What's in a Name?: Deus vult!

The name of this blog is the combination of two mottos or battle cries. At the moment, I will focus on the first slogan: Deus vult! Deus vult is Latin for "God wills it" and was the battle cry of the Crusades. The Crusades were a series of events in history that are both fascinating and controversial. Often they are reduced to a caricature and their true nature is overlooked. In Western history, the crusades were often regarded as a heroic, though doomed effort. In the Mid East, the Crusades are portrayed as an evil endeavor that was ultimately overcome by God's heroic warriors. In recent years, the term Crusade has fallen into disrepute as it symbolizes European colonization and oppression. All of these approaches are problematic as they discard actual history and the lessons we can learn from it.

It is important to understand that, like all historical events, many factors led to the Crusades. The destruction of Christian Holy Sites, as well as the harassment of Christian pilgrims, contributed to a growing outrage amount European Christians. The catalyst that launched the Crusades was a  request for help from the Byzantine Emperor. The Byzantine Empire was the old Eastern Roman Empire, but it was under increasing assault from the Ottoman Empire. Though there was a great deal of tension between the Byzantine Empire and Western Europe, the Byzantine Empire was still within the realm of Christendom. The Byzantines wanted the West to open a new front against the Ottoman's in order to relieve some of the pressure against them. This endeavor also appealed to a dream of restoring the Holy Land to Christian control. In 1095, Pope Urban II issued a declaration for an endeavor to take back the Holy Land.

Unfortunately, the efforts of the Crusaders largely ended in failure. Though Crusaders did conquer the Holy Land and establish temporary kingdoms, they were eventually overwhelmed by Islamic forces. Perhaps the worst part of the entire effort befell the Byzantine Empire. The capital of Byzantium, Constantinople, was sacked by the Crusaders. Then it was conquered by the Ottomans. The Byzantine plan to save their empire led to their demise.

That is a condensed history, and there are specific elements I will address in the future. At the moment, though, my focus is on the motto of the Crusades: "God wills it." They truly believed that they were doing the work of God and that God would give them the victory. But the results would indicate that God did not will it. Ultimately the Crusades sought to solve a problem that could not be solved with a sword. Evangelists were needed, not knights. The church sought to solve a Spiritual challenge with worldly methods, and the results were disastrous. We must make sure that our methods are as righteous as our objectives. The ends do not justify the means if the means are abhorrent to God. We must be very careful in claiming God's sanction on our goals and activities. The battle cry of "Deus vult" should remind us that we cannot claim God's authority for something that we want, while ignoring the actual commands of God.