The Mongols and the Mamluks are the big players. ibid.
From the Christian perspective the first crusade was a startling, almost a miraculous, success. Against all the odds the first crusaders managed to travel to the Holy Land and retook the holy city of Jerusalem. Dr Tom Asbridge, Templar researcher, University of London
It is almost 100 years since Christian armies from Europe seized Jerusalem. Europe suffers in the grip of repression and poverty. Peasant and lord alike flee to the Holy Land in search of fortune and salvation. Kingdom of Heaven 2005 starring Orlando Bloom & Jeremy Irons & Eva Green & David Thewlis & Liam Neeson & Brendan Gleeson & Michael Sheen & Ghassan Massoud & Alexander Seddig & Khaled Nabawy et al, director Ridley Scott, caption
France 1184: I call it here. Now. ibid. Baron Godfrey
To kill an infidel is not murder. It is the path to heaven. ibid. Pilgrim Camp – Road to Messina
A kingdom of conscience. A Kingdom of Heaven. ibid. Neeson
I have lost my religion. ibid. hero
God wills it. ibid. Knights Templar
We are fighting for wealth and land. ibid. Irons
The King, Richard the Lionheart, went on to the Holy Land and crusaded for three years. ibid. caption
There is nothing intrinsic linking any religion with any act of violence. The crusades don't prove that Christianity was violent. The Inquisition doesn't prove that Christianity tortures people. But that Christianity did torture people. Salman Rushdie
Is this the end of civilisation? ... The sixth killer App: Protestantism and the work ethic. Niall Ferguson, Civilisation VI: Is the West History? Work, Channel 4 2011
Europeans these days work a whole lot less than their American counterparts. And they don’t just work less, they pray less. ibid.
Could it be that European Protestantism was killed by greed? ibid.
To the East a Godless Europe; to the West a God-fearing America. ibid.
Springfield ... Some five hundred places of worship. ibid.
Hong Kong created a quasi-Christian society of God-worshippers, that attracted the support of tens of millions of Chinese. ibid.
China’s experiment with Christianity had been a catastrophe ... Churches were closed down. Some were turned into factories. ibid.
The Protestant work ethic has come to China. ibid.
Tonight: The Church in crisis. But does it matter? Tonight: Is Britain Christian? ITV 2014
Was David Cameron right when he described Britain as a Christian country? ibid.
Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.
Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? And in thy name have cast out devils? And in thy name done many wonderful works?
And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity. Matthew 7:21-23
And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.
And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. Matthew 16:17-19
For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great works and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect. Matthew 24:24
And when he had found him, he brought him unto Antioch. And it came to pass, that a whole year they assembled themselves with the church, and taught much people. And the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch. Acts 11:26
And certain men which came down from Judaea taught the brethren, and said, Except ye be circumcised after the manner of Moses, ye cannot be saved.
When therefore Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and disputation with them, they determined that Paul and Barnabas, and certain other of them, should go up to Jerusalem unto the apostles and elders about this question.
And the contention was so sharp between them, that they departed asunder one from the other: and so Barnabas took Mark, and sailed unto Cyprus. Acts 15:1&2&39
Almost thou persuadeth me to be a Christian. Acts 26:28
Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.
For it hath been declared unto me of you, my brethren, by them which are of the house of Chloe, that there are contentions among you. I Corinthians 1:10&11
For first of all, when ye come together in the church, I hear that there be divisions among you; and I partly believe it. I Corinthians 11:18
We are members one of another. Ephesians 4:24
Whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue and if there by any praise, think on these things. Philippians 4:8
Stephen had just become the first Christian martyr. Andrew Marr’s History of the World III, BBC 2012
The number of Christians is two billion. ibid.
Christianity had spread right across the Roman world. ibid.
Christian missions to India imply that India is a land of heathens, and, therefore, stands on the same level with the Andaman or the Fiji Islands. That a country which has been recognised in all ages the world over as the mother of all religions and the cradle of civilisation should be considered as Pagan, shows how much ignorance prevails in Christendom.
Since the Parliament of Religions, I have been studying Christian institutions, and I have also studied the way in which the Christian ministers and the missionaries are manufactured in this country, and have learned to pity them. We must not blame them too severely, because their education is too narrow to make them broad-minded. I grant that they are good-hearted, that they are good husbands and often fathers of large families, but generally they are very ignorant, especially of the history of civilisation and of the philosophy of religion of India. Most of them do not even know the history of ancient India.
We know that in this age of competition, centralisation, and monopoly, very many people are forced out of business. The English say, ‘The fool of the family goes into the Church.’ So that when a youth is unable to make a living, he takes to missionary work, goes to India, and helps to introduce among the Hindus the doctrines of his church, which have long since been exploded by science. Virchand Gandhi, The Monist
For Christians, the essential event in the foundation of their faith is the Crucifixion. Michael Scott, Jesus: Rise to Power I, National Geographic 2015
The Roman Empire becomes Christian. ibid.
Perpetua: here in the Roman arena where she is whipped, tortured by animals and finally put to death. All for one reason: she is a Christian. Michael Scott, Jesus: Rise to Power II
Christianity is becoming a cult of self-sacrifice. ibid.
The Nicene Creed – simply put, we believe in one almighty God, the Father, Jesus is the Son of God ... we believe in the Holy Spirit. Michael Scott, Jesus: Rise to Power III
The Church becomes an instrument in the state apparatus. ibid
Onward, Christian soldiers,
Marching as to war,
With the cross of Jesus
Going on before. Sabine Baring-Gould, 1834-1924, Onward Christian Soldiers, 1864 hymn