1
   

The Crusades

 
 
Fatal Freedoms
 
  1  
Reply Wed 4 Feb, 2009 10:47 am
@Volunteer,
Volunteer;63718 wrote:
Bull.


try me.
0 Replies
 
Grouch
 
  1  
Reply Tue 31 Mar, 2009 05:21 pm
@Fatal Freedoms,
Fatal_Freedoms;63713 wrote:



A retaliation is a response to aggression as well.

When one leaves their own borders, it is no longer "self-defense".



We can stop reading at this.

This "retaliation" was defense of the Christian world.

Frankly it was nothing less than self-defense. The Christian world was perceived as coming to an end, there was a huge amount of milleniumism fervor going on about. With their religion, nations and entire existence legitimately threatened by Muslims on both side how is not protecting their boarders and taking back land that was taken from them not self-defense? You seem to with that the western christian world should have just gave up and acquiesced to Muslim invaders.
Fatal Freedoms
 
  1  
Reply Sun 5 Apr, 2009 02:31 pm
@Grouch,
Grouch;64850 wrote:
We can stop reading at this.

This "retaliation" was defense of the Christian world.

Frankly it was nothing less than self-defense. The Christian world was perceived as coming to an end, there was a huge amount of milleniumism fervor going on about. With their religion, nations and entire existence legitimately threatened by Muslims on both side how is not protecting their boarders and taking back land that was taken from them not self-defense? You seem to with that the western christian world should have just gave up and acquiesced to Muslim invaders.


And would you consider Muslim retaking of palestine "self-defense"? It was originally theirs, after all. Retaking something no matter the case is not "self-defense" especially if it's several hundred years later.
Grouch
 
  1  
Reply Mon 6 Apr, 2009 03:31 am
@Fatal Freedoms,
Fatal_Freedoms;64909 wrote:
And would you consider Muslim retaking of palestine "self-defense"? It was originally theirs, after all. Retaking something no matter the case is not "self-defense" especially if it's several hundred years later.



Hardly... If you want to play that game. Palestine was Roman Christian territory after 313 AD (And before that it was still Roman territory) It was only 300 years later that the Muslims took it. So no, there is absolutely no way you can argue that Muslims had "first dibs" on the area. Other ethnic/religious groups sure, but not Muslims.

But all you have done is take one minor part to the whole puzzle of understanding the Christian motivations for the Crusades and and try to use that as your "proof" that is was not self-defense. For someone espousing to the use of logic, then you must surly understand that it is the totality of the circumstances that cause people to act and what cause people to believe. You are ignoring every other circumstance here.
Fatal Freedoms
 
  1  
Reply Thu 9 Apr, 2009 04:43 am
@Grouch,
Grouch;64912 wrote:
Hardly... If you want to play that game. Palestine was Roman Christian territory after 313 AD (And before that it was still Roman territory) It was only 300 years later that the Muslims took it. So no, there is absolutely no way you can argue that Muslims had "first dibs" on the area. Other ethnic/religious groups sure, but not Muslims.


And who had it before the Romans, and who had it before them, and then who had it before that group and who before that? We can keep going back and back. It's an infinite regression. If everybody tried to retake land their ancestors lived on the world would fall into utter chaos. Point being simply because your ethnic or religious group lived somewhere does not automatically give you rites to those lands, it's barbarism. We are civilized people and live by the rules of society, we cannot simply take whatever we want.
Grouch
 
  1  
Reply Thu 9 Apr, 2009 05:28 am
@Fatal Freedoms,
Fatal_Freedoms;64933 wrote:
And who had it before the Romans, and who had it before them, and then who had it before that group and who before that? We can keep going back and back. It's an infinite regression. If everybody tried to retake land their ancestors lived on the world would fall into utter chaos. Point being simply because your ethnic or religious group lived somewhere does not automatically give you rites to those lands, it's barbarism. We are civilized people and live by the rules of society, we cannot simply take whatever we want.


So because your initial point was shown to be incorrect you resort to irrelevant babble about pacifism without making any attempt to understand what caused the reactions European Christians had during the Crusades 900 year ago. I'm sorry but your user text does not fit you.
Fatal Freedoms
 
  1  
Reply Thu 9 Apr, 2009 09:48 am
@Grouch,
Grouch;64935 wrote:
So because your initial point was shown to be incorrect you resort to irrelevant babble about pacifism without making any attempt to understand what caused the reactions European Christians had during the Crusades 900 year ago. I'm sorry but your user text does not fit you.


And what exactly was my initial point? That retaliation is not self-defense? I'm curious as to how that was "shown to be incorrect". I'm waiting....

Also curious to how my post was irrelevant, on the contrary it is very relevant, If we do not have rights to a land then defending it is not "self-defense". And no matter what the crusaders reasons were it doesn't change the fact that what they did was not self-defense, you are committing the special pleading fallacy with that argument. But perhaps you are willing to overlook the atrocities committed by the crusaders because they are "on your side". I know you know I was right as soon as you read my previous post which is why you refuse to acknowledge the points I made.
Grouch
 
  1  
Reply Thu 9 Apr, 2009 12:07 pm
@Fatal Freedoms,
Fatal_Freedoms;64936 wrote:
And what exactly was my initial point? That retaliation is not self-defense? I'm curious as to how that was "shown to be incorrect". I'm waiting....


Perhaps you should read it again...

I'll quote it for you to ease the difficult process. If you actually have questions or comments about what I have said then please post them. Your random tangent statements are useless and fail.

