McAtee Contra Dr. James White On The Crusades

“The thrust of the preceding chapters can be summarized very briefly. The Crusades were not unprovoked. They were not the first round of European colonialism. They were not conducted for land, loot, or converts. The crusaders were not barbarians who victimized the cultivated Muslims. They sincerely believed that they served in God’s battalions.”

Rodney Stark
God’s Battalions — pg. 248

(The crusades were,) “armed pilgrimages driven by a holy zeal to recover conquered Christian lands.”
Steven Weidenkopf

Author — The Glory of the Crusades

“Crusading was extremely expensive and more than a few noble families risked bankruptcy in order to take part. They did so for medieval, not modern, reasons. Crusading for them was an act of love and charity by which, like the Good Samaritan, they were aiding their neighbors in distress. Muslim warriors had conquered eastern Christians, taken their lands, and in some cases killed or enslaved them. The Crusader believed it was his duty to right that wrong.”

Thomas Madden
Author — Concise History of the Crusades

“But folks, listen, please. Have you seen the images these (mainly) young men are posting? What do you see in them all? Yes, the cross, prominently displayed on the armor of men slashing and hacking the infidel to pieces. The Crusades were definitionally religious in nature. I know, I know, Rome was quite involved in politics and the like by that time, and very corrupt. No question about it. But, here’s the point: they joined religion to their avarice and thirst for power. They promised eternal life to those who died fighting the infidel! The entire foundation was a fundamental and outright denial of the nature, efficacy, and truth about the gospel of Jesus Christ.”

James White
Baptist Minister

Recently, Dr. James White walked out on a limb regarding the subject of the Crusades only to find that it was being sawed off behind him. White’s “knowledge” of the Crusades was obviously not informed by some of the best most recent scholarship and instead relied on the “I hate the West” chronicles of the Crusades.Briefly, as it pertains to the Crusades, the fact is that Islam was crowding in on Christendom. Islam had been conquering former Christians lands for centuries. Further, the Christian pilgrims to the Holy Land were being slaughtered by the Muslims and the Christian faith was under attack. Christian inhabitants of these formerly Christian lands were being forced to pay the Muslim Jizya. The Christian leaders, in both Church and State, realized that something had to be done. Those noble Crusaders who are our Christian Fathers in the Faith assessed the situation and did what they thought best at that moment in history. Unlike White, I will not fault my Fathers intent all because they didn’t do it just right. (And yes, terrible mistakes were made but you know what … that’s the nature of war.)

During his rant against the Crusaders and the Crusades Dr. White offered up this gem;

“But the fact is these folks are saying the Crusades did not go “far enough.” Far enough in what? Blaspheming Christ? Disparaging the gospel? Promoting hatred? What would you like to see more of, exactly? What would be “far enough”?”

James White

This quote about the Crusades from White is revealed to be as vacuous as it is when one considers, for example, a quote from one of the better known Crusaders, Godfrey of Boullion. When Godfrey of Bouillon captured Jerusalem in the First Crusade they offered to make him king. He refused and said;

“I will not wear a crown of gold in the city where Our Lord Jesus Christ wore a crown of thorns.”

Does James White consider this mindset blasphemous?

Allow me to suggest several truths, contra Dr. White;

1.)One can only hold that the Crusades blasphemed Christ if one does not believe in Just War Theory, or in defensive war. The Crusades were clearly Just since they were seeking to protect and defend a helpless Christian people who have been aggressively attacked by the adherents of a religion that hated Christianity.

2.) Contra White’s quote above there is not a thing unbiblical about hatred that is Biblical. Scriptures teaches us to “hate that which is evil and to cling to that which is good.” In point of fact, it would have been hatred against their suffering Christian brothers to not seek to bring them relief by going on Crusade.

3.) Dr. White asked above, “What would supporters of the Crusade liked to have seen more of” and I would answer that I would have liked to have seen even more Islamic lands (formerly Christian lands) conquered by the sword for Christ.

4.) Dr. White also asks “what would be far enough for Crusade action.” I would answer by saying, “far enough would be seeing the nations covered with the Kingdom of Christ as the waters cover the sea.”

