Expert: Mrs. Priscilla Lyons - 1/5/2007

Question
Was there a Biblical/other Church-traditional justification for the Crusades?

Answer
Dear Lena,
   A Catholic expert might be able to answer this better than I can.  
   A person might make a case that it was Biblical to help return the land of Israel back to the Jews because God promised it to them.  But I don't think the Crusades had that goal.      
   The idea of using force to make people Christian is anti-Christian and unBiblical.  Christianity has to be accepted willingly or it isn't Christianity.
   The whole Catholic idea of EARNING spiritual merit has more in common with Muslim suicide bombers trying to earn a ticket straight to paradise, than it does to a Christian's reliance on the perfect work of Jesus to save and guide our lives.
   Priscilla