The Christian world was perceived as coming to an end, there was a huge amount of milleniumism fervor going on about. With their religion, nations and entire existence legitimately threatened by Muslims on both side how is not protecting their boarders and taking back land that was taken from them not self-defense? You seem to with that the western christian world should have just gave up and acquiesced to Muslim invaders.

Do you understand that idea? Yes or No?

Now if you care to actually respond to the above explanation of the historical events and perception that Europe had of their world and what Muslims were doing to it, feel free to post.


Fatal_Freedoms;64936 wrote:
Also curious to how my post was irrelevant, on the contrary it is very relevant, If we do not have rights to a land then defending it is not "self-defense". And no matter what the crusaders reasons were it doesn't change the fact that what they did was not self-defense, you are committing the special pleading fallacy with that argument. But perhaps you are willing to overlook the atrocities committed by the crusaders because they are "on your side". I know you know I was right as soon as you read my previous post which is why you refuse to acknowledge the points I made.


Who says you don't have rights to land? You are trying to adapt a philosophy that is antithetical to that of any existing in the Western World c.1000ad. You can't judge the actions of the Crusaders (or the Muslims for that matter) with any level of academic or intellectual honestly by trying to apply a completely irrelevant and non existent philosophy to them.

Do you understand that idea? Yes or No.

What points did you make? You made none relevant to this. If you think you have feel free to repost them one by one and I will respond to each of them. I'm sorry but you have failed to produce an comment of substance regarding this topic. You have made plenty of bad assumptions and mistakes in your amateur attempts at history.

Don't bother replying if you can't answer a simple yes or no question.
Fatal Freedoms
 
  1  
Reply Thu 9 Apr, 2009 02:47 pm
@Grouch,
Grouch;64939 wrote:
Perhaps you should read it again...

I'll quote it for you to ease the difficult process. If you actually have questions or comments about what I have said then please post them. Your random tangent statements are useless and fail.


What quote?

Quote:
The Christian world was perceived as coming to an end, there was a huge amount of milleniumism fervor going on about. With their religion, nations and entire existence legitimately threatened by Muslims on both side how is not protecting their boarders and taking back land that was taken from them not self-defense? You seem to with that the western christian world should have just gave up and acquiesced to Muslim invaders.


The only real Muslim threat to Christendom was the Moorish invasion of Spain, which was ended rather dramatically, the only succesful muslim force after that was Saladin's army which was raised in defense of the Muslim lands, but of course these Muslim warriors were no less brutal than their European cousins (the crusaders). After this there were 8 or 9 crusades (depending if you include the children's crusade), these wars were brutal and women and children were often massacred in the process. These wars were being pushed into places that were never really christian to begin with (Egypt for example). Of course the church tried to justify it as self defense but if this is what you call self-defense then I'd hate to see what you consider aggression.

Do you understand that idea? Yes or No?

Now if you care to actually respond to the above explanation of the historical events and perception that Europe had of their world and what Muslims were doing to it, feel free to post.




Quote:
Who says you don't have rights to land? You are trying to adapt a philosophy that is antithetical to that of any existing in the Western World c.1000ad. You can't judge the actions of the Crusaders (or the Muslims for that matter) with any level of academic or intellectual honestly by trying to apply a completely irrelevant and non existent philosophy to them.


So then i should judge them by their morals when their morals are so obviously tainted? Certainly not. I judge them by the merit of their actions. Whether or not the crusaders understood ethics makes them no more or less ethical.

Quote:


What points did you make? You made none relevant to this. If you think you have feel free to repost them one by one and I will respond to each of them. I'm sorry but you have failed to produce an comment of substance regarding this topic. You have made plenty of bad assumptions and mistakes in your amateur attempts at history.

Don't bother replying if you can't answer a simple yes or no question.


I tire of repeating myself. My point two posts back was that simply because our ancestors lived somewhere does not give us an inherent right to uplift the people who currently live there. It would be the equivalent of modern Mexicans trying to retake the American southwest.
Grouch
 
  1  
Reply Thu 9 Apr, 2009 03:47 pm
@Fatal Freedoms,
Fatal_Freedoms;64942 wrote:
What quote?


The one I put in quotations?


Fatal_Freedoms;64942 wrote:

The only real Muslim threat to Christendom was the Moorish invasion of Spain, which was ended rather dramatically, the only succesful muslim force after that was Saladin's army which was raised in defense of the Muslim lands, but of course these Muslim warriors were no less brutal than their European cousins (the crusaders). After this there were 8 or 9 crusades (depending if you include the children's crusade), these wars were brutal and women and children were often massacred in the process. These wars were being pushed into places that were never really christian to begin with (Egypt for example). Of course the church tried to justify it as self defense but if this is what you call self-defense then I'd hate to see what you consider aggression.

Do you understand that idea? Yes or No?


So you still didn?t respond to anything posted. Who would have thought, I guess that's par for internet forums. What a shame.

You are no much for a social historian are you. You can't understand social history with hindsight, which is what you are doing. You have to understand it through those that lived it.

I know you wont read the essay excerpt posted below but you should and it would do you great good in understanding the causes of the First Crusade.

Quote:
The causes for the Crusade are numerous in its own right and cover non-religious, social and cultural factors and deeply religious ideological causes.