It is clear when it comes to understanding the history of the Crusades Dr. James White and I really hold to two vastly different views. Both of those views cannot be Christian. Really, in the end White is giving us the cultural liberal view of Crusade history. This is the view that teaches that white Christian were evil colonizers who raped and pillaged everywhere they set foot. It is the view that the white man is evil and poor downtrodden Muslims were just minding their own business living a happy go lucky life until the Crusaders came along. A good number of cultural liberals like Dr. White are genuinely Christian but they don’t lose the worldview baggage of liberalism when it comes to their understanding of history.  People like Dr. White become so submerged in the Enlightenment world and life view that we can’t see that it is inconsistent with the Christian faith.

Honestly, though, after reading the James White thread on X about the Crusades I almost begin to conclude that either I am not a Christian or He is not a Christian or neither of us are Christian because it is difficult to see how we can both be Christian and have convictions that are this radically different when it comes to these kinds of worldview considerations. At the very least one would have to say that if we both are Christians then one of us needs to become more consistent in understanding history from a Christian perspective.

During the course of his X rant James White doubled and tripled down;

“But folks, listen, please. Have you seen the images these (mainly) young men are posting? What do you see in them all? Yes, the cross, prominently displayed on the armor of men slashing and hacking the infidel to pieces. The Crusades were definitionally religious in nature. I know, I know, Rome was quite involved in politics and the like by that time, and very corrupt. No question about it. But, here’s the point: they joined religion to their avarice and thirst for power. They promised eternal life to those who died fighting the infidel! The entire foundation was a fundamental and outright denial of the nature, efficacy, and truth about the gospel of Jesus Christ.”

James White

In response to this outburst we can only note;

1.) Why would anyone have a problem with the soldiers and champions of Christ’s cause killing the infidel who had, as a matter of policy, been enslaving and killing Christians, raping Christian women folk, and turning Christian children into Janissaries?

2.) If ever there was a classic textbook example of Just War theory supporting war it was the Crusades.

3.) Of course the Crusades were religious in nature. All wars are religious in nature. This is a Captain Obvious assertion. Does Dr, White think that there are wars that are waged that are not religious in nature? Does James know that FDR led sailors and soldiers in singing “Onward Christian Soldiers” on a battle ship once? There has never been a war that wasn’t “religious in nature.”

There’s a good question for Pope White….. is James as outraged by Christians participating in WW II on the side of the Allies as he is by Christian participating in Crusades?

3.) James is surprised that religion often combines avarice and thirst for power with war? If Christians never fought in any righteous war where avarice and thirst for power wasn’t somewhere in the equation Christians really would be pacifists. On the issue of avarice though, keep that opening quote from Dr. Stark above in mind.

4.) All because indulgences were promised and eternal life guaranteed for those who fought does not by itself make the Crusades bad policy in and of themselves. Many times the right thing is done for the wrong reasons.

In the end Dr. White is still not dealing with the reality that the Mooselimbs were seeking to crush the Christian faith and that the Crusades were a godly response against the work of the Christ-hating Muslims waging offensive war against Christian lands.

When Dr. White says these kinds of things I really pray that he keeps popping off. He’s the best advertisement for not being Baptist that currently exists. Indeed, Dr. White seems increasingly to not want to be identified as being Reformed.

“I have less and less interest in the specific moniker ‘Reformed.'”

James White

It would be easy to believe when Dr. White says those kinds of things that  he’s just being a tease trying to get the hopes of the Reformed up.

Dr. White however continued his mindless trek into the jejune by offering this gem on the subject of the Crusades;

“The Crusades did not stop the expansion of Islam. In fact, they were not intended to. ”

James White

One would love to know White’s source that the Crusades were not intended to stop the expansion of Islam. Secondly, while they may not have stopped the expansion of Islam they certainly slowed it down for a time. Those Crusader states that were planted and existed for a time are evidence of that as is the fact that the Crusaders conquered Jerusalem. Clearly the Crusaders did more than stop the expansion of Islam but rather reversed it for a season.

Also consider that Ferdinand and Isabella’s crusade did indeed stop the expansion of Islam as the Spanish Royalty kicked the carpet-worshippers out of Spain and stopped the spread in Spain. Charles Martel stopped the spread of Islam. The Polish winged hussars under Jan Sobieski stopped the spread of Islam. Then there was Jean Parisot de Valette — a latter day Crusader — who slowed down the march of the Muslims in his manful resistance with his Hospitallers during the great siege of Malta.

“The words of a wise man’s mouth [are] gracious, But the lips of a fool shall swallow him up.”

