Archangel Ariel Department of Historical Review Current Assignment: Christian Progress Lord Jesus Ruler of Earth, Master of the Universe Heavenly Heights, Paradise Your Magnificent Majesty, King of Heaven, Master of the World, and Distinguished Lord of Unbelievable Greatness and Inconceivable Preeminence, IN 1095 C.E. From the fourth century until the 11th, your apostate kids, the Catholics, having achieved expansive influence at all levels of the imperial government, were exceedingly vexed by your Bible believing kids, the latter were leaving the fold to establish heresies. Striving mightily and with determined brutality the church fathers were unable to overcome the convictions of these zealous believers. Your Catholics decided to get serious. No more Mister Nice guy. The persecution, in varying degrees of severity, of centuries past would embrace a new tool .. the Crusades. In the later 11th century Pope Urban II, presiding over the Council of Clement, in an effort to establish their version of your kingdom, called the First Crusade into being. The objective was to conquer Jerusalem and the Holy Land. Along the crusader's path, however, tens of thousands of innocent civilians, (a large contingent which were the hated Jews) were raped, robbed, and slaughtered. It was a good beginning in that it weeded out some of the chafe, but it gets better, Lord, much better. As time passed the crusade concept transformed to enforce spiritual compliance, by crushing spiritual opposition, in all of Europe. Pope Innocent the III, (had he not chosen his name cleverly?) announced that Fundamentalists were worse than infidels (Saracens, Moslems, and Turks) because they threatened unity in Europe. Calling upon King Louis the VII and Raymond the VI, to do his dirty work, Innocent the III sponsored four crusades to exterminate the competition. It was going well. Thousands were dying and the rape, pillage, looting, and slaughter were monumental, a tribute to the intensity of Catholic devotion. Then some fool invented the long bow. Peasants could protect themselves and their daughters from conquering knights. A well-practiced archer, hiding in the woods, could shoot an arrow that would pierce the armor of any knight. Innocent the III called for a ban on the longbow. The ban did nothing to keep it out of the hands of the Muslims and many peasants hid longbows. This was, of course, intolerable to the papacy and Innocent the III, in a long prayer, asked for understanding of why you allowed peasants to have a means of defending themselves. He blamed himself for moral failure and asked your forgiveness. As I recall, you gave him a serious case of indigestion that night. Awake all night in misery, he almost died. During this same time period the Cistercian order of monks was commissioned to preach all over France, Flanders, and Germany. It is important to understand the role of Rome in the brutality of the Crusades and the coming Inquisition. Roman Catholic apologists often claim that it was the state that put heretics to death. Balderdash! Your kids terrified the leaders of state. In many cases the state asked to be exempted from putting their own populace to death. (In a latter period King Edward the II, during the Inquisition, refused to use torture ... Clement V wrote a letter of rebuke and passed down an order. "We hear that you forbid torture as contrary to the laws of your land. No state law can override canon law, our law, my law. I command you at once to submit those men to torture." Edward had no choice, the papacy was supreme and ex-communication would have turned his own people against him.) Your kids the popes knew how to wield power ... and then, in the passage of time, they would blame the state for what they ordered the state to do. Good God, does the brilliance of your children know no end? Back to Innocent the III and the year 1209 C.E. The Albigens, in the south of France, were the most populous, most technically, socially, and economically advanced part of Europe. Which goes without saying since they were not dominated and subservient to Rome. Southern Europe was largely Gnostics and Arian Christians, and Jews, persecuted every place else, were given sanctuary there. All of these groups had a high percentage of literacy and Innocent the III knew that education and knowledge were the greatest threat to Catholic domination of Europe. What could a good and righteous pope do? Innocent the III ordered the slaughter of the entire population of Albigens. It wasn't enough! Opposition had spread throughout Europe. More drastic action was needed, a more powerful tool. The "Cather Crusade" having failed led to the creation of the Inquisition. Where mere tens of thousands of men, women, and children had died, now, and over the next 500 years, millions would be slowly, brutally, tortured to death. Inquisitors, vested with the power of god, would wipe out whole villages, half the population of a province could be eliminated. Mere suspicion of witchcraft, heresy, disloyalty, or even the crime of owning a Bible guaranteed a death penalty. Your biggest and bestest kids, the papacy, were mad as hell and they weren't going to take it anymore. People would fall in line, or they would die. Praise in the Highest, Eternally, your Faithful Servant, Archangel Ariel Ramadan Cardova

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