In France there has been a break down of centralized power, creating a situation where the king no longer had real authority and caused a society that had been constructed for war to have no other option but turn its aggression in on itself. An ?Ethos of violence? that had originated with invaders from the North had taken hold of all levels of society. #To combat this many local church authorities attempted to institute a ?Pax Dei?, or Peace of God which attempted to ban the use of force during certain time of the year or days of the week. Out of this, the idea that the aggressions of society could be put to a cause and serve the Church developed.#

Population growth and limited food production were also underlying social issues that would lead to a society more inclined to join a crusading movement. The population of Europe had grown to a level that the system of inheritance and marriage were being put under extreme pressures. Crusading would be seen as a colonial venture into a new land refereed to in scripture as ?flowing with milk and honey.?# This already present condition would be exacerbated when Northern Europe was devastated by a poor harvest in autumn 1095, the prospect of crusading would have been seen as a way for both serfs and land owners to rescue themselves from depressing economic conditions. # However, historian Frederic Duncalf counter argues that ?the crusading movement was not preceded by a period of exception distress is made more certain by the knowledge that the followers of Walther and Peter [the Hermit]?were not the product of hard times?, as there existed a readily available supply of money or significant property to mortgage that had made them capable for paying for more than five months of supplies.#

While various social factors may have created a society ready to crusade, the religious motivational factors were what created the need. The Crusades were ostensibly in response to Muslim domination of Jerusalem. From the Muslim conquest of Jerusalem in 683, Jews and Christians remained tolerated minorities. [SIZE="5"]However, as Jerusalem grew as a pilgrimage site, intolerance towards Jews and Christians increased. By the tenth century Jews were prohibited from entering the Temple Mount. Soon after, Muslim intolerance of Jews and Christians would reach its peak when in 1009 when all Jewish and Christian places of worship in Jerusalem, including the Holy Sepulcher, were ordered destroyed by Fatimid Caliph Hakim;[/SIZE] which on its own prompted a bout of anti-Jewish violence in parts of France.# [SIZE="5"]The near total destruction of the Holy Sepulcher disrupted an increasing flow of pilgrims and probably increased anxiety over the millennium and the believed approach of the Last Days; as it would be in Jerusalem that the final acts would happen; the appearance of the Anti-Christ, return of the Savior, splitting of the tomb and General Resurrection. # [/SIZE]

Pope Urban II called the Crusades to be a war of Liberation and a vendetta against the occupiers of Jerusalem, saying ?Avenger our God, your father, your brother?whom you hear calling desolate and begging for aid.? # Using an ideology formed by St. Augustine, the crusade was to be a ?just war?, a war proclaimed against the threat of invasion and danger to the faith.# This continued a tradition that Urban II said started with the Spanish Reconquista. [SIZE="5"]Jerusalem would not be the only important Christian city that was under Muslim control. In 1096 the liberation of Nicaea was also a prime goal of the Crusaders. The Muslim occupation of Nicaea by the Turks in 1077, was a double outrage to Christians due to the city?s status as a symbol of the One True Faith as the birth place of the cult of the cross.#[/SIZE]


As you can see, European Christiandom thought its world was ending, its very existence, the lives, everything that generations of people had known was believed on the brink of being lost forever, all due to the encroachment of Muslim powers into long held Christian lands.

Another tangent you bring up irrelevant to this topic that you and I are on (the origin of the crusades), is what the Crusades turned into (it is important that what Pope Urban II started was not what the Crusades became), yes they were horrible, lots of bad things happened due to a multitude of reasons. Its moot point that was never part of any part of my posts.

Fatal_Freedoms;64942 wrote:

Now if you care to actually respond to the above explanation of the historical events and perception that Europe had of their world and what Muslims were doing to it, feel free to post.


You?re cute, not that willing to learn, but still cut.

Fatal_Freedoms;64942 wrote:

So then i should judge them by their morals when their morals are so obviously tainted? Certainly not. I judge them by the merit of their actions. Whether or not the crusaders understood ethics makes them no more or less ethical.


The sad part is, is that you are still applying modern ethics and morality to a world in which you have no understanding of. No historian, no person wanting to understand the past does this. Its flawed and juvenile thinking.

Fatal_Freedoms;64942 wrote:

I tire of repeating myself. My point two posts back was that simply because our ancestors lived somewhere does not give us an inherent right to uplift the people who currently live there. It would be the equivalent of modern Mexicans trying to retake the American southwest.


Since you're just spouting modern philosophical happy talk, what you wish to judge the crusaders, though not the Muslims by is intellectual and academic garbage.

Its sad, I?ve responded to every statement no matter how ridiculous or irrelevant its been, but you?re too much of an intellectual coward to even muster a anything but a ?who can be louder? reply.
Fatal Freedoms
 
  1  
Reply Fri 10 Apr, 2009 11:03 am
@Grouch,
Grouch;64943 wrote:
The one I put in quotations?


Maybe my browser is having difficulties, but I did not see any quotation.




Quote:
So you still didn?t respond to anything posted. Who would have thought, I guess that's par for internet forums. What a shame.

You are no much for a social historian are you. You can't understand social history with hindsight, which is what you are doing. You have to understand it through those that lived it.


Rubbish! Absolute Garbage! I don't care how society was at the time, what is wrong today was wrong yesterday and was wrong a hundred years ago and was wrong a thousand years ago. Morality does not flex, it does not bend to our thoughts and deeds. Morality does not conform to society, society must conform to morality. You are about to fall into the paradox of the moral relativist.

Quote:
I know you wont read the essay excerpt posted below but you should and it would do you great good in understanding the causes of the First Crusade.


Actually I did read it, but there was not a single point that I have not already contended. But it's nice to see you piggyback on the work of others.

