why matamoros, crusades

[Scott Horton]

Amen, Verna!!!!

--Scott


>From: Verna Austen <va116aMSN.COM>
>Reply-To: Road to Santiago Pilgrimage <GOCAMINOaPETE.URI.EDU>
>To: GOCAMINOaPETE.URI.EDU
>Subject: Re: why matamoros, crusades
>Date: Thu, 6 May 2004 15:32:02 +0000
>
>I think real courage comes from allowing others to find their own path to
>God, and not imposing your views on them. We need only look to our current
>world situation to see what happens when people are not free to love God in
>their own way.  I'm sorry, but can you clarify your point about the
>crusades
>not being wrong?
>Peace
>~verna
>
>
>>From: claudia castellani <claudietta67aHOTMAIL.COM>
>>Reply-To: Road to Santiago Pilgrimage <GOCAMINOapete.uri.edu>
>>To: GOCAMINOapete.uri.edu
>>Subject: Re: why matamoros, crusades
>>Date: Thu, 6 May 2004 14:52:30 +0000
>>
>>I sincerely admire your courage for sustaining such non
>>politically-correct
>>views!
>>
>>In Otranto cathedral, Salento (South of Italy), there is one altar built
>>with the bones of 800 innocent people slaughtered by muslim pirates during
>>their very frequent pillages of Italian coast cities. Men, women and
>>children were regularly kidnapped and sold in the Middle-East
>>slave-markets,
>>thousand of people were slaughtered every year, and commerce in the
>>Mediterranean rapidly diminished, causing economic recession. It is not by
>>chance that Columbus discovered America after the Crusades and immediately
>>after the Spanish Reconquista. In 1492 the last city hold by Muslims -
>>Granada - was re-conquered by the Spanish and in that same year America
>>was
>>discovered.
>>A Bulgarian friend of mine told me that after the continuous attacks by
>>Muslims and Turks - who used to impale "the unfaithful" - the Bulgarian
>>authorities were obliged to call immigrants from nearby countries to
>>re-populate entire regions of Bulgaria, as people there had been
>>.....completely destroyed.
>>
>>I have often tried to remind these "uncomfortable" and "politically
>>uncorrect" historical truths when talking to my friends or acquaintances,
>>but when I realized the extent to which historical truth has been
>>distorted
>>in our Western minds during the last 200 years, I stopped even trying to
>>convince them. I may seem too pessimistic, but I think it is useless
>>trying
>>to awake the West (I am talking about Europe which I know very well. I
>>cannot speak for other Western countries) if the West refuses to see the
>>truth!
>>
>>The problem is that this lack of memory of our past has created a new
>>"false
>>truth" which has now become the Official Politically-Correct History of
>>the
>>West. Basing itself on this invented history, the West (Europe) has
>>started
>>feeling superior to the non-European Western countries and cultures but
>>utterly inferior and guilty towards the rest of the world.
>>
>>This newly created world history prevents us from deeply understanding the
>>mentality of a Medieval Christian pilgrim (to Santiago, to Rome or to
>>Jerusalem) who had no doubts about the basic truths of his life and, in
>>particular, firmly believed Christianism to be the true faith. To avoid
>>quarrels, I am only describing their mentality and not giving my own
>>opinion. The Medieval history of the three rings, for example, shows
>>candidly what they believed (three knights have three identical silver
>>rings, which represent the three monotheistic religions, but one of them
>>is
>>a golden ring.....).
>>Trying to soften history (by censoring some parts of it because it can be
>>too painful or too politically uncorrect) and cultural and artistic
>>expressions in order to modernize them and make them more acceptable for
>>us,
>>means we didn't grasp the history and - going back to our topic - the true
>>historical meaning of the Camino.
>>
>>Claudia
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>>From: m j anderson <mjayceeaWORLDNET.ATT.NET>
>>>Reply-To: Road to Santiago Pilgrimage <GOCAMINOaPETE.URI.EDU>
>>>To: GOCAMINOaPETE.URI.EDU
>>>Subject: Re: why matamoros, crudades
>>>Date: Thu, 6 May 2004 07:18:54 -0400
>>>
>>>Karen Willmus wrote:
>>>
>>> > I'm a little surprised in this "Matamoros" discussion on a "Christian"
>>>list
>>> > that no one has brought up the obvious:
>>> >
>>> > Historical references such as the Matamoros, the Crusades, ... you
>>>name
>>> > it...are things that we as Christians should point out as examples of
>>>how we
>>> > sin --
>>>
>>>Some have pointed out that this is not a "Christian list" but isn't the
>>>full
>>>resonance of the Camino is missed if its Christian context is ignored,
>>>reduced
>>>to sentiment (rather than doctrine & action) or if its history is
>>>rewritten
>>>for
>>>the comfort of modern seekers of all stripes?
>>>
>>>Below is a commentary on the crusades that I think is worth thinking
>>>about.
>>>The
>>>Crusades were not wrong, though some individual crusaders were
>>>dispicable---this
>>>is the condition of humanity--in every grouping, there are good and bad
>>>examples. But let us remember that the context of the crusades cannot be
>>>discarded if one has a genuine desire to understand Camino history.
>>>
>>>Ultreya!
>>>MJ Anderson
>>>* *
>>................................
>>
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