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Crusades Quotes

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Crusades Quotes

“It is clear that the crusade imposed on its participants extraordinary stresses. In an alien environment they experienced not only the perils of warfare, but also inflation, poverty, starvation, disease and death. They were often frightened and homesick. The knights among them were humiliated as they lost status without their arms and horses. Most of the leaders had nagging financial worries. It is not hard to understand their obsession with horses and their desire for loot.”

PovertyHungerInflationCrusadesCrusadersFirst Crusade
Book:The First Crusade and the Idea of Crusading
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“The Church is as corrupt as, or more corrupt than, most people. Between the Crusades, the sex scandals over the last few decades, and everything in between, who are they to judge? That’s right: no one. They are far from perfect. Like us. But they keep trying. And they do it in a way that is simple, dependable. Familiar. And that should be worth something to someone who says they are good or are trying to be but who is in actuality bad.”

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Book:In Limbo
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“Religion is the most powerful entity on earth. A phenomenon that has conscripted millions to give or sacrifice their lives without so much as a minuscule query about their chosen beliefs or particular ideology. And today thousands of years on despite the huge advent, discovery and the advance of science forensic or otherwise, millions are still prepared and equipped to fall or kill in the name of their God, their Holy Scriptures, their messengers, their prophets and their faith’.”

GodReligionFaithChristianityBibleIslamIsraelHoly SpiritSyriaCultJudaismPalestineMuslimMuhammadIraq WarTalibanQuranCrusadesTorah9 11CultsIslamic TerrorismPope Benedict XviCrusade
Author:Cal Sarwar
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“Killing, raping and looting have been common practices in religious societies, and often carried out with clerical sanction. The catalogue of notorious barbarities – wars and massacres, acts of terrorism, the Inquisition, the Crusades, the chopping off of thieves’ hands, the slicing off of clitorises and labia majora, the use of gang rape as punishment, and manifold other savageries committed in the name of one faith or another — attests to religion’s longstanding propensity to induce barbarity, or at the very least to give it free rein. The Bible and the Quran have served to justify these atrocities and more, with women and gay people suffering disproportionately. There is a reason the Middle Ages in Europe were long referred to as the Dark Ages; the millennium of theocratic rule that ended only with the Renaissance (that is, with Europe’s turn away from God toward humankind) was a violent time. Morality arises out of our innate desire for safety, stability and order, without which no society can function; basic moral precepts (that murder and theft are wrong, for example) antedated religion. Those who abstain from crime solely because they fear divine wrath, and not because they recognize the difference between right and wrong, are not to be lauded, much less trusted. Just which practices are moral at a given time must be a matter of rational debate. The 'master-slave' ethos – obligatory obeisance to a deity — pervading the revealed religions is inimical to such debate. We need to chart our moral course as equals, or there can be no justice.”

WarGodDesireReligionFaithOrderReligiousJusticeSocietyCrimeDivineMoralityBibleSafetyKillingEqualityTerrorismDebateStabilityJustificationDark AgesRenaissanceQuranImmoralityCrusadesInquisitionSavageryMassacreTheocracyThe BibleLootingRapingGenital MutilationThe QuranMoral Precepts
Author:Jeffrey Tayler
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“To Roland's relief, Jean de Joinville came to his aid. "Sire, this good knight wants only to preserve your life. Let us all ride together against the Egyptians." "If I ride against them alone, God will protect me," said Louis. A new figure pushed into the circle. He wore the white surcoat and red cross of a Templar over his mail. With a leap of his heart, Roland recognized Guido Bruchesi. Guido looked at him but did not acknowledge him. He went directly to the King. He spoke quietly but firmly. "Sire, what you have just said is presumption." "I do not see how that could be, brother Templar." But Louis took his foot out of the stirrup as Roland watched with growing hope. You can always catch Louis's attention with a religious argument, Roland thought, even on the battlefield. "Sire," said Guido, "Satan tempted our Seigneur Jesus, telling Him that if He cast Himself down from the mountaintop, angels would lift him up." Guido cast a sidelong look at Amalric. "You, Sire, are being tempted to ride alone against the whole Egyptian army, expecting God's protection. You are demanding a miracle. That is presumption." Louis was silent for a moment. "Perhaps you are right." Roland let out a long breath.”