Quote:
As you can see, European Christiandom thought its world was ending, its very existence, the lives, everything that generations of people had known was believed on the brink of being lost forever, all due to the encroachment of Muslim powers into long held Christian lands.


And at what point was Egypt a "christian land"?

Quote:
Another tangent you bring up irrelevant to this topic that you and I are on (the origin of the crusades), is what the Crusades turned into (it is important that what Pope Urban II started was not what the Crusades became), yes they were horrible, lots of bad things happened due to a multitude of reasons. Its moot point that was never part of any part of my posts.


Again here you go again trying to pass off every counter-argument as irrelevant. So how exactly is the murdering of women and children "self-defense"?

Quote:
You?re cute, not that willing to learn, but still cut.


I see. If by "learn" you mean "agree with you", then yes. But don't be so pompous and self-centered as to think that you have some knowledge that I just won't accept, such a view is very base and juvenile, one you'd do well to discard.

Quote:
The sad part is, is that you are still applying modern ethics and morality to a world in which you have no understanding of. No historian, no person wanting to understand the past does this. Its flawed and juvenile thinking.


Again, the "they thought it was okay at the time" argument isn't going to gain any ground.

Quote:
Since you're just spouting modern philosophical happy talk, what you wish to judge the crusaders, though not the Muslims by is intellectual and academic garbage.


Morality is suddenly modern philosophical happy talk? If that is what you think then I can understand why you'd think what the crusaders did was is any way acceptable.

Quote:
Its sad, I?ve responded to every statement no matter how ridiculous or irrelevant its been, but you?re too much of an intellectual coward to even muster a anything but a ?who can be louder? reply.


I do not care for your condescending attitude.
Grouch
 
  1  
Reply Fri 10 Apr, 2009 03:35 pm
@Fatal Freedoms,
Fatal_Freedoms;64959 wrote:

Rubbish! Absolute Garbage! I don't care how society was at the time, what is wrong today was wrong yesterday and was wrong a hundred years ago and was wrong a thousand years ago. Morality does not flex, it does not bend to our thoughts and deeds. Morality does not conform to society, society must conform to morality. You are about to fall into the paradox of the moral relativist.


No my friend, that is bullshit. Morality does change, it always has it always will, morality is dictated by the people. That?s why at one point in time it was ok to stone a disobedient child, that?s why at one point it was ok to watch criminals get torn up by lions, that?s why at one time it was ok to own slaves, that?s why abortion is a politically defining issues. Because morality changes with those who define it. You want to make that thread you can and we can all watch you flounder there too. You are trying to pass off this new age morality of pacifism as if it has ever been philosophical constant. It wasn?t, it didn?t exist then. Each side had a religious and philosophical dogma that was wholly incompatible with the other. The both of them could not hold to the literal tenants of their religion, their world view, their existence without viewing the other as whole and legitimate threat to their existence.

Now you with to hold on to this idea that the land was always someone?s, ok so whose was it first? Why shouldn?t cultural Darwinism dictate who ruled? It worked for every other civilization to that point? Do you ascribe to some unidentifiable ?why can?t we all just get along? ideology.

Fatal_Freedoms;64959 wrote:

Actually I did read it, but there was not a single point that I have not already contended. But it's nice to see you piggyback on the work of others.


Actually I wrote that. It was part of my Sr. Thesis for my Early Modern European History degree. I can send you the rest with citation if you would like.

Lying will get you know where here so cut this crap. 90% of that content you never ever touched upon. You never mentioned anything about millennialism, about Muslims forcefully taking long time Christian land, about what Pope Urban II authorized the first crusade to be, about the Ethos of violence that permeated central European culture. Or did you? Please don?t kid yourself.

Fatal_Freedoms;64959 wrote:

And at what point was Egypt a "christian land"?


Another tangent to what the 4th crusade? Isn?t this a little irrelevant to the start of the crusades? Sorry I specialized in the first.

Fatal_Freedoms;64959 wrote:

Again here you go again trying to pass off every counter-argument as irrelevant. So how exactly is the murdering of women and children "self-defense"?


Because they have nothing to do with the start of the crusades! Is your inferiority on this subject matter so great that you can?t even keep to the topic. Now if you would like me to post the rest of that paper you might learn about that too. I?ll quickly sum it up though, the violence against the Jews that occurred in 1096 was not any part of Urban?s decree. It was wholly at the hands of rouge and unofficial crusading parties. If you are referring to violence against Mulims?then you need to brush up on your understanding of religious dogma during the turn of the millennium. To each side, if you were the opposition?s religion you were the enemy, there was no innocent victim in the cultural eyes of Christiandom. (or Islam)

Fatal_Freedoms;64959 wrote:
I see. If by "learn" you mean "agree with you", then yes. But don't be so pompous and self-centered as to think that you have some knowledge that I just won't accept, such a view is very base and juvenile, one you'd do well to discard.


Since you are unwilling to accept facts, one is only left with few other options to consider.

Fatal_Freedoms;64959 wrote:
Again, the "they thought it was okay at the time" argument isn't going to gain any ground.


Then it is unfortunate that your understanding of social history will remain to na?ve and sophomoric. Perhaps more study in the area, rather than using modern dogmatic views that are an impossible fit with the time frame in discussion would do you good.

Fatal_Freedoms;64959 wrote:
Morality is suddenly modern philosophical happy talk? If that is what you think then I can understand why you'd think what the crusaders did was is any way acceptable.


Since the morality you wish to apply to the situation did not exist in 1000ad, yes. Pretty simple don?t you think.

Fatal_Freedoms;64959 wrote:
I do not care for your condescending attitude.


