Jihad and the Legacy of St. Patrick
Did you know that the work of St. Patrick in Ireland may have led to stopping the first Islamic invasion of Europe?
When most people think about St. Patrick, what comes to mind is shamrocks, the wearin’ of the green, and driving the snakes from Ireland.
The historical St. Patrick was much more than that. Born in Britain to a wealthy family in the waning days of the Roman Empire, Patrick was captured at age 16 during a pirate raid. He was torn from his family and taken in chains to Ireland. There he was sold as a slave.
For six years, he herded sheep and began to seek after God. His faith grew as he sought solace from the oppression of slavery. One night he heard a voice in a dream telling him to escape to the coast. He followed this counsel and was able to find passage on a ship. After a roundabout journey, he was able to return to England and his family.
One night he had another dream. As he slept, a man named Victorius appeared to him and handed him a letter called “The Voice of the Irish”. As Patrick read the letter, it seemed as if he was hearing the voices of the Irish people saying “we beg of you holy youth to return and walk among us again.”
As a result of the dream, Patrick felt a calling to reach the people of Ireland with the Gospel. He studied for the priesthood and eventually became a bishop.
In 433, Patrick returned to Ireland. He began to preach the Gospel to the Irish people, and whole kingdoms in Ireland began to turn to Christ. Thousands accepted Christ as result of his ministry. Many monasteries were also formed in Ireland.
Around the time that St. Patrick died, in 461, so did the Roman Empire. Europe was overrun by barbarian tribes with no regard for Christianity or the written word. Ireland alone in Europe was unaffected by the collapse of Roman power. It had never been part of the Roman Empire, and was not invaded by the hordes that ran roughshod over the continent.
In the century after St. Patrick died, Irish monks, led by a man named Columbanus, began to go to the continent as missionaries. They formed monasteries throughout mainland Europe. They led the people to Christ. They preserved the writings of Christianity as well as other historical books. Thomas Cahill, in his excellent book How the Irish Saved Civilization, wrote that without the work of Irish monks in Europe, Western Civilization may have been completely lost. It was those monks from Ireland that preserved faith and literacy in the post-Roman world. They led the way in forging a common identity for Europe, a Christian identity. For many centuries afterward, continuing through the Middle Ages, Europe was commonly referred to as Christendom.
In the early 700s, Muslim armies from North Africa invaded Spain and pushed northward into France. Starting in Syria in 632, and waging war across North Africa, the followers of Muhummad had been conquering Christian lands for a century. They made it as far north as the city of Tours, 100 miles from Paris, before running into an army led by Charles the Hammer, the grandfather of Charlemagne. Charles and his army did what no other force had been able to do for 100 years; halt the continued Islamic conquests.
The Battle of Tours in 732 is one of the most important in history. Outnumbered over 2 to 1 by some estimates, the army of Charles the Hammer held their ground and routed their enemies. It marked the end of Islamic expansion in Europe. What made this possible? Why did they succeed where others had failed? Unlike in other regions where Muslim armies had prevailed, in Europe they faced a people united against them. A people who saw the threat of Islamic invasion for what it was. A people that were concerned about their faith and knew that at best Christians in Muslim dominated lands were treated as dhimmi, second class citizens that paid a religious tax.
From that point on, Muslim forces were only in retreat in Europe for the next 7 centuries.
Today the continent once known as Christendom has lost its Christian identity and is once again vulnerable to Islamist invasion.
As Europe faces a renewed threat of jihad today, there is much to be learned from the example of St. Patrick.
If you want to read more about the history of religious freedom, check out my historical novel Taking the Cross. It is about the beginnings of religious freedom movements.
Posted in Uncategorizedwith no comments yet.
Threats to Religious Freedom in America and the Statue of Liberty
Last summer my family and I went on vacation to New York City. One of the things we wanted to see in New York was the Statue of Liberty. We love to go to places that symbolize freedom. Our passion is to see people live in freedom.