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Book:All Things Are Lights
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“Men speak of God’s love for man… but if providence does not come in this hour, where is He then? My conclusion is simple. The Semitic texts from Bronze Age Palestine of which Christianity is comprised still fit uncomfortably well with contemporary life. The Old Testament depicts a God capricious and cruel; blood sacrifice, vengeance, genocide; death and destruction et al. Would He not approve of Herr Hitler and the brutal, tribalistic crusade against Hebrews and non-Christian ‘untermensch?’ One thing is inarguable. His church on Earth has produced some of the most vigorous and violent contribution to the European fascist cause. It is synergy. Man Created God, even if God Created Man; it all exists in the hubris and apotheosis of the narcissistic soul, and alas, all too many of the human herd are willing to follow the beastly trait of leadership. The idea of self-emancipation and advancement, with Europe under the jackboot of fascism, would be Quixotic to the point of mirthless lunacy.”

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Book:Jackboot Britain
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“For even the high lifted and chivalric Crusaders of old times were not content to traverse two thousand miles of land to fight for their holy sepulchre, without committing burglaries, picking pockets, and gaining other pious perquisites by the way. Had they been strictly held to their one final and romantic object—that final and romantic object, too many would have turned from in disgust.”

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Book:Moby Dick
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“I remember one Gentleman objected to the Christian Faith, that it made Men insolent, quarrelsom and ill-natur'd. From whence I concluded, (as I told him) that he had never read over the Gospells; truly he could not say that he had read 'em carefully, but yet that in reading the History of what had passed in Christendom, he observed that most of the Quarrels in which this part of the World had been engaged, arose from contentions among the Christian Priesthood. Church-History is chiefly a relation of Church-mens Wrangles, and D. Cave in a late Book of his has denominated every Century from some eminent Quarrel which arose among the Clergy. But besides this, what was the Holy War, what all the holy Massacres and Croisados which filled Europe with Blood, but the Inventions of the Holy Church? And what is holy Inquisition, but a perpetual Series of Murthers carry'd on in barbarous Forms of Law against the common Sense of Mankind? Does History account for any Barbarities so great as those committed by the Popes? Any Cruelties so savage as those of the Holy Inquisition? Any Murthers so solemn, and religiously brutal as the Acts of Faith? Any Pragmaticalness so insufferable as that of the Jesuits? is not their Humanity extinguished by their Christian Religion? Such is their Malice that no Man can eat Bread where they have to do, unless he submit his Faith to their guidance, witness the present French Persecution.”

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Book:An account of the growth of deism in England
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“Solemn three-day fasts, which were instituted by Adhemar of Le Puy, were decreed after an earthquake which took place on 30 December 1097, before the battle of Antioch on 28 June 1098, before an ordeal undergone by Peter Bartholomew on 8 April 1099 and before the procession round Jerusalem on 8 July 1099. These fasts certainly made an impression on the crusaders; they could hardly have failed to have done so, since they can only have made their hunger worse. It was reported that during their fast at Antioch Turks came up to walls with loaves of white bread, with which they tempted and mocked the starving men within. The achievement of the crusaders becomes even more remarkable — in fact it is quite incredible - when one considers that soldiers already weakened by starvation, who certainly appreciated die importance of taking food before battle since they took care to give their horses extra rations, deliberately fasted before their more important engagements. One wonders how they managed to fight at all.”

WarBattleHungerPietyFastingCrusadesFastWarriorshipCrusadersFirst Crusade
Book:The First Crusade and the Idea of Crusading
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“It is a neglected but essential fact that we cannot appreciate the relationship between religion and violence unless we grasp the nature and meaning of the two partners in this relationship. Yet our understandings both of religion and of violence are inadequate. Further, we usually consider too few offspring of their troubled marriage: when we think of “religious violence,” we tend to think only of holy war and (especially since September 11) religious terrorism. However, those are not the only types of religious violence.”

ViolenceTerrorismIntoleranceSeptember 11CrusadesJihadReligious ViolenceHoly WarReligious Terrorism
Book:Cruel Creeds, Virtuous Violence: Religious Violence Across Culture and History
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“We should defend one another, for we are brothers—especially we who are of one Faith. There is an example of this in history. Once, when an official delegation of Constantinopolitan dignitaries was sent to the Saracens to negotiate peace, the Saracens argued that Christians disobeyed God’s commandment. They said: “Why do you Christians disobey Christ’s commandment to love your enemies, but instead persecute and kill us?” Now, a certain Cyril was part of this delegation. His answer to the Saracens was: “If, in a certain law, there are two commandments that must be fulfilled, which man shall be more righteous, he who fulfills both commandments or he who fulfills only one of them?” The Saracens answered, “He that fulfills both, of course.” Then Cyril said, “As individuals we forgive our enemies, but as a community we lay down our lives for one another. For the Lord has said that there is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s neighbor. As a community we protect one another and lay down our lives for one another. Not only is your aim to enslave us physically, you also aspire to enslave us spiritually. It is for this reason that we defend ourselves. This, therefore, is justified.”

