God's Battalions

Fülszöveg

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A Respected and Controversial Scholar Argues that the Crusades Were a Justified War Waged Against Muslim Terror and Aggression
Award-winning author Rodney Stark challenges the long-held view that the Crusades were the first round of European colonialism, conducted for land, loot, and converts by barbarian Christians who victimized the cultivated Muslims. Instead, Stark argues that the Crusades were the first military response to Muslim terrorist aggression.
Stark reviews the history of the seven major crusades from 1095 to 1291, demonstrating that the Crusades were precipitated by Islamic provocations: by centuries of bloody attempts to colonize the "West, and by sudden new attacks on Christian pilgrims and holy places. Although the Crusades were initiated by a plea from the pope, this had nothing to do with hopes of converting people from Islam. Given current tensions in the Middle East and terrorist attacks around the world, Stark's views are sure to stir up... Tovább

Fülszöveg

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A Respected and Controversial Scholar Argues that the Crusades Were a Justified War Waged Against Muslim Terror and Aggression
Award-winning author Rodney Stark challenges the long-held view that the Crusades were the first round of European colonialism, conducted for land, loot, and converts by barbarian Christians who victimized the cultivated Muslims. Instead, Stark argues that the Crusades were the first military response to Muslim terrorist aggression.
Stark reviews the history of the seven major crusades from 1095 to 1291, demonstrating that the Crusades were precipitated by Islamic provocations: by centuries of bloody attempts to colonize the "West, and by sudden new attacks on Christian pilgrims and holy places. Although the Crusades were initiated by a plea from the pope, this had nothing to do with hopes of converting people from Islam. Given current tensions in the Middle East and terrorist attacks around the world, Stark's views are sure to stir up controversy.
RODNEY STARK is the Distinguished Professor of the Social Sciences at Baylor University. His twenty-seven books on the history and sociology of religion include The Rise of Christianity, Cities of God, For the Glory of God (winner of the 2004 Award of Merit for History/Biography from Christianity Today), ind Discovering God, which won the 2008 Award of Merit for Theology/Ethics from Christianity Today. Vissza