And I don?t care for your ignorance, arrogance and flat out intellectually and academically dishonesty.
Fatal Freedoms
 
  1  
Reply Sat 11 Apr, 2009 07:56 am
@Grouch,
Grouch;64963 wrote:
No my friend, that is bull****. Morality does change, it always has it always will, morality is dictated by the people. That?s why at one point in time it was ok to stone a disobedient child, that?s why at one point it was ok to watch criminals get torn up by lions, that?s why at one time it was ok to own slaves, that?s why abortion is a politically defining issues. Because morality changes with those who define it. You want to make that thread you can and we can all watch you flounder there too. You are trying to pass off this new age morality of pacifism as if it has ever been philosophical constant. It wasn?t, it didn?t exist then. Each side had a religious and philosophical dogma that was wholly incompatible with the other. The both of them could not hold to the literal tenants of their religion, their world view, their existence without viewing the other as whole and legitimate threat to their existence.


I see, well, if that's the direction you want to go with this discussion then It will be a long and difficult road. Your moral relativism is intellectually bankrupt. There is no merit with such a position and the ensuing paradox is inescapable. Society does not define morality, no person or group defines it. If that was true would it be moral to murder you and your family if society deemed it acceptable? If society decided it was okay to kill all differing ethnic groups, would it then be okay. If I decided it was okay to hurt you then you could have no objections. In your view morality is entirely arbitrary and without base, shifting as the wind, absolutely anything society thought was good must be acceptable, but that is not the case is it? You must at least have a rudimentary understanding of ethics to know the base and foundation of it. You must understand why morality exists to understand what it is and why. We know morality does to some degree have a common foundation and purpose by simply examining different cultures. Different cultures have different ideas of morality but it is the similarities that tells us the basis of morality. Something you don't seem to comprehend.



Quote:
Now you with to hold on to this idea that the land was always someone?s, ok so whose was it first?


We don't know who's it was first which is why we can't claim rights to a land simply because of where our ancestors lived.


Quote:
Why shouldn?t cultural Darwinism dictate who ruled? It worked for every other civilization to that point? Do you ascribe to some unidentifiable ?why can?t we all just get along? ideology.


We know who owns a land based on who lives there CURRENTLY.





Lying will get you no where here so cut this crap. 90% of that content you never ever touched upon. You never mentioned anything about millennialism, about Muslims forcefully taking long time Christian land, about what Pope Urban II authorized the first crusade to be, about the Ethos of violence that permeated central European culture. Or did you? Please don?t kid yourself.



Quote:
Another tangent to what the 4th crusade? Isn?t this a little irrelevant to the start of the crusades? Sorry I specialized in the first.


Nice try. :p

I see how you try to ignore the part that contradicts your argument. This is about the crusades, you know, all of them. To say the crusades were for self-defense is different than saying the first crusade was in self-defense.


Quote:
Because they have nothing to do with the start of the crusades! Is your inferiority on this subject matter so great that you can?t even keep to the topic.


Um.....No!

It wasn't about the "start" of the crusades, it was about the crusades as a whole, if I meant the start I would've said the start. Quit trying to change the argument when you know you're wrong.

Quote:
Now if you would like me to post the rest of that paper you might learn about that too. I?ll quickly sum it up though, the violence against the Jews that occurred in 1096 was not any part of Urban?s decree. It was wholly at the hands of rouge and unofficial crusading parties. If you are referring to violence against Mulims?then you need to brush up on your understanding of religious dogma during the turn of the millennium. To each side, if you were the opposition?s religion you were the enemy, there was no innocent victim in the cultural eyes of Christiandom. (or Islam)


Because What a religion says is automatically true, right? It doesn't matter if they believed there were no innocents, it matters that they killed innocent people, which is once again, not self-defense.

Quote:
Since you are unwilling to accept facts, one is only left with few other options to consider.


Of course.

*rolls eyes*

Quote:
Then it is unfortunate that your understanding of social history will remain too na?ve and sophomoric. Perhaps more study in the area, rather than using modern dogmatic views that are an impossible fit with the time frame in discussion would do you good.


Don't be so obtuse, you know this isn't about "study", this is about how one defines self-defense. And I believe I've made a compelling case of why the crusades do not constitute self-defense.



Quote:
Since the morality you wish to apply to the situation did not exist in 1000ad, yes. Pretty simple don?t you think.


You mean not murdering women and children, didn't exist in 1000ad? Or more accurately 1000 CE (common era).



Quote:
And I don?t care for your ignorance, arrogance and flat out intellectually and academically dishonesty.


And yet I put up with yours.

Hmph.....
0 Replies
 
Grouch
 
  1  
Reply Sat 11 Apr, 2009 08:51 am
@marcus cv,
Fatal_Freedoms;64969 wrote:
I see, well, if that's the direction you want to go with this discussion then It will be a long and difficult road. Your moral relativism is intellectually bankrupt.


Bwahahahahah oh god. You?re a ***ing comedian aren?t you? That was good. Another dogmatic statement without even the slightly support. Who would have thought that Fatal Freedoms fatal flaw was that he never actually produces an intelligible argument supported with anything.

Fatal_Freedoms;64969 wrote:
There is no merit with such a position and the ensuing paradox is inescapable. Society does not define morality, no person or group defines it. If that was true would it be moral to murder you and your family if society deemed it acceptable? If society decided it was okay to kill all differing ethnic groups, would it then be okay. If I decided it was okay to hurt you then you could have no objections.


