Obama condemns the Crusades and Inquisition possibly to excuse Islamic terrorism
Barack Obama Official Whitehouse Photograph
In a possible attempt to get people to overlook the connection between Islam and terrorism, Barack Obama compared Islamic terrorism to the Inquisition and Crusades:
Obama FINALLY acknowledges ISIS is linked to ‘Islam’ – then compares it to the Crusades, the Spanish inquisition and American slavery
February 5, 2015
The burning alive of a Muslim man by the self-proclaimed Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) has jolted the president of the United States into acknowledging publicly that the world’s chief terror threat comes from people who ‘profess to stand up for Islam but instead betray it.’
But that stark conclusion, long missing in the White House, was followed by a litany of other wrongs done in the name of religion.
‘Lest we get on our high horse and think this is unique to some other place,’ Obama told the National Prayer breakfast on Thursday morning, ‘remember that during the Crusades and the Inquisition, people committed terrible deeds in the name of Christ.’
February 5, 2015
Obama told a gathering Thursday at the National Prayer Breakfast that we have seen “professions of faith used both as an instrument of great good but twisted in the name of evil.”
“From a school in Pakistan to the streets of Paris we have seen violence and terror perpetrated by those who profess to stand up for faith – their faith – profess to stand up for Islam but in fact are betraying it,” he said.
He did not mention radical Islam or jihadists or Islamic extremists. He did, however, call ISIS a “brutal, vicious death cult that in the name of religion carries out unspeakable acts of barbarism.”
The president also issued a word of warning to Christians.
“And lest we get on our high horse and think this is unique to some other place – remember that during the Crusades and the Inquisition committed terrible deeds in the name of Christ,” the president said. http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2015/02/05/obama-at-prayer-event-christians-did-terrible-things-too/
Many in the religious right are outraged by all this. But notice this:
February 5, 2015
So President Obama is evidently taking a ration of right-wing blow back for comments at today’s National Prayer Breakfast comparing the heinous actions of ISIS to the heinous actions of the Crusades. “Critics Pounce” read one headline. “Outrage” read another
Here’s what’s outrageous: Christians who don’t know their own history. Like the story of the Cathars — a Christian sect deemed heretical in the 13th century and savagely butchered by Christian Crusaders in France. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rev-susan-russell/an-amen-for-the-president_b_6626902.html
It is true that most who profess Christ do not understand church history, though few who profess Christ are actually Christian (documented information on church history is in the free online booklet Continuing History of the Church of God). Some called Cathars were part of the Church of God–we in the Church of God have long been subject to persecution (see also Persecutions by Church and State).
Here are some statements from a well-known conservative commentator about what Barack Obama’s actions:
February 5, 2015
Everything [President Obama] does is to minimize what’s happening” in Syria and Iraq with the Islamic State, says Charles Krauthammer, pointing to the president’s “astonishing” comments at today’s National Prayer Breakfast.
“Everything he does is to minimize what’s happening, to hold us back and to essentially deny the gravity of what’s happening. That’s why today he had to compare it to the Crusades and to the Inquisition, which is simply astonishing. Mr. President, the Crusades were 800 years ago, and the Inquisition 500 years ago. What’s happening right now is not Christians on the march. It is radical Islam.”
It is unclear, said Krauthammer, whether the president makes these comparisons “because he thinks we will overreact, or because he genuinely believes this is not the threat that Jordan thinks it is, that Americans think it is, that the Saudis do, the gulf Arabs [do].” http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/398044/krauthammers-take-mr-president-crusades-were-800-years-ago-nro-staff
While it is true that the picture Barack Obama attempted to paint seems to overlook modern reality, he is correct that the Greco-Roman faiths endorsed the Crusades and the Church of Rome the Inquisition.
However, I will add that real Christians actually were never “crusaders.” Crusaders were cross-bearing warriors that the world’s governments endorses fighting against Muslims in the Middle East after Pope Urban II called for them too. The Crusades also got support from the Eastern Orthodox for a time, so both the Roman and Orthodox Catholic leaders encouraged some of that bloodshed. There were other campaigns that the Church of Rome was also involved with against others it considered enemies before and after the Crusades, including the Inquisition.
I would also add that the Protestant Martin Luther was also involved in warfare and killing.
