Question

How has the First Crusade impacted society today?

Answer 1

The greatest impact of the Crusades on the world today is so obvious that it's shocking that it is seldom mentioned. Essentially, the Crusades saved Western Europe from conquest by Islam which would have brought Western Civilization to an end and completely altered world history in ways unimaginable. It is important to remember that the Crusades were not wars of conquest, but wars to take back the Holy Land that the Muslims had taken from the Christians in the first place. Many less noble motivations can be attributed to some individual crusaders, but not to the movement as a whole. For the first 500 years after Christ, the entire Middle East was Christian (with substantial minorities of Jews in urban areas), before the Arabs were converted by Mohammed and swept over the region and throughout the Mediterranean (which was also fully Christian), spreading Islam through conquest. Finally, when the Eastern Roman Empire (today called the Byzantine) could no longer protect Christian pilgrims from Muslims in the Holy Land, the Pope encouraged both pious and warlike nobles and knights of Europe to turn their military energies toward this great and worthwhile endeavor. Plus, tens of thousands of poor people (even children) gave up what little they had and braved famine and hardship to undertake the long journey; all in response to more than four centuries of conquests in which Muslims had already captured two-thirds of the Christian world. At some point, Christianity as a faith and a culture had to defend itself or be taken over by Islam. The Crusades were that defense.

Historically, the crusaders have always been admired, so much so that the word became synonymous with dedication to do good ("crusading reporter," for example, and Batman is the "caped crusader"). Eisenhower called his memoirs "Crusade in Europe" because the Allies were trying to liberate Europe from the Nazi's as the crusades tried to liberate the Holy Land from the conquering warriors of Islam. An anti-Western, anti-Christian bias has taken over higher education since the 60s. You can see its brain-washing in some answers here. In the name of political correctness, they've tried to rewrite history.

Answer 2

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Answer 3

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Answer 4

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