You are sadly ill educated on the topic of morality. I would love you to describe your imaginary paradox in depth. You brought it up now support its existence. Your above statement is riddled with intellectual mistakes. I?ll help you out though and go through them one by one.

Fatal_Freedoms;64969 wrote:
Society does not define morality, no person or group defines it.


No? How did slavery become immoral? It was an acceptable practice for all of the western world for 3000+ years. The Greeks had it, the Romans had it, the European Kingdoms of the Dark, Middle and Early Modern Ages had it. It was a stable and acceptable practice until the 1700?s. Right, you?ve come to a most simple of brick walls in your limited argument. Morality changed, it was no longer culturally acceptable to hold innocent (or criminal) people against their will for the servitude of others.

Fatal_Freedoms;64969 wrote:
If I decided it was okay to hurt you then you could have no objections.


No, here you fail. If SOCIETY DECIDED, not just you, it was ok to hurt me, as you would not be committing an immoral act. That says nothing of me allowing you to do it freely. Morality does not force me to acquiesce, just as it doesn?t force you to hurt me.

But then again we have that same thing already, it?s called the death penalty. And it?s a moral issue that is began to change in our life times.

Fatal_Freedoms;64969 wrote:

If that was true would it be moral to murder you and your family if society deemed it acceptable? If society decided it was okay to kill all differing ethnic groups, would it then be okay.


Yup it sure would be. Just as for a majority of American history it was ok to publicly kill criminals. Only lately has that cultural moral belief began to change, now some states don?t have the DP and plenty of people argue against it.

That?s an example of American morality changing in front of us.

Fatal_Freedoms;64969 wrote:
In your view morality is entirely arbitrary and without base, shifting as the wind, absolutely anything society thought was good must be acceptable, but that is not the case is it? You must at least have a rudimentary understanding of ethics to know the base and foundation of it. You must understand why morality exists to understand what it is and why. We know morality does to some degree have a common foundation and purpose by simply examining different cultures. Different cultures have different ideas of morality but it is the similarities that tells us the basis of morality. Something you don't seem to comprehend.


Morality is arbitrary. It always has been and it always will be. Make a single claim that supports it being otherwise. I beg you.

You are confusing altruism with morality. And BINGO BANGO you just state

?Different cultures have different ideas of morality but it is the similarities that tells us the basis of morality?

So what?s vague and undefined yet never changing basis of morality, that allows some morals(? Already contradicting yourself here) to differ by social/cultural group but not other morals? Enlighten the forum with your knowledge here I plead you.

Fatal_Freedoms;64969 wrote:
We don't know who's it was first which is why we can't claim rights to a land simply because of where our ancestors lived.


So how do we claim rights to land? Does that mean I can just punch you in the mouth and take your house? Are you going to fight me for it? Are you going to call the cops, oh wait?that getting into defending yourself through the established (through societal and cultural acceptance) legal system.

What would you do? What do you have the right to do? Answer.


Fatal_Freedoms;64969 wrote:
We know who owns a land based on who lives there CURRENTLY.


So when the Muslims invaded the land currently owned by Christian nations, those nations had no right to defend themselves? Or try to take that land back? You are a typing contradiction here. What do you mean and how does that relate to the causes/justification of the Crusades?
Lying will get you no where here so cut this crap. 90% of that content you never ever touched upon. You never mentioned anything about millennialism, about Muslims forcefully taking long time Christian land, about what Pope Urban II authorized the first crusade to be, about the Ethos of violence that permeated central European culture. Or did you? Please don?t kid yourself.

I take it you forgot to respond to this or you just wished it would go away?

Fatal_Freedoms;64969 wrote:
Nice try. :p

I see how you try to ignore the part that contradicts your argument. This is about the crusades, you know, all of them. To say the crusades were for self-defense is different than saying the first crusade was in self-defense.


How does it contradict anything? The 4th Crusade is not the 1st Crusade. Christendom lost Jerusalem again to Saladin. The entire effort was to get that land back. Those initial causes never ended, they didn?t go away. But yes the crusades evolved and many INDEPENDENT leaders of it did many terrible terrible things. Militarily going into Egypt was plenty justified, it was the damn central command of the Muslim forces.

And as we know?Islam and Christianity were wholly incompatible with each other at that time. You could not follow the morality or rule of law of your religion without doing everything in your power to rid the world of the infidels.

Fatal_Freedoms;64969 wrote:
Um.....No!

It wasn't about the "start" of the crusades, it was about the crusades as a whole, if I meant the start I would've said the start. Quit trying to change the argument when you know you're wrong.


I?m sorry, maybe I?ll take a play out of your book and just type louder than you next time.

But, if you go read the first post in the thread, which I question if you actually did. The poster is referencing only the 1st crusade.

And another question?do you even read what you post? In your big copy/paste history of the crusades from wiki found here:

http://www.conflictingviews.com/society/history/crusades-3362-3.html#post63456

It even states that the happening of the 4th crusade ?which was totally diverted from its original course.? And that the pope excommunicated people for their war crimes and that it was Noblemen, not church leaders who lead most of the destruction.

Even your own posts are being used against you know.
Fatal_Freedoms;64969 wrote:
Because What a religion says is automatically true, right? It doesn't matter if they believed there were no innocents, it matters that they killed innocent people, which is once again, not self-defense.


:ugh: When you?re whole existence and perception the world is based on your religion, then yes it is the only truth you know. You are again using hindsight in poor attempts to understand the cause of events 1000 years ago. To the Christians no Muslim was innocent, (and vise versa) that was everything they knew. To them, to everyone they knew what they were doing was self defense. I don?t even want to hear what you would have to say about the dropping of the atomic bombs on Japan. I can only imagine how funny that would be.