Ecclesiastes 10:12 (NKJV)

 

From The Mailbag; Why The Use Of The Term “Dissident Reformed?”

What does the phrase you use “Dissident Reformed” mean?

Nancy,

Bret responds,
Nancy ,
Greetings,Thank you for asking.

The term “Dissident Christian” is my own term really. I coined it to communicate the idea of what it meant to be Reformed before the rise of modernity in the late 18th century. It especially includes the understanding that as God alone is sovereign no magistrate in any jurisdictional sphere has the authority to flout God’s sovereignty without the anticipation that God’s people are free to directly and manfully resist the wickedness of such illegitimate magistrates should the opportunity arise. This was the course of Reformed chaps in history like John Knox, Christopher Goodman, Oliver Cromwell, the Huguenots, and the Black Robed Regiment found among our American Presbyterian founding Fathers.

Christian Nationalism & A Book List To Break The Spell Of The Post-WW II Consensus

It seems to be pretty well recognized that in order to see reality for what it is one has to get rid of the Post WW II narrative that has been foisted upon the West. More and more people are beginning to realize that the Death of the West is guaranteed as long as the West continues to accept the mythology surrounding WW II.

One of the major myths of the post-war consensus is the evil of any kind of Nationalism. The post-war consensus tells us that Nationalism = Fascism. Dumb Christians take this idea up and summarily condemn all forms of Nationalism. This is very convenient because the only alternative to Nationalism is some kind of Internationalism, whether that of Empire, Globalist, or Communist — none of which are particularly Christians since they each and all guarantee a statist centralism that is foreign to the Scriptures. The Scriptures instead give us decentralized Jurisdictionalism wherein within the confine of nation by nation  (people group by people group) the interdependent jurisdictions of family, church, and diverse civil social orders. This kind of nationalism  might well be referred to as regionalist nationalism.

In the Christian community we have Dr. Stephen Wolfe for bringing the idea of Christian Nationalism back into our consciousness. Now, there are significant areas I disagree with Dr. Wolfe on (can you say Natural Law theory?) but no one can doubt that Dr. Wolfe has driven the conversation.

However, long before Dr. Wolfe was on the scene the Kinists were doing the spade work for Christian Nationalism since Christian Nationalism is the inevitable consequence of a Biblical Kinism. One cannot thump for Biblical Kinism and not be four-square in favor of Christian Nationalism. Indeed a banner argument for Kinism from the beginning is that the Scriptures affirm the necessity and presence of self-conscious Nations — Nations that continue to exist beyond the resurrection so as to be found entering the New Jerusalem in Revelation 21.

The post WW II narrative has sought to choke the air out of this cornerstone Biblical observation regarding peoples and nations. The sad thing is that “Legion” is the name of the Christians who have embraced this anti-Christ egalitarian WOKE doctrine even arguing that the Church should lead the way in “all colors bleeding into one,” by chanting ad-nauseum their derelict and retarded handling of Galatians 3 that “in Christ there is neither male for female, Jew nor Greek, slave or free.”

There is a good deal of work to be repeated (because, frankly, the work has already been done) in both the area of Biblical exegesis and in the area of revisionist history of WW II mythical narrative dogma. It is the case that both a significantly errant reading of Scripture and a significantly errant reading of history has brought us to the place we are at.

With that in mind I offer a reading list for those interested in awaking from the spell cast upon them that put them in their dogmatic slumbers.  In many other places on Iron Ink I have already dealt with the exegetical end of Christian Nationalism. With this reading list I deal with the propaganda that we’ve all been fed since the beginning of WW II.

Here are just some of the books I have read over the years that account for why I don’t buy the WW II narrative propaganda;

The order is random

1.) Pearl Harbor: The Seeds & Fruits of Infamy – Percy L. Greaves Jr.

