Man's inhumanity to man

Submitted by Kit Lawson (Australia), Mar 4, 2008 at 06:36

How very interesting that my little tongue-in-cheek comment should produce such a tirade. I use the word 'tirade' advisedly, since it could hardly be described as 'reasoned disagreement' (See Note below).

Firstly there is an assumption that I am a 'Christianophobe'. Do I fear Christians? Certainly not. I am one - Presbyterian.

Secondly, I wonder who these atheists/agnostics are, who are so busy writing on religious enterprises such as the Crusades. My own source is Steven Runciman who said of the Fourth Crusade, "[t]here never was a greater crime against humanity" - you will remember that this was when the Crusaders sacked Constantinople, the seat of the Greek church. Of the Crusades in general he said they were "nothing more than a long act of intolerance in the name of God, which is a sin against the Holy Ghost". You will concede that these do not seem to be the words of an atheist/agnostic.

Thirdly, you suggest reading Robert Spencer, director of Jihad Watch, a project of the David Horowitz Freedom Centre. I feel there may be some bias there. Thomas Madden, a scholar of note, writes, nevertheless, in the wake of 9/11 (when I believe the word 'crusade' was bandied about by your esteemed incumbent president) and one cannot help but wonder what he left out of his Concise History - as distinct from Runciman's 3-volume masterwork.

Finally, does anyone else remember that a great many Americans found the notion of having a Catholic president (JFK) intolerable and does anyone else remember First Lady, Hillary Rodham Clinton, in 1998, endorsing (and then reneging on) the idea of an independent Palestinian state?

This race to the White House seems to be in danger of being another "act of intolerance in the name of God" and that is rather worrying.

than the Fourth Crusade."

Note: Opinions expressed in comments are those of the authors alone and not necessarily those of Daniel Pipes. Original writing only, please. Comments are screened and in some cases edited before posting. Reasoned disagreement is welcome but not comments that are scurrilous, off-topic, commercial, disparaging religions, or otherwise inappropriate. For complete regulations, see the "Guidelines for Reader Comments".