Fatal_Freedoms;64969 wrote:
Of course.

*rolls eyes*


You are, even when presented in front of you, you just ignore them.

Fatal_Freedoms;64969 wrote:
Don't be so obtuse, you know this isn't about "study", this is about how one defines self-defense. And I believe I've made a compelling case of why the crusades do not constitute self-defense.


You?ve built a case on nothing though. Your own citation doesn?t support your claims. You had no case, no evidence, no argument regarding the actual start of the Crusades. The best you?ve mustered is the 4th and Childrens crusades, both of which you have shown to have no historical knowledge of. So yes, this is very much about study and not your personal feelings.

Fatal_Freedoms;64969 wrote:
You mean not murdering women and children, didn't exist in 1000ad? Or more accurately 1000 CE (common era).


They were criminals, they were guilty by being Muslims (and vise versa). Their mere existence was a crime to all Christian nations. It also doesn?t help the fact that they (Muslims) were under control of long time Christian cities and were oppressing those Christians that were allowed to lived there.

Fatal_Freedoms;64969 wrote:
And yet I put up with yours.

Hmph.....


I?m sorry, I?ll stop using reason and evidence. I?ll just yell louder next time.
Fatal Freedoms
 
  1  
Reply Sat 11 Apr, 2009 01:14 pm
@Grouch,
Grouch;64973 wrote:
Bwahahahahah oh god. You?re a ***ing comedian aren?t you? That was good. Another dogmatic statement without even the slightly support. Who would have thought that Fatal Freedoms fatal flaw was that he never actually produces an intelligible argument supported with anything.


I can see a civil conversation with you is out of the question, perhaps if you weren't so emotionally attached to this issue you could discuss this with something other than crude remarks and stubborn belligerence.


Quote:
You are sadly ill educated on the topic of morality. I would love you to describe your imaginary paradox in depth. You brought it up now support its existence. Your above statement is riddled with intellectual mistakes. I?ll help you out though and go through them one by one.


The paradox is quite simply really, so simply i'm sure even you with you zealous bigotry could understand it:


A moral relativist believes whatever society thinks is right is right, so if that same society oppress and condemns the existence of that very same moral-relativist, he can have no objections.



Quote:
No? How did slavery become immoral?


Slavery didn't BECOME immoral, it always was immoral.

Quote:
It was an acceptable practice for all of the western world for 3000+ years.


Simply because it was acceptable doesn't make it morally correct.

Quote:

The Greeks had it, the Romans had it, the European Kingdoms of the Dark, Middle and Early Modern Ages had it. It was a stable and acceptable practice until the 1700?s. Right, you?ve come to a most simple of brick walls in your limited argument. Morality changed, it was no longer culturally acceptable to hold innocent (or criminal) people against their will for the servitude of others.


Morality didn't change, society changed.



Quote:
No, here you fail. If SOCIETY DECIDED, not just you, it was ok to hurt me, as you would not be committing an immoral act. That says nothing of me allowing you to do it freely. Morality does not force me to acquiesce, just as it doesn?t force you to hurt me.


Okay, if SOCIETY decided, you could say nothing of it. Why would you stop society from doing a moral act, by doing so you would become immoral according to your own reasoning.

Quote:
But then again we have that same thing already, it?s called the death penalty. And it?s a moral issue that is began to change in our life times.




Quote:
Yup it sure would be. Just as for a majority of American history it was ok to publicly kill criminals. Only lately has that cultural moral belief began to change, now some states don?t have the DP and plenty of people argue against it.


Well at least you're honest. Willing to die for absolutely nothing simply because the times call for it. Honest, but you have no principals, and have no understanding of morality. Might doesn't make right. If it did then Hitler must've been a pretty okay guy, right?

Quote:
That?s an example of American morality changing in front of us.


AN example of CULTURE changing.


Quote:
Morality is arbitrary. It always has been and it always will be. Make a single claim that supports it being otherwise. I beg you.


Okay, i'll give you a piece of information so you are not quite so clueless. There is a reason why isolated cultures share common ideas of morality, there is a reason why murder of innocents is condemned in virtually every culture, why stealing is considered wrong, if morality was arbitrary there would be no common ground, but there is. Different cultures share similar but varied ideas of morality because they share a common foundation of morality, a foundation they themselves didn't understand very well, yet they acted and thought upon these principals. I'll give you a hint. Morality is an evolved trait. Morality gives humans an advantage. Morality exists because the existence of society depends on it. Morality is a system of thought that preserves society, this is why different cultures share commonalities, because all cultures want to survive and thus all cultures use morality based on the same thing: Survival.

Quote:
You are confusing altruism with morality. And BINGO BANGO you just state

?Different cultures have different ideas of morality but it is the similarities that tells us the basis of morality?

So what?s vague and undefined yet never changing basis of morality, that allows some morals(? Already contradicting yourself here) to differ by social/cultural group but not other morals? Enlighten the forum with your knowledge here I plead you.


There is no contradiction

ideas of morality =/= morality

The differences is that some actions may be beneficial in some circumstances and not others, this is what accounts for the variability.




Quote:
So how do we claim rights to land? Does that mean I can just punch you in the mouth and take your house?


You could try.

Quote:
Are you going to fight me for it? Are you going to call the cops, oh wait?that getting into defending yourself through the established (through societal and cultural acceptance) legal system.
What would you do? What do you have the right to do? Answer.