2.) The Backdoor to War — Charles Callan Tansill
3.) Churchill’s War — III Volumes — David Irving
4.) Hitler’s War — II Volumes – David Irving
5.) Freedom Betrayed — Herbert Hoover
6.) Perpetual War for Perpetual Peace – Harry Elmer Barnes
7.) FDR Goes to War — Burton W. Folsom Jr. Anita Folsom
8.) Roosevelt’s Road to Russia – George N. Crocker
9.) “Stalin’s Secret War” — Nikolai Tolstoy
10.) Other Losses — James Bacque
11.) The Roosevelt Myth — John T. Flynn
12.) American Betrayal — Diana West
13.) FDR, The Other Side of the Coin; How We are Tricked into WW II — Hamilton Fish
14.) FDR; My Exploited Father-in-Law — Curtis B. Dall
15.) How Britain Initiated Both World Wars — Nick Kollerstrom
16.)The Chief Culprit: Stalin’s Grand Design to Start World War II —  Viktor Suvorov

Be careful though. If you see through the Post World War II Narrative you will be hated by all should you offer your knowledge of the matter.

Public Service Announcement from Baptists For the Maintenance Of Room Temperature IQ

Setting: A lovely middle class living room complete with a bookshelf of library books against one wall with a collection of Hummels on another wall.

Music: Something softly classical with a thoughtful theme

A handsomely dressed 30 year old married Christian couple enters into the room. Their two children (boy and girl) are playing at their feet.Alternately they read their assigned parts from the Script…

“Have you ever considered that your children are aliens and strangers to the household of God?”

“Are you convinced that living in a nation governed either by God’s Natural Law or more especially Gods revealed law would be a tragic mistake?”

“Do you have absolutely zero ability to distinguish between a Biblical Nationalism and a unbiblical nationalism?”

“Are you convinced that the Crusades were blasphemous and a stain on the Church?”

“Do you think Doug Wilson is brilliant in combining Baptist churches with non-Baptists?”

Do you think that James White is God’s special gift to the Church?”

If you said “yes” to any of these questions then the Baptist faith may be just the faith for you.

We here among the Baptists pride ourselves in our break with the Church’s historical past… we labor hard at making sure that everyone knows that God is pleased with Democratic pluralism …. we take it as a mark of achievement that we don’t encourage our children to think of themselves as Christian until they decide for themselves.

There is always room for one more family in the Baptist faith.

Won’t you be that one more family?

____
Brought to you by the committee to maintain room temperature IQ.

Charlotte Michigan’s “Festival of Occult”

 Reporting on Charlotte’s “Festival of Oddities.”

For the past few years now Charlotte, Michigan in hopes of attracting tourists to the town has held what they have called “A Festival of Oddities.” That title is definitely a euphemism. A more accurate title would to have it be called “A Festival of the Occult.”

Because this year found the added twist of asking a Drag Queen Troupe to perform I was contacted as a minister to see if I would be outraged enough to protest this festival. Of course, as it doesn’t take much to tip over the needle on my outrage-meter I agreed to do what I could and so I showed up to protest this making Charlotte synonymous with Sodom-Gomorrah.

It started with meeting a central locale to pick up the necessary protest signs.  I picked up my sign and walked away saying… “Well, I’m off to make people angry.”

One of the good women there piped up and said … “Oh but we want to show them the love of Jesus.”

I internally rolled my eyes and responded;“Do you really think these people are going to read this sign and feel the love of Jesus?”

I had scoped out the Festival briefly before picking up my sign and said to myself, “When this kind of thing can take root in small town America you know the country is toast.”

What did I see at this version of Vanity Fair?I saw a young lady with a mid-riff T-Shirt that said “Slut for Halloween.” By the looks of her it was easy to believe the advertisement. I saw Drag Queen wearing a HUGE Tiara walking around all in black. I saw a man and woman wearing matching outfits while pushing a baby carriage. They were all tatted and pierced up and the matching outfits (she in a skirt and he in a shirt) had as the material the faces of all kinds of different mass murderers and serial killers in the fabric. I saw “guys” with gauges in their ear lobes with the lobes going down to the shoulder. I almost forgot to mention the young lady with sky blue hair and in a mini mini skirt walking around the “Festival of Oddities” with a four foot tongue flicking lizard (Iguana?) draped across her shoulder. I had to do a double take on that one. I’ve never seen that before. Goth was definitely the fashion style embraced by most of the participants.

Of course that is just a Whitman’s sampler of what I witnessed.

Next comes the various booths.There was one booth where the vendor, who, by his own testimony, was  a Warlock. The Warlock makes and sells human part replicas complete with the gory blood. He was also selling plastic models of aborted babies as well as various plastic lifelike human organs. It was all very realistic. Dismembered hands, arms, and feet were for sale. Just the gift for that loved one who is difficult to buy for. I was shocked and stood there dumbfounded. I eventually was able to ask Mr. Warlock if he could actually make a living selling this stuff. He curtly answered “yes.”