It is no secret that there is a concerted attempt to marginalize and destroy religious freedom in America. In the next months and years we are going to find out the true strength of religious freedom in the US. Do we want to know the answer?
I took this picture from the Staten Island Ferry. Sometimes you hear so much about a place, that you think you know it already. The Statue of Liberty is such a common symbol, we don’t often think about its meaning. Many people see Lady Liberty from the ferry but don’t visit her up close. But last year I learned something about her that relates to religious freedom in America. I believe it’s a truth we desperately need to realize.
The Statue of Liberty is one of the greatest symbols of freedom in the world. During the height of immigration to the US, during the early 20th century, over 1 million people a year passed by the Statue of Liberty on their way to Ellis Island, seeking freedom from oppression in other nations.
When we visited the Statue of Liberty, we went through the museum that is in the massive pedestal that supports the statue itself. Many of the exhibits talk about the strength of the statue and the foundation on which it is built. You can see that in the picture above. The Statue of Liberty is built to withstand even the fiercest storms. One of the exhibits said that the statue is so strong, and it is anchored so deeply in the bedrock of Liberty Island, that you would have to overturn the entire island to take down the statue. In other words, to destroy Lady Liberty, you would have to destroy her foundation.
400 years ago, people started coming to America seeking religious freedom. They have been coming ever since for that same reason. People come to America for freedom.
Without religious freedom all other freedoms are diminished. Without religious freedom, there will eventually be no freedom in America. Those who view religious freedom as a threat to their own freedoms are incredibly shortsighted. They are entirely ignorant of why we have freedom in America in the first place. In other places in the world that are oppressive, religious freedom is typically public enemy number one.
It has been breathtaking to hear so many in this country openly talk about squelching not only freedom of religion, but freedom of speech. We hear this on college campuses and increasingly throughout the media and from places like the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, which has stated in effect that religious freedom is less than the “rights” of men to use women’s restrooms and gay couples to force a Christian baker to help them celebrate their union. In this light, religious freedom is seen not as freedom at all, but merely a cover for oppression and discrimination. So-called “rights” that have been invented in our generation are now seen as taking precedence over beliefs that have been deeply held not for centuries, but for millenia.
It is not a stretch to say that America is built upon the foundation of religious freedom. The battle cry during the Revolutionary War, when faced with an oppressive King of England, was “no king but King Jesus”.
Those who attack and seek to marginalize religious freedom attack their own freedom. They often think they can do away with freedom of religion and other freedoms, like freedom of speech, as long as their own beliefs reign supreme. This is what is happening on many college campuses. The shortsightedness of such thinking is spectacular. They are like Samson in the Bible, who pushed down the columns in the Philistine temple to destroy his enemies. The only problem is that he was killed at the same time they were. Samson knew he would die along with his enemies, but those seeking to destroy religious freedom are completely ignorant of what they are doing.
Now is no time to panic or be afraid, but to stand firm in joy. To celebrate our freedom of religion and the many blessings we have in America. Celebrate them lest they wither away from disuse. Paul wrote in the Book of Ephesians to “put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.” We must stand firm.
It was Christians that were behind the abolition movement, it was Christians that were behind the civil rights movement. Today it is Christians that are driving the movement to end human trafficking.
American exceptionalism begins and ends with religious freedom. It is deeply anchored in the foundation of this country.
To seek to destroy religious freedom in America is to seek to completely overturn the country. If you want to destroy religious freedom, you will have to destroy America herself.
And then you will have no freedom.
But I believe that America will not be so easily overturned. Freedom of religion will not be so easily squelched.
But even if it is, there is a deeper foundation that will never be overturned. It is on that rock we need to stand and cry “no king but King Jesus!”
If you want to read more about the history of religious freedom, check out my historical novel Taking the Cross. It is about the beginnings of religious freedom movements.
Posted in Uncategorizedwith no comments yet.
