Published by Oh noblemen of the great races, despite all differences you are still brethren─ united under the call of God. As Pope Urban II expressed in Clermont, now more than ever our divine father calls unto us to rise against the unholy insurrections. As we idly sit by and watch Christian territory slowly fall victim to these unjust sieges and attacks it makes us no better than our foes. These calculated and repeated attacks by the transgressors must bring about a defensive war for our own self-preservation. We cannot allow the slaughter of innocents to go unchecked anymore. For those who wish to have their progeny live in Christian territory, you must raise your arms to fight for God’s army. Our goals are just, and we must retake our land bestowed upon our people by the will of God.
Yet, in the face of losing all that is holy, there are some of those who still remain undecided about this situation. We must join together as the bold warriors under Charles Martel and Odo the Great and drive the Seljuks and Muslims off of Christian land. We must drive them back to their hellish native lands where their presence is tolerated. Our goal is to reclaim the lands stolen from us and ultimately retake the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.
War is and always has been an unfortunate yet necessary event for mankind. I would not write to you if I thought there was a means to stop future bloodshed. The papal state has exhausted all other options and has been forced to either call for God’s noble warriors to assemble or watch the downfall of our Christian empires to the heretics of the far east. This strife is not only important for Christianity, but also to retain the prosperous lives of our people.
The enemies we face seek nothing more than to tear the fabric of our Christian society and instill their pagan views and oppression upon us. I beg thee to reflect upon the ghastly events which they have bestowed upon our people in the recent past, lest you forget. Forget not of the destruction of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in 1009. Forget not of the barbarism of their conquering of the holy city of Jerusalem. And forget not of the tales of woe from our humble pilgrims who sought entrance to the holy city of Jerusalem and were denied. We have grudgingly abided by their mistreatment and mandated taxes to live within land which is divinely ours, but this time we cannot withstand any more abuses. We must rise against their forces in support of our eastern brethren, and fight for all that is holy and righteously ours as Christians.
I am sure many of you pondered how our holy father views such acts of war. I too pondered this and studied the word scribed within the Holy Bible. There are several instances in which the view on soldiers and war is explained:
“Then some soldiers asked him, “And what should we do”?
He replied, “Do not extort money and do not accuse people falsely─ be content with your pay.” – Luke 3:14
The Old Testament describes several instances of war that God himself had called for:
“However, in the cities of the nations the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance, do not leave alive anything that breathes. Completely destroy them—the Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites—as the Lord your God has commanded you.” – Deuteronomy 20:16-17
And lest we not forget:
“…a time to love and a time to hate,
a time for war and a time for peace.” –Ecclesiastes 3:8
These callings are merely stating that a soldier should be just with his judgment, and war should only commence if it is warranted. The papal state has reviewed this predicament extensively, and has found this call to arms just following the theories set forth by Augustine of Hippo.
My brothers, I hope that all negative thoughts have been eradicated and replaced with the inspiration required for you to follow other knights who set out under God’s banner. All of whom go shall receive reward both in satisfaction of helping fellow oppressed Christians and shall receive favor in God’s eyes as a soldier of the kingdom of heaven. For those who still reject this call, remember Matthew 10:38 “he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me”.