OrthodoxyCrusadesOrthodox ChristianityForgive Your EnemiesCyrilElder ThaddeusLay Down Our Lives For OthersOn Serving God And NeighborOur Thoughts Determine Our LivesSaracens
Book:Our Thoughts Determine Our Lives: The Life and Teachings of Elder Thaddeus of Vitovnica
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“Atheism rises above creeds and puts Humanity upon one plane. There can be no 'chosen people' in the Atheist philosophy. There are no bended knees in Atheism; No supplications, no prayers; No sacrificial redemptions; No 'divine' revelations; No washing in the blood of the lamb; No crusades, no massacres, no holy wars; No heaven, no hell, no purgatory; No silly rewards and no vindictive punishments; No christs, and no saviors; No devils, no ghosts and no gods.”

PhilosophyHumanityHeavenPrayerHellAtheismDivineRedemptionSaviorCreedsGodsRevelationCrusadesMassacresPurgatoryDevilsHoly Wars
Book:Atheism and Other Addresses
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“Our problem is that the climate crisis hatched in our laps at a moment in history when political and social conditions were uniquely hostile to a problem of this nature and magnitude-that moment being the tail end of the go-go '80s, the blastoff point for the crusade to spread deregulated capitalism around the world. Climate change is a collective problem demanding collective action the likes of which humanity has never actually accomplished. Yet it entered mainstream consciousness in the midst of an ideological war being waged on the very idea of the collective sphere.”

WorldIdeasWarEndsMomentsProblemActionSciencePoliticalHumanitySocialNatureNaturalConsciousnessConditionsCapitalismCrisisClimateClimate ChangeSpreadLikesAround The WorldAccomplishedCollectivesMidstThat MomentSpheresMainstreamTailsHostile80sLapIdeologicalMagnitudeCrusadesSocial ConditionsCollective Action
Author:Naomi Klein
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“In the ancient recipe, the three antidotes for dullness or boredom are sleep, drink, and travel. It is rather feeble. From sleep you wake up, from drink you become sober, and from travel you come home again. And then where are you? No, the two sovereign remedies for dullness are love or a crusade.”

TwoHomeThreeSleepDrinkWake UpAncientBoredomComing HomeRemedySovereignSoberRecipesAntidoteCrusadesDullness
Book:Delphi Complete Works of D.H. Lawrence (Illustrated)
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“Some tribes [of monkeys] have taken to washing potatoes in the river before eating them, others have not. Sometimes migrating groups of potato-washers meet non-washers, and the two groups watch each other's strange behavior with apparent bewilderment. But unlike the inhabitants of Lilliput, who fought holy crusades over the question at which end to break the egg, the potato-washing monkeys do not go to war with the non-washers, because the poor creatures have no language which would enable them to declare washing a diving commandment and eating unwashed potatoes a deadly heresy.”

TwoWarEndsSometimesLanguagePoorWatchesBreakTakenGroupsSocietyStrangeHolyCreaturesBehaviorEatingRiversEggsCommandmentsTribesMonkeysPotatoesHeresyWashingCrusadesDivingBewilderment
Author:Arthur Koestler
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“After more than two decades of trying to destroy the firearms rights of more than 80 million law-abiding American gun owners - and statistically failing to show any impact on violent crime - the Brady 'Campaign Against Illegal Guns' is yet another crusade whose ultimate goal is to trample the Second Amendment into dust.”

TryingTwoShowsLawGoalMillionsRightsFailingCrimeGunUltimateImpactDecadesCampaignsViolentDustOwnersIllegalAmendmentsAbidingSecond AmendmentFirearmsUltimate GoalCrusadesBradyGun OwnersViolent CrimesIllegal Guns
Author:Alan Gottlieb
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“Everything that’s out now…rap wise and music wise in general [is whack]. I mean, you know whack when you see it. So I’m on a crusade against whackness, and I hope no whackness comes my way. That’s my move, my mission for this record: to combat whackness on all fronts – to make sure that people know what quality music is. It’s not so much about message, but have something to say.”

PeopleKnowsWayMeanMovingQualityRecordsWiseFrontsMessagesMusic IsRapMissionsMy WayCombatCrusadesQuality Music
Author:Jeru the Damaja
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“All Presidents start out to run a crusade but after a couple of years they find they are running something less heroic and much more intractable: namely the presidency. The people are well cured by then of election fever, during which they think they are choosing Moses. In the third year, they look on the man as a sinner and a bumble and begin to poke around for rumors of another Messiah.”

