Links to historical information:
Pope Urban II gave the following reaons for starting the First Crusade in his speech at the Council of Clermont:
Pope Eugene III called for a second crusade for largely the same reasons as the first. The Christian city of Edessa had been captured by the Turks, and the pope called upon people to rescue the Christians who had been taken captive and free the city from pagan influence. However, the actual crusade didn't restrict itself to Edessa, but rather became a general campaign to capture lands held by nonbelievers; the crusaders fought in Lisbon, Damascus and other cities far from Edessa. (See The Second Crusade by E. L. Skip Knox.)
The Third and Fourth Crusades purported to reclaim Jerusalem from the Turks, though neither crusade actually fought in Jerusalem. The Fifth and later crusades focused on Egypt, with the intent of weakening the Muslim position in order to capture Jerusalem. Emperor Frederick II of Germany and King Louis IX of France each led crusades because they'd vowed to go on a crusade.
The three main reasons given for the Crusades were:
With the later crusades, the length of time since the initial invasion should be considered as well. If the current inhabitants of a city weren't alive when the invasion occurred and aren't being oppressed, they're not necessarily in need of rescue. Jerusalem was retaken by the Turks in 1187; Frederick II's and Louis IX's crusades occurred forty and sixty years later, respectively.
As for the second reason, there is nothing in the Bible to support the notion that certain lands (e.g. Jerusalem) ought to remain in the hands of Christians or that Christians ought to take control of lands which belong to non-Christians. The Bible teaches that Christians are to love their enemies (in the case of the Crusades, the Europeans viewed the Turks as their enemies) and help them:
Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you. (Mt 5:44)Land or other property belonging to non-Christians or a non-Christian government should be left in their keeping (Ex 20:15, 17, Mt 22:21). Furthermore, Christians are not to coerce others into faith (1 Pt 3:15-16). When nonbelievers refuse to accept Christianity, Christians are to move on and evangelize others (Mt 10:14), not punish the nonbelievers (Lk 9:51-56).If you come across your enemy's ox or donkey wandering off, be sure to take it back to him. If you see the donkey of someone who hates you fallen down under its load, do not leave it there; be sure you help him with it. (Ex 23:4-5)
Concerning vows, Jesus taught that they should be avoided altogether (Mt 5:33-37). The OT warns against making vows (Pr 20:25) and includes several examples of foolish vows having disastrous results (e.g. 1 Sam 14:24-35).
Many of the crusaders' actions were in opposition to the principles of the Bible. This doesn't mean the crusaders were not Christians (though some of them may not have been), for even Christians do wrong. It does mean that not all actions of Christians or those who claim to have God's approval are in fact approved by God.
General Biblical guidelines for Christians' treatment of nonbelievers are discussed in the previous section. Below are some specific wrongs committed by the crusaders and the Bible passages which teach us to do otherwise.
| Action | Opposing verses |
| Attacks on Rhineland Jews (First Crusade) | Romans 11:28, Leviticus 19:18 |
| Theft of locals' property (when the crusaders were travelling) | The Israelites pledged to not take anything when they passed through foreign lands, and to pay for whatever they might happen to use (Num 20:17-19, 21:21-22) |
Related articles