of a powerful army which he had raised in Saxony, preached the CHAP. IV. Gospel sword in hand, and proved its truth by blows instead of arguments." Beyond all dispute, he proved, by his unmerciful blows, that his religion and his gospel were a brutal imposition on the reason and rights of man. 18. Albert, canon of Bremen, became the third bishop of Livonia, and followed, with a barbarous enthusiasm, the same military methods of conversion. He entered Livonia, A. D. 1198, with a fresh body of troops, drawn out of Saxony; and encamping at Riga, instituted there, by the direction of the Roman pontiff, INNOCENT III, the military order of the knights' swordbearers, who were commissioned to dragoon the Livonians into the profession of Christianity, and to oblige them, by force of arms, to receive the benefits of baptism. 19. "New legions were sent from Germany to second the efforts, and to add efficacy to the mission of these booted apostles; and they, together with the knights' sword-bearers, so cruelly oppressed, slaughtered, and tormented this wretched people, that exhausted, at length, and unable to stand any longer firm against the arm of persecution, they abandoned the statutes of their Pagan deities, and substituted in their place the images of the saints." 20. Mosheim at length closes his account of this wonderful progress of the Catholic gospel among the Livonians, in the following inconsistent manner: "But while they received the blessings of the Gospel, they were, at the same time, deprived of all earthly comforts; for their lands and possessions were taken from them with the most odious circumstances of cruelty and violence, and the knights and bishops divided the spoil." 21. Such curses of antichrist's dominion, retailed out by Catholic doctors and divines, under the name of gospel-blessings, have driven many men of honest principles to discard the name of Christianity, and all its votaries, with the utmost abhorrence; and justly they might discard a religion that claimed the most distant relation to such a bloody, oppressive, and beastly hierarchy. 22. But the votaries of such a religion have nothing to do either with Jesus Christ or any of his followers. The true and genuine Gospel of Christ never was preached with sword in hand; but with the inward power and energy of the Holy Spirit, which is a Spirit of peace, long-suffering, meekness, and mercy. 23. And when the Gospel was preached by the true messengers of Christ, every creature had full liberty of choice; and if any embraced the truth, it was upon their own inward conviction, and their estimation of its value, without any compulsion from any other quarter. Eccl. His iii. p. 6. tory, vol. CHAP. IV. Mil. Ch. History, vol. ii. p. 42. 24. Neither did Christ Jesus, nor any of his followers, ever enact laws to bind those who did not believe; nor did they ever persecute or practise war and bloodshed to promote their cause, or increase their number; nor compel any one to receive their testimony, by any force, violence, or cruelty whatever. These things are true, and cannot be denied. 25. According to Milner, in Livonia, (also in the latter part of this century,) "violent and secular methods were principally used, and the wretched inhabitants were compelled to receive baptism!" And here Milner confesses truly, when he says, "but I know no fruits that appeared in this century worthy the Christian name." How astonishing, then, it is, that those learned ecclesiastical writers should call such violent and horrible works, the propagation of christianity! 26. But what shall be said, when such false apostles and bishops, with their sword-bearers, drunk with ambition and zeal for dominion, are pushing on, in every direction, to extend the limits of their lawless empire, and spreading calamity and distress wherever they go? 27. Can any real friend of either God or man look on with indifference, or try to amuse a distressed world with flowery tales about a divine Gospel-a benign religion-and a celestial light? Or must not reason and conscience speak out, and testify that all such gospelizing is the deception of antichristian tyrants? Such awful scenes of merciless tyranny, under the mask of a Christian profession, are the most noted achievements of Catholic empe rors, popes, bishops, and monks, through the whole reign of antichrist. 28. Many volumes could not contain a full account of all the arts of deception, the pious frauds, the bloody wars, and horrid massacres, the secret wickedness and open crimes, which have been practised in this beastly kingdom under the sacred names of God and Christ, and under a cloak of pious motives and holy ends; but happily, such monsters of iniquity are to be clearly known by their fruits, their own historians being witnesses. CHAPTER V. THE CRUSADES, OR HOLY WARS. THE Crusades, or as they were impiously called, "Holy Wars," CHAP. V. with the infidel Turks, as they termed them, which were carried on by the so-called "Christian world" for about 200 years, were sufficient to demonstrate to all future ages, that it was not the Gospel, nor the spirit of Christ that they possessed, but a spirit and system of principles falsely called a Gospel, directly contrary to the Gospel of Christ, and to every principle of justice and humanity. In them the fanatical madness, bloody cruelty, horrible and sacrilegious abominations of antichrist were brought to their utmost height. 2. Hume terms them "the most signal and most durable Hist. of monuments of human folly that has yet appeared in any age or nation." 3. A "fanatical monk, known by the name of Peter the Hermit, a Frenchman, born at Amiens, in Picardy, conceived the project of leading all the forces of Christendom against the infidels, and driving them out of the Holy Land." 4. "The Mahometans had made themselves masters of Palestine, soon after the death of their prophet; but they gave but little disturbance to the zealous pilgrims who daily flocked to Jerusalem. But about the middle of the eleventh century, the Turks who had also embraced Mahometanism, wrested Syria from the Saracens, who had now been in possession of it for several centuries, and making themselves masters of Jerusalem, the pilgrims became exposed to outrages of every kind from these fierce barbarians." 