PeopleThinkingMenYearsWellsLooksRunningPresidentHe ManCoupleThirdsElectionSinnerHeroicPresidencyRumorMosesFeverMessiahCrusadesPoke
Author:Alistair Cooke
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“Moral crusade: Public activity undertaken by middle-aged men who are cheating on their wives or diddling little boys. Moral crusades are particularly popular among those seeking power for their own personal pleasure, politicians who can't think of anything useful to do with their mandates, and religious professionals suffering from a personal inability to communicate with their god.”

ThinkingMenLittlesSufferingReligiousPleasureMoralBoysWifeMiddlePoliticianActivitySeekingCommunicateCheatingInabilityLittle BoysMandatesMiddle AgedCrusadesInability To Communicate
Author:John Ralston Saul
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“There is, for instance, only one page at the beginning of Runciman's three-volume History of the Crusades describing how the participants decided to begin four hundred years of wars, and then several thousand pages devoted to the routes, battles and other events which make up the "history" of the Crusades.”

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Book:The New Psychohistory
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“This [Magna Carta] has been forced from the King. It constitutes an insult to the Holy See, a serious weakening of the royal power, a disgrace to the English nation, a danger to all Christendom, since this civil war obstructs the crusade. Therefore?we condemn the charter and forbid the King to keep it, or the barons and their supporters to make him do so, on pain of excommunication.”

Has BeensWarPainNationsDangerSeriousKingsHolyCivil WarInsultSupporterRoyalDisgraceCrusadesCharterWeakeningChristendomMagna CartaExcommunication
Author:Pope Innocent III
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“The defenders of godism are now shrieking against the growing number of Atheists, and there is a call to the religious world to enter upon a crusade against Atheism. The stage in which heresy meant little more than all exchange of one god for another has passed. It has become a case of acceptance or rejection of the idea of God, and the growth is with those who reject.”

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Author:Chapman Cohen
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“The First Crusade ... set off on its two-thousand-mile jaunt by massacring Jews, plundering and slaughtering all the way from the Rhine to the Jordan. "In the temple of Solomon," wrote the ecstatic cleric Raimundus de Agiles, "one rode in blood up to the knees and even to the horses" bridles, by the just and marvelous judgment of God.”

WayFirstsTwoBloodAtheismThousandJudgmentHorseJewPositive AtheismMilesKneesTemplesMarvelousJordanEcstaticCrusadesSolomonThousand Miles
Author:Herbert J. Muller
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“Christians have ... identified their opponents, whether Jews, pagans, or heretics, with forces of evil, and so with Satan... Nor have things improved since. The blood-soaked history of persecution, torture, murder, and destruction perpetrated in the name of religion is difficult to grasp, let alohne summarize, from the slaughter of Christians to the Crusades to the Inquisitiion to the Reformation to the European witchcraze to colonialization to today's bitter coflict in the Middle East.”

TodayChristianEvilNamesForceDifficultBloodAtheismMiddleDestructionMurderJewPositive AtheismEastBitterSatanOpponentsTortureMiddle EastPersecutionPaganReformationSlaughterHereticCrusades
Author:Elaine Pagels
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“Empathising with the younger children on whom the same confidence trick was being imposed, I embarked on a crusade around the neighbourhood, telling all the kids that there was no Santa Claus. This reached the ears of the father of a neighbouring family, who reproved me for spoiling it for the little ones. Spoiling it! I could not understand what he meant. To my mind, they were being made fools of, and I was only saving them from this indignity.”

MindChildrenLittlesMadeKidsFatherAtheismFoolEarsPositive AtheismTricksSavingSantaSanta ClausCrusadesIndignityNeighbourhoods
Author:Barbara Smoker
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“The gun-control crusade today is like the Prohibition crusade 100 years ago. It is a shared zealotry that binds the self-righteous know-it-alls in a warm fellowship of those who see themselves as fighting on the side of the angels against the forces of evil. It is a lofty role that they are not about to give up for anything so mundane as facts - or even the lives of other people.”

PeopleKnowsGivingYearsSelfFactsTodayFightingEvilForceSidesRolesGiving UpGunAngelYears AgoWarmRighteousGun ControlFellowshipMundaneLoftyProhibitionLives Of OthersCrusadesSelf RighteousKnow It AllFighting OnZealotry
Author:Thomas Sowell
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“It appears an extraordinary thing to me, that since there is such a diabolical spirit in the depravity of human nature, as persecution for difference of opinion in religious tenets, there never happened to be any inquisition, any auto da fe, any crusade, among the Pagans.”

HumansSpiritDifferencesReligiousOpinionHappenedHuman NatureExtraordinaryIntolerancePersecutionPaganCrusadesDepravityExtraordinary ThingsInquisitionDiabolicalDifferences Of Opinion
Book:The Works of Laurence Sterne ...: With a Life of the Author, Written by Himself ...
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