Another booth found a lady who sold herself as a “ribbon reader.” I had never heard of ribbon reading before and so I asked her “what is ribbon reading.” She told me that for $20.00 dollars she will read what color you present yourself as then tell you about what that means for you. There were booths for palm reading, booths for automatic writing, booths for tarot card readings…. there were booths there for just about any occultic thing you could possibly imagine. There were booths specializing in spell casting. Booths where one could pet your favorite snake. Think of it all as C. S. Lewis’ “Screwtape Letters,” being wildly successful.

I was there, of course, to protest the Drag Queens and to do so I carried around three signs displaying each one intermittently. My signs read;
“Grooming Is For Pets”
“Don’t Be A Drag”

“Hate Evil, Love Good”

Keep in mind that the Drag Queen performance was being sold as “family friendly.” Yeah, and Dracula is really just a chap who runs a blood bank.

As I carried my signs I received the usual vitriolic stares. One woman referred to be a “weird religious zealot.” Another portly woman (some kind of Board Member of the Festival) chased me off the Courthouse grounds telling me I was trespassing. She was, of course, very snotty. Yet another Jezebel like woman asked me why I had a problem with Drag Queens. I told her, “God’s Word prohibits that behavior” and cited the appropriate text. Jezebel promptly told me, “that’s just your opinion.” I responded, “Actually that is God’s declaration on the matter and I am better off listening to Him than listening to her say Drag Queens are wholesome.” She then told me … “The Bible is Bullshit and the Drag Queens are going to put on a wonderful performance.” I told her, in parting, “I am amazed that a 50 year old woman like yourself can not discern the obvious unnaturalness of Drag Queens.” She swore at me and turn and departed. I told her in parting that she needed to repent. This is all pretty typical behavior one gets when one protests wickedness.

I was disappointed by the lack of support from the Churches. Now it is true this protest only had 48 hours or so to put together a showing but still the turnout was pathetic. Ainger Bible Church provided most of the personnel protesting. However, I was the only clergy there protesting and I was told by someone in the know that a couple of those reputed to be “conservative pastors” who have gone on the record with the Mid-Michigan media to denounce me in times past told the organizer of the event that “we are too afraid of the backlash.” Rev. Randy Royston was the name of that coward. Another coward was Rev. Andy Shaver who one suspects didn’t carry signs of protest because it would have hurt his campaign to be a Michigan State congress-critter. I think John Bunyan would’ve named them “Talkative” and “Hypocrite” if Bunyan were around writing today. Shaver did show up to pray with the group thus burnishing his “I am Holy” credentials but he was AWOL when it came to actually protesting. Just more evidence that the visible Church is DEAD.

Charlotte has something like 23 Churches and I was the only Pastor who could see that this “Festival of Oddities” has something worthy to stand against? Look, I’m as much a coward as the next person but there are times when cowardice has to be put in the rear view mirror so one can quit themselves like a man.

I did meet a few laity out and protesting and had a decent conversation with a David Zastrow on Rushdoony, Bahnsen, and Reconstructionism. Jonathan Potter was there handing out tracts. It took courage for Jonathan to organize this and to hand out tracks since he is a businessman in Charlotte who works closely with some of those who were responsible for putting together this “Festival of Oddities.” Well done Jonathan!

Of course it is my prayer for many of those Christians protesting that the Lord Christ would open their eyes to what they are missing in their Baptist “Christianity.” Having said that, at least they were out there making their faith practical. That is more than what can be said for the 23 odd other churches in Charlotte who declined to get involved.

In finishing up I had my eyes opened once again to how deep the declension is in America. Not only are we holding Vanity Fair Carnival for the Occult we can’t even get the Church to manfully respond except for a very few brave souls.

Ah well… as it was in the days of Elijah, so it is in the days of McAtee. 😉

Yet God still reserves 7000 who have not bowed the knee to Baal.

Postscript — While praying in preparation I did find myself wondering if Jesus would have wept over the Canaanites that were about to be destroyed at His command. In other words, I was struggling with what love looked like in that debauched setting. Should I weep over them as Jesus did Jerusalem or should I have the compassion God had for the Priests of Baal on Mt. Carmel.

Maybe and probably both.