Regarding peasants opposed to him and the leaders that favored him, notice what Martin Luther advised:
Pure devilry is urging on the peasants…Therefore let all who are able, mow them down, slaughter and stab them, openly or in secret, and remember that there is nothing more poisonous, noxious and utterly devilish than a rebel. You must kill him as you would a mad dog…
The authorities must resolve to chastise and slay as long as they can raise a finger…It may be that those who are killed on the side of the authorities is really a martyr in God’s cause. A happier death no man could die. The present time is so strange that a prince can gain Heaven easier by spilling blood than by praying (Luther M. Against the Murderous and Rapacious Hordes of the Peasants, May 4, 1525-Erl, 24, 287, ff. As cited in O’Hare PF. The Facts About Luther, p. 232).
Notice what Martin Luther admitted:
I, Martin Luther, slew all the peasants in the rebellion, for I said that they should be slain; all their blood is upon my head. But I cast it on the Lord God, who commanded me to speak this way (Werke, Erl. Edition, lix, p. 284 ‘Table Talk’ as quoted in Stoddard JL. Rebuilding a Lost Faith, 1922, p.96).
It is reported that 100,000 perished at that time.
All that being said, real Christians do not participate in carnal warfare. Even the Church of Rome realizes that even the bulk of its supporters were opposed to military participation until the compromises made with Emperor Constantine in the fourth century. Here is a report from a former Catholic priest:
Whereas up to the year 175 there was not a single Christian soldier, in 416, by an edict of Theodosius, only Christians were allowed to enlist (De Rosa, Peter. Vicars of Christ. Poolberg Press, Dublin, 2000, p. 156).
Yet, this is not an area that true Christians compromised on. The only ones who enlisted were those that ended up accepting the type of “Christianity” that nearly all the Greco-Roman Emperors from Constantine onwards endorsed.
The Catholic/Orthodox/Protestant saint Justin (Martyr) taught around 150 A.D.:
For from Jerusalem there went out into the world, men, twelve in number, and these illiterate, of no ability in speaking: but by the power of God they proclaimed to every race of men that they were sent by Christ to teach to all the word of God; and we who formerly used to murder one another do not only now refrain from making war upon our enemies, but also, that we may not lie nor deceive our examiners, willingly die confessing Christ (Justin. First Apology, Chapter 39).
O unreasoning men! understanding not what has been proved by all these passages, that two advents of Christ have been announced: the one, in which He is set forth as suffering, inglorious, dishonoured, and crucified; but the other, in which He shall come from heaven with glory, when the man of apostasy, who speaks strange things against the Most High, shall venture to do unlawful deeds on the earth against us the Christians, who, having learned the true worship of God from the law, and the word which went forth from Jerusalem by means of the apostles of Jesus, have fled for safety to the God of Jacob and God of Israel; and we who were filled with war, and mutual slaughter, and every wickedness, have each through the whole earth changed our warlike weapons,–our swords into ploughshares, and our spears into implements of tillage,–and we cultivate piety, righteousness, philanthropy, faith, and hope, which we have from the Father Himself through Him who was crucified; and sitting each under his vine (Dialogue, Chapter 110).
Notice also the position of the third century Catholic theologian, bishop, and saint Hippolytus, who also adds various occupations to those that reject one from being a follower of Christ:
16:6 A charioteer, likewise, or one who takes part in the games, or one who goes to the games, he shall cease or he shall be rejected. 7 If someone is a gladiator, or one who teaches those among the gladiators how to fight, or a hunter who is in the wild beast shows in the arena, or a public official who is concerned with gladiator shows, either he shall cease, or he shall be rejected. 8 If someone is a priest of idols, or an attendant of idols, he shall cease or he shall be rejected. 9 A military man in authority must not execute men. If he is ordered, he must not carry it out. Nor must he take military oath. If he refuses, he shall be rejected. 10 If someone is a military governor, or the ruler of a city who wears the purple, he shall cease or he shall be rejected. 11 The catechumen or faithful who wants to become a soldier is to be rejected, for he has despised God. (Hippolytus. The Apostolic Tradition of Hippolytus of Rome. From the work of Bernard Botte (La Tradition Apostolique. Sources Chretiennes, 11 bis. Paris, Editions du Cerf, 1984) and of Gregory Dix (The Treatise on the Apostolic Tradition of St. Hippolytus of Rome, Bishop and Martyr. London: Alban Press, 1992) as translated by Kevin P. Edgecomb http://www.bombaxo.com/hippolytus.html viewed 08/06/09)
Early Christians, including most apostates who claimed to be one, did not participate in carnal warfare. It has always been against the Christian faith. Perhaps Barack Obama has a sense of that, or perhaps he is trying to make non-Muslims feel that the current Islamic terrorists are no worse than the Catholics of old.