The Story Behind Valentine’s Day
If you thought Valentine’s Day was just a commercial holiday created by Hallmark in league with florists and jewelry stores, think again.
It may be largely celebrated that way now, but that’s not how it started.
Valentine was a priest who lived in Rome in the 3rd century. The Roman emperor at the time was the brutal Claudius II. Having a difficult time recruiting men to join the Roman legions, Claudius concluded that it was because the men were too devoted to their wives and children. The Emperor Claudius’s “solution” to this dilemma was to ban all marriages and engagements in Rome.
Great idea.
Knowing the decree was wrong and believing that he had to serve God rather than man, Valentine began marrying couples in secret. Though it is unknown how many couples he married, eventually he was found out and arrested. He was turned over to the Prefect of Rome where he was thrown in jail.
The emperor, who was also called Claudius the Cruel, demanded that Valentine be executed. The means of death, which certainly would qualify as cruel and unusual punishment today, at least in the United States and in modern Rome, was being beaten with clubs. After he died from all the blows, he was beheaded.
The date of his death was February 14, 278. Though there are disputes about the year, the actual calendar day seems to be largely agreed upon.
There is a legend that states that just before his execution, Valentine composed a note to the jailer’s daughter telling her goodbye. In it he wrote “From your Valentine.”
This story casts a much different light on love than we often see celebrated on Valentine’s Day. Where is cupid anyway? Instead of some little guy flying around in a diaper and shooting people with a bow and arrow, we have a servant of God who risked his life to join couples together in secret before God.
Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for another.
Valentine believed that marriage between a man and a woman, and the covenant with God it represents, was worth dying for. Do we believe the same today?
The idea of romance as we know it now, did not start until the Middle Ages and the troubadours in France. But that is for another blog post…
If you want to read more about the time of the troubadours, check out my historical novel Taking the Cross.
Posted in Uncategorizedwith no comments yet.
Amazing Grace and the Slave Trade – The Story Behind the Song
Amazing Grace might be the most popular song ever written. But do you know the story behind it?
When the author wrote “Amazing Grace how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me” why did he call himself a wretch? Is it exaggeration or hyperbole as some have suggested? To Englishman John Newton, who wrote Amazing Grace, it was no exaggeration. Newton was the 18th century captain of a slave ship who transported upwards of 20,000 kidnapped Africans to slavery in the West Indies.
John Newton’s experience at sea began with his father, who was captain of a merchant ship. The younger Newton went on six voyages with his father. When he was 19, Newton was pressed into service aboard a British naval ship. It was a common practice in the 18th century that essentially involved kidnapping young men and forcing them to serve on a ship for at least 2 years. Newton found the conditions on ship so horrible that he deserted. He was recaptured, publicly flogged, and demoted.
He asked to serve on a slave ship instead. Newton ended up serving under a slaver that was horribly abusive. A man who not only beat the slaves he was transporting to the West Indies, but regularly abused Newton as well. A ship captain who was a friend of John’s own father rescued him from that experience.
John Newton eventually became captain of his own slave ship. After his harsh treatment at the hands of a slaver, it is a wonder he wanted to become one himself. Yet in the 18th century, the slave trade was a huge portion of the British economy. On one journey, when he was returning home after delivering a ship full of slaves to the West Indies, he became caught in a violent storm that threatened to sink the boat. In a moment of desperation, he cried out to God. Newton saw his subsequent survival as the first experience of grace in his life. He later referred to the event as his “great deliverance”.
After becoming a Christian, Newton’s first step as a slave ship captain was to treat the men and women he transported more humanely. But he soon realized that no matter how well he treated the Africans on his ship, they were still kidnapped people that he was transporting to a life of misery. He abandoned the slave trade altogether and sought to become a pastor. He also started writing hymns.
