DEBATABLE: WAS PRESIDENT OBAMA RIGHT ABOUT THE CRUSADES?

By: American Decency Staff

The Issue: In his speech last week at the National Prayer Breakfast, President Obama attempted to nuance his condemnation of Islamic terrorists by noting that people also “committed terrible deeds in the name of Christ.” As examples, the President mentioned slavery, Jim Crow, and the Inquisition. But it was his inclusion of the Crusades that drew the most criticism. Numerous Christians have responded, mostly to challenge the President’s understanding of the Crusades.



In Defense – Jemar Tisby

That the Crusades were religious wars is undeniable. “[Pope] Urban made Deus Vult [God wills it.] the battle-cry of the Crusades, and suggested that each warrior wear the sign of the cross upon his clothing” (Dowley, 277). While the Crusades were in part a response to the expansion of Islam by violent force, nearly 200 years of warring were not free of sinful motives and actions.

In Defense – David Jessie

I don't often find myself on the same page with the President. I don't agree with his ideology, his interpretation of his Christian faith, or most of his political policies. But on this issue, I find myself uncomfortably in line with his statements. . . . Denying the truth, or pretending it doesn't matter, will never change the past. The Church is guilty of terrible acts in the Name of Christ, and we must own up to this. We can't act as if it's a bad dream that we can forget.

Against – Ravi Zacharias

President Obama basically lectured Christians not to get on a moral high horse in their castigation of the ISIS atrocities by reminding them that the Crusades and slavery were also justified in the name of Christ. Citing the Crusades, he used the single most inflammatory word he could have with which to feed the insatiable rage of the extremists. That is exactly what they want to hear to feed their lunacy.  ‎In the Middle East, history never dies and words carry the weight of revenge.

Against – Kevin DeYoung

We are right to deplore the cruelty meted out by crusading Christians, but should not ignore their plight. Christians lands had been captured. Surely, they thought, this could not stand. For an American, it would have been as if Al-Qaeda sacked Washington, D.C., following 9/11, set up shop for Bin Laden in the White House, and turned the Lincoln Memorial into a terrorist training center. It would be unthinkable, cowardly even, for no one to storm the city, liberate its captives, and return our nation’s capital to its rightful owners. We should never excuse the atrocities that occurred under the banner of the cross during the Crusades, but we should, at least, take pause to understand why they set out on what seems to us to be a fool’s errand.

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