5. "Now this same Peter the Hermit, had made the pilgrimage to Jerusalem, and was so deeply affected with the danger to which his fellow pilgrims were exposed, that on his return, he ran from province to province, with a crucifix in his hand, exciting princes and people to undertake the "holy warfare; and he succeeded in everywhere, kindling the same enthusiastic ardor for it with which he himself was animated." 6. Pope URBAN II, having entered into Peter's views, summoned a council at Placentia, [about 1096.] It consisted of 4000 ecclesiastics, and 30,000 of the laity, who all declared for the war against the infidels. But few of them, however, discovered any alacrity to engage personally in the enterprise." 7. "The pope, therefore, called another council, in the same year, at Clermont, in Auvergne, which was attended by pre Eng. vol. i. p. 289. Jones Chh. CHAP. V. lates, nobles, and princes of the first distinction. Here the pontiff and the hermit, exerted all their eloquence to stimulate the audience to embark in this pious cause; and the whole assembly, as if impelled by immediate inspiration, exclaimed with one voice, 'It is the will of God,' It is the will of God!" 8. "It is indeed the will of God!" replied the pope; " and let your memorable saying, the inspiration surely of the Holy Spirit, be forever adopted as your cry for battle, to animate your devotion and courage of the champions of Christ. His cross the symbol of your salvation; wear it: a rod, a bloody cross, as an external mark on your breast or shoulders; as a pledge of your sacred and irrevocable engagement." Jones Chh. 293. 9. "The words were accordingly adopted as the motto for the sacred standard, and as the signal for rendezvous and battle, in all the future exploits of the champions of the Cross; as a badge of union; and it was affixed to their right shoulder, whence their expedition obtained the name of Crusade." 10. "Persons of all ranks now flew to arms with all ardour; not Hist. p. 292, only the gallant nobles, and their martial followers, but persons in the humble and pacific stations of life; ecclesiastics of every order, and even females, concealing their sex beneath the disguise of armor, engaged with emulation in a cause which was deemed so sacred and meritorious." Ecel. His boro tory, vol. ii. Ibid. p. 431. note [s.] 11. "The greatest criminal entered with alacrity into a service which they regarded as a propitiation for all their [sins and] offences: if they succeeded, they flattered themselves with the hope of making their fortunes in this world, and if they died, they were promised a crown of glory in the world to come." 12. By the influence of pope, and emperor, of bishops, dukes, monks, and all the ecclesiastical powers, an army was raised in the eleventh century to force their gospel into Palestine. Eight hundred thousand men, each with a consecrated cross on his right shoulder, set out for Constantinople in the year 1096. "This army (says Mosheim) was the greatest, and in outward appearance the most formidable, that had been known in the memory of man." This was but the beginning of this Catholic army, which is characterized as follows. 13. "This army was a motley assemblage of monks, prostitutes, artists, laborers, lazy tradesmen, merchants, boys, girls, slaves, malefactors, and profligate debauchees who were animated solely by the prospect of spoil and plunder, and hoped to make their fortunes by this holy campaign." 14. Dr. Maclaine, from the best authority, states that, "the first division of this prodigious army committed the most abominable enormities in the countries through which they passed, and that there was no kind of insolence, injustice, impunity, barbarity, and violence, of which they were not guilty." 15. "Nothing perhaps in the annals of history can equal the CHAP. V. flagitious deeds of this infernal rabble." So says Maclaine. And truly, if this rabble was infernal, it was but a part of the infernal kingdom of antichrist, which was governed by an infernal priesthood; and what could such infernals ever communicate to their successors, even to the latest ages, but the same infernal spirit of deception and fraud, under the name of a Gospel? 16. "We pass in silence, (says Mosheim,) the various enormities that were occasioned by these crusades, the murders, rapes, and robberies of the most infernal nature, that were every where committed with impunity, by these holy soldiers of God and of Christ, as they were impiously called." 17. "In Bavaria alone, 12,000 Jews were massacred, and many thousands more in the other provinces of Germany." "But Jews were not to be found every where: these pious robbers, having tasted the sweets of plunder, began of course to pillage without distinction." These horrible devastations caused the inhabitants of the countries through which they passed to rise in defence of themselves and families, and nearly destroyed them all. 18. A remnant, however, escaped and reached the plains of Asia, conducted by Peter, ready to give battle to the "infidels." Their first engagement was with Soliman, Sultan of Niece, who fell upon this disorderly crowd, and slaughtered them almost without resistance." Peter escaped and found his way back to Constantinople, where he was regarded as a maniac." 19. The next division of the Crusaders, amounting to the number of 100,000 horse, and 600,000 foot, after mostly perishing, succeeded in taking Jerusalem by assault, and put the garrison to the sword, together with the inhabitants. Neither age nor sex were spared; infants perished by the same sword that pierced the supplicating mother. 66 Eccl. Hisp. 439. tory, vol. ii. Jones Chh. Hist. p. 292, 293. 20. When these [Christian warriors] were glutted with Ibid. p. 294. slaughter, they threw aside their arms, still streaming with blood, and advanced with naked feet and bended knees to the sepulcher of the Prince of Peace! they sung anthems to the Redeemer, and while deaf to the cries of distress from their fellow creatures, were [hypocritically] dissolved into tears for the sufferings of the Messiah." What tremendous blasphemy, what sacrilegious and awful hypocrisy and deception! 21. This conquest, which took place in the year 1099, was but temporary," very few engaged in the expedition ever returned to their own land. Yet such was the fanatical madness of the catholic world, that (through the influence of the popes and catholic saints) a series of similar expeditions were carried on, which involved nearly all Europe, and the fairest portions of |