It took several years, but he eventually became pastor of his own church. His preaching was so popular that the church had to be remodeled to accommodate all those who wanted to hear him. In spite of this, he still continued to be haunted by what he called his “20,000 ghosts”, the men, women, and children he had brought to slavery in the West Indies. It was during this time, in the late 1770s, that he penned Amazing Grace. It was first released as part of a hymnal that was published in 1779.
One of the people in Newton’s church congregation was a boy named William Wilberforce. When Wilberforce became a member of Parliament in his 20s, Wilberforce went to Newton to seek his advice. Wilberforce had recently found a renewed faith in God and was considering leaving Parliament to become a pastor himself. Newton encouraged Wilberforce to stay in Parliament and seek the abolition of the slave trade.
Wilberforce, who had already considered taking on the fight against slavery, followed Newton’s advice, and eventually became the leader of the abolition movement in England. It took 25 years and multiple setbacks, but the British slave trade was finally abolished in February, 1807, only months before John Newton died. Newton himself, nearly blind and in failing health, was present when the vote was taken in Parliament that outlawed the slave trade that had once been his livelihood. Newton wrote extensively about the slave trade, and his writings are the major source of information we have today about the brutal practice of trafficking in human souls.
The British Slave Trade was outlawed, and shortly afterward the slave trade was abolished in America and France as well. By about 1810, hauling people from Africa to the New World as slaves was truly brought to an end.
William Wilberforce continued to fight for the complete abolition of slavery itself throughout the British empire. It happened in 1833, only 3 days before Wilberforce died. When Abraham Lincoln chose to fight against slavery in the United States, his major inspiration was William Wilberforce.
Yet the trafficking in human souls endures. Slavery has gone underground, but it is more prevalent than ever. It is estimated that nearly 30 million people around the world are enslaved. Of those, nearly one-quarter are caught-up in sex trafficking, and the other three-quarters are enslaved for their labor.
Pray for those caught up in the modern slave trade. Pray that like John Newton over 2 centuries ago, the slavers of the 21st century may come under conviction for the evil and bondage they perpetrate. May the words of Amazing Grace be true of them as well:
Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound,
That saved a wretch like me….
I once was lost but now am found,
Was blind, but now, I see.
To learn more about William Wilberforce and the abolition of the slave trade, check out the movie Amazing Grace.
To be informed of my future blog posts and upcoming novel releases click here.
To know more about the history of the freedoms of speech and religion that enabled Newton and Wilberforce to seek the end of the slave trade, check out my historical novel Taking the Cross.
Posted in Uncategorizedwith no comments yet.
Why Did George Washington Cross the Delaware?
On Dec. 26, 1776 — exactly 239 years ago today — George Washington made his famous crossing of the Delaware River. Why did he do it and what is the big deal anyway?
The short answer is that if Washington had not crossed the Delaware in the pre-dawn hours of Dec. 26, the United States probably would have lost the Revolutionary War. It is a great story of American resolve in the face of impending defeat.
To put things in context, most of 1776 was not a good year for the American cause. Since driving the British from Boston earlier in the year, the revolutionary army had suffered defeat after defeat. After the entire force was nearly destroyed by the British at Brooklyn Heights on Long Island, Washington and his troops had been on the run. Pushed back through New York City, and driven across New Jersey, they had crossed the Delaware River into Pennsylvania in retreat, broken and demoralized. But that crossing of the Delaware is not the one depicted in this famous painting by Emanuel Gottlieb Leutze.
The Delaware River forms the boundary between New Jersey and Pennsylvania. The British planned to wait for the Delaware to freeze. They were going to walk across and finish off the Americans. Washington knew the morale of his troops was at rock bottom. He also knew the army was in no position to fight another defensive battle. They were dangerously low on ammunition, food, supplies, and hope.
Across the Delaware River in New Jersey, just north of Philadelphia, is the city of Trenton. In 1776 it was a small village. Stationed there were 1400 Hessian troops. The Hessians were German soldiers that were paid mercenaries of the British. They were professional, efficient, and ruthless. They had demonstrated their prowess and viciousness in the battle of Brooklyn Heights and a subsequent battle fought on Manhattan Island.
