. My flesh cried out, “No way! I’m an American!” Before I knew it, I was sliding out of bed to my knees and prayed as fervently for our mutual enemy as I’ve ever prayed for anyone in my life.” And I’ve prayed for him since then as well.

Jesus told us to love and pray for our enemies ( Matt 5:44; Luke 5:27 & 35). He exemplified it.

His Spirit dwells within us.

You can do it.

We must ALL do it.

There’s power only in unity.

Every blessing,

Michael Tummillo

A servant of God