Either way, terrorism is wrong. What the Islamic State is doing is wrong (see also Iraq, the King of the South, Armageddon, and Prophecy). God will judge.
Some items of possibly related interest may include:
Christian Soldiers How are Christians to be like soldiers? How are they to be different?
Military Service and the Churches of God: Do Real Christians Participate in Carnal Warfare or Encourage Violence? Here are current and historical perspectives on a matter which show the beliefs of the true church on military participation. Is war proper for Christians? A related sermon would be: Christians, Violence, and Military Service.
Continuing History of the Church of God This pdf booklet is a historical overview of the true Church of God and some of its main opponents from c. 31 A.D. to 2014. Related sermon links include Continuing History of the Church of God: c. 31 to c. 300 A.D. and Continuing History of the Church of God: 4th-16th Centuries. Marque aquí para ver el pdf folleto: Continuación de la Historia de la Iglesia de Dios.
Persecutions by Church and State This article documents some that have occurred against those associated with the COGs and some prophesied to occur. Will those with the cross be the persecutors or the persecuted–this article has the shocking answer. There is also a YouTube video sermon you can watch: The Coming Persecution of the Church. Here is information in the Spanish language: Persecuciones de la Iglesia y el Estado.
What is the Origin of the Cross as a ‘Christian’ Symbol? Was the cross used as a venerated symbol by the early Church? A related YouTube video would be Origin of the Cross.
Is American Football Evil? Is the most popular spectator sport in the USA something that Christians should watch? What do the Bible and early writings show? There is also a YouTube video available titled Should Christians watch American football?
Which Is Faithful: The Roman Catholic Church or the Continuing Church of God? Do you know that both groups shared a lot of the earliest teachings? Do you know which church changed? Do you know which group is most faithful to the teachings of the apostolic church? Which group best represents true Christianity? This documented article answers those questions.
The Similarities and Dissimilarities between Martin Luther and Herbert W. Armstrong This article clearly shows some of the doctrinal differences between in the two. At this time of doctrinal variety and a tendency by many to accept certain aspects of Protestantism, the article should help clarify why the genuine Church of God is NOT Protestant. Do you really know what the Protestant Reformer Martin Luther taught and should you follow his doctrinal example? Here is a related sermon video: Martin Luther and Herbert Armstrong: Reformers with Differences.
Iraq, the King of the South, Armageddon, and Prophecy What will happen to Iraq? Is it the prophesied Mystery Babylon? What is Armageddon and how does that have to do with Iraq? Here is a related video Iraq, Armageddon, & Prophecy.
Differences Between Islam and the Continuing Church of God What are some of the main differences? Are there any similarities?
Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse What do each of the four horseman of the Apocalypse represent? Have they began their ride? Did Jesus discuss the any of this? Might their rides coincide with the “beginning of sorrows? Do they start their ride prior to the Great Tribulation? Did Nostradamus or any other ‘private prophets’ write predictions that may mislead people so that they may not understand the truth of one or more of the four horseman? There is also a related YouTube video titled The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.
Fourth Horseman of the Apocalypse What is the pale horse of death and pestilences? What will it bring and when? Spanish: El cuarto jinete de Apocalipsis, el caballo pálido de muerte y pestilencia.
Barack Obama, Prophecy, and the Destruction of the United States-Second Edition for Second Obama Term This is a 160 page book for people truly interested in prophecies related to Barack Obama and the United States, including learning about many that have already been fulfilled (which the book documents in detail) and those that will be fulfilled in the future. It also has a chapter about a Republican choice. This book is available to order at www.barackobamaprophecy.com. The physical book can also be purchased at Amazon from the following link: Barack Obama, Prophecy, and the Destruction of the United States: Is Barack Obama Fulfilling Biblical, Islamic Catholic, Kenyan, and other America-Related Prophecies? What About Republican Leaders? Second Edition for Second Obama Term.
Barack Obama, Prophecy, and the Destruction of the United States-Second Term-Amazon Kindle edition. This electronic version is available for only US$2.99. And you do not need an actual Kindle device to read it. Why? Amazon will allow you to download it to almost any device: Please click HERE to download one of Amazon s Free Reader Apps. After you go to for your free Kindle reader and then go to Barack Obama, Prophecy, and the Destruction of the United States-Second Term-Amazon Kindle edition.
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