If Washington was able to move the entire army across the river unnoticed, they might be able to take the Hessians by surprise. In the waning hours of Christmas, 1776, the Delaware River had not yet frozen. But it was filled with chunks of ice and the crossing would be hazardous. The challenge was to row all 2400 troops across the river, and then march to Trenton and position the army before daybreak. The crossing took longer than expected. The current was swift and the ice floes threatened to clog the river. When Washington went across in the dead of night he knew the army would not make it to Trenton before dawn. Surprise was crucial for the attack to proceed.
Knowing he was risking it all, Washington decided to move forward. The army was divided in two and marched 19 miles in a snowstorm. They converged on Trenton from opposing directions. They encountered no resistance along the way. Washington and his troops did not reach Trenton until about 8am, well after daybreak. When they opened fire, the Hessians were taken completely by surprise. They were not even able to form a defensive position. Their commander, Colonel Rall, was mortally wounded and died shortly after the battle ended. They did not expect an attack so soon after Christmas.
The mighty Hessians suffered about 2 dozen dead, nearly 100 wounded, and over 900 captured. About 400 escaped over a bridge. The Americans suffered only 5 wounded and 2 dead. The 2 that died, froze to death on the march to Trenton, not during the battle.
The victory brought fresh arms, ammunition, and food. But more than that, it boosted the flagging spirits of the American army. For the first time in months, they began to believe they could win. On Jan. 3, 1777 the Americans defeated a British army in Princeton, about 12 miles from Trenton. During that fight, Washington rode his mount between the battle lines to rally his troops, until his frightened horse refused to go any further.
Why did George Washington cross the Delaware? He could have waited for the British to walk across the Delaware and taken his chances. He could have fled into the Pennsylvania wilderness. Both of those choices would almost certainly have led to the disintegration of the army, either through defeat or desertion. Or he could take the fight to the enemy. Washington decided the Americans had been pushed back far enough. He took a risk and prevailed.
The Battle of Trenton is a reminder to never give up hope and to never quit. Even when we are harried and driven back in our lives, we reach a point where it’s time to push back and not yield any more ground. Sometimes we have to take that risk.
To be notified of my future blog posts click here. I post about every other week. My passion is writing about stories of freedom woven through history. I also write about what’s going on today and put it in the perspective of history, since nothing is really new.
To read more about the history of the freedoms we enjoy, check out my novel Taking the Cross, about the Crusade in France that targeted freedom of religion and freedom of speech.
Posted in Uncategorizedwith no comments yet.
Trash Talk or Talking Trash
The wounds from a friend can be trusted, but an enemy multiplies kisses.
- Proverbs 27:6
In my Current Events class in high school, the teacher gave us an assignment to list 2 professions that were dishonorable. I remember that I listed “garbage collector” as one of the two. Looking back, I’m not sure where I came up with that idea. My thinking at the time was that trash stinks and is gross so that is a “dirty” profession. The teacher was not happy with me and he wrote back that I was wrong, that collecting garbage was an honorable profession. I think he wanted us to list something like “drug dealer” or “thief”.
I remember it stung to have my immature thinking challenged. I had never worked a regular job at the time, and I was woefully ignorant of the fact that civilized society cannot function without regular trash collection. It was definitely a wound to my ignorance and self-centered importance, and in hindsight I’m glad I received it. It was an experience that opened my eyes. In college, I worked on campus as a janitor. A big part of that job was collecting the trash. Another one of those “dirty” jobs that actually is honorable. When I was 15, I would have been embarrassed to have a job like that, but at 19 I saw it differently. I owe a big thank you to my Current Events teacher, Mr. Shobe, for challenging my thinking.
Like many Americans, I have been reading about what is happening on so many college campuses in this country. There are demands for “safe