I learned more about Pope Urban II reading this chapter:
"Which had been Pope Urban’s plan – the princes would swear fealty and together, with Alexius at their head, the combined armies of East and West would sweep into the Holy Land and restore Christians lands under Alexius’ rule. Then, on all ecclesiastic matters, Alexius, along with the Patriarch, would submit to the See of St Peter. The Church whole again."
I wonder how different things might have been if Pope Urban had not made the speech he made at The Council of Clermont in 1095?
"Mankind is guilty. Be there God or not. And their acts are in vain. But this was an age when God covered the world – Mohammedan, Christian, Jew – People of the Book. But Mankind needed not God to slaughter each other. He slaughtered before anything was writ."
This section was really thought-provoking for me.
It's hard for me to put what I am thinking exactly into words but I was thinking this ...
Miles Christi is focusing on The Crusades in which people were fighting and died for the cause of Christianity/the control of Holy Sites. I have repeatedly heard people say that RELIGION is the cause of most of the violence in the world. I learned about Mithraism from this book (one kind of Paganism) and Miles Christi also references Islam and Judaism. There is a lot of bloodshed in this book. The main characters are fighting because "God Wills It!" "It is the Will of God!"
Sometimes it is hard NOT to think - violence exists BECAUSE of religion. But reflecting on this section I just read - I had a different thought. Whether there was EVER a concept of God or not - there would have been bloodshed. The existence of the concept of God didn't make there any MORE bloodshed or any LESS bloodshed. It is the same amount.
Fascinating chapter!
I learned more about Pope Urban II reading this chapter:
"Which had been Pope Urban’s plan – the princes would swear fealty and together, with Alexius at their head, the combined armies of East and West would sweep into the Holy Land and restore Christians lands under Alexius’ rule. Then, on all ecclesiastic matters, Alexius, along with the Patriarch, would submit to the See of St Peter. The Church whole again."
I wonder how different things might have been if Pope Urban had not made the speech he made at The Council of Clermont in 1095?
"Mankind is guilty. Be there God or not. And their acts are in vain. But this was an age when God covered the world – Mohammedan, Christian, Jew – People of the Book. But Mankind needed not God to slaughter each other. He slaughtered before anything was writ."
This section was really thought-provoking for me.
It's hard for me to put what I am thinking exactly into words but I was thinking this ...
Miles Christi is focusing on The Crusades in which people were fighting and died for the cause of Christianity/the control of Holy Sites. I have repeatedly heard people say that RELIGION is the cause of most of the violence in the world. I learned about Mithraism from this book (one kind of Paganism) and Miles Christi also references Islam and Judaism. There is a lot of bloodshed in this book. The main characters are fighting because "God Wills It!" "It is the Will of God!"
Sometimes it is hard NOT to think - violence exists BECAUSE of religion. But reflecting on this section I just read - I had a different thought. Whether there was EVER a concept of God or not - there would have been bloodshed. The existence of the concept of God didn't make there any MORE bloodshed or any LESS bloodshed. It is the same amount.