You are confused here. Simply because morality is not dependent on ideas of society does not mean morality never coincides. Remember morality is survival, and taking my home is a matter of survival so I am justified in defending it from you or anyone else. In the rare case that your survival depends upon taking my home, you would not be wrong in doing whats necessary to survive, but neither would I.





Quote:

So when the Muslims invaded the land currently owned by Christian nations, those nations had no right to defend themselves? Or try to take that land back? You are a typing contradiction here. What do you mean and how does that relate to the causes/justification of the Crusades?


What the crusaders did far exceeded mere self-defense, they we not just defending themselves they were taking lands that they had no right to own in the first place.


Quote:
Lying will get you no where here so cut this crap. 90% of that content you never ever touched upon. You never mentioned anything about millennialism, about Muslims forcefully taking long time Christian land, about what Pope Urban II authorized the first crusade to be, about the Ethos of violence that permeated central European culture. Or did you? Please don?t kid yourself.

I take it you forgot to respond to this or you just wished it would go away?


um, yes, forgot to respond to this one.

well here is my response:

Oh, so now you accuse me of lying? You become very antagonistic don't you? I suppose I am questioning something that you hold very dear to you, that is expected. And yes, I have talked about about Muslim taking of lands and I have talked about culture, and no I did not talk specifically about millennialism nor is it necessary to the conversation.


Quote:
How does it contradict anything? The 4th Crusade is not the 1st Crusade. Christendom lost Jerusalem again to Saladin. The entire effort was to get that land back. Those initial causes never ended, they didn?t go away. But yes the crusades evolved and many INDEPENDENT leaders of it did many terrible terrible things. Militarily going into Egypt was plenty justified, it was the damn central command of the Muslim forces.


Again the question was whether the Crusades were self-defense. I don't really care if you think going into Egypt was "justified" it still is not "self-defense" which is what this topic is actually about.

Quote:
And as we know?Islam and Christianity were wholly incompatible with each other at that time. You could not follow the morality or rule of law of your religion without doing everything in your power to rid the world of the infidels.


And I care why? They may have believed they were doing the right thing, but in reality they were not. And I don't give a damn about your moral-relativist bullshit.


Quote:
I?m sorry, maybe I?ll take a play out of your book and just type louder than you next time.


How does one type loudly?

Quote:
But, if you go read the first post in the thread, which I question if you actually did. The poster is referencing only the 1st crusade.


I am not talking to the poster am I?

Quote:
And another question?do you even read what you post? In your big copy/paste history of the crusades from wiki found here:

http://www.conflictingviews.com/society/history/crusades-3362-3.html#post63456


I've not copy and pasted anything in our discussion.

Quote:
It even states that the happening of the 4th crusade ?which was totally diverted from its original course.? And that the pope excommunicated people for their war crimes and that it was Noblemen, not church leaders who lead most of the destruction.

Even your own posts are being used against you know.


Irrelevant. Original course or not, it still doesn't constitute self-defense.


Quote:
:ugh: When you?re whole existence and perception the world is based on your religion, then yes it is the only truth you know. You are again using hindsight in poor attempts to understand the cause of events 1000 years ago. To the Christians no Muslim was innocent, (and vise versa) that was everything they knew. To them, to everyone they knew what they were doing was self defense. I don?t even want to hear what you would have to say about the dropping of the atomic bombs on Japan. I can only imagine how funny that would be.


So I should just accept it because they believed it? Surely you jest. Such an intellectually incompetent statement does not even deserved to be on an internet forum.

Quote:
You are, even when presented in front of you, you just ignore them.


Or so you insist.


Quote:
You?ve built a case on nothing though. Your own citation doesn?t support your claims. You had no case, no evidence, no argument regarding the actual start of the Crusades. The best you?ve mustered is the 4th and Childrens crusades, both of which you have shown to have no historical knowledge of. So yes, this is very much about study and not your personal feelings.


I've made a negative statement, i'm merely criticizing your position, in this case the burden of proof lies on you to show that it was self-defense and so far the only thing you've been able to muster is "they believed this and that" nonsense. Your whole argument relies on an unfounded assumption. A bad one at that. That because they believed it was okay then it is.



Quote:
They were criminals, they were guilty by being Muslims (and vise versa). Their mere existence was a crime to all Christian nations. It also doesn?t help the fact that they (Muslims) were under control of long time Christian cities and were oppressing those Christians that were allowed to lived there.



again the "they believed this..." argument isn't going to get you anywhere.


Quote:
I?m sorry, I?ll stop using reason and evidence. I?ll just yell louder next time.


I wasn't aware you ever started.
0 Replies
 
Volunteer
 
  1  
Reply Sun 12 Apr, 2009 06:39 am
@marcus cv,
Happy Easter!!!!! He is Risen!!!!!!!!!!
0 Replies
 
Volunteer
 
  1  
Reply Sun 12 Apr, 2009 06:45 am
@Fatal Freedoms,
Fatal_Freedoms;64933 wrote:
And who had it before the Romans, and who had it before them, and then who had it before that group and who before that? .....


God.

There was once a scientist who learned how to animate chemicals and dust into slime. He thought he was clever and wanted to prove he was just as capable as God. He told God watch me make life. God said, go ahead. The scientist said first I take some dust. God said, Stop, get your own dust.
Fatal Freedoms
 
  1  
Reply Sun 12 Apr, 2009 01:02 pm
@Volunteer,
Volunteer;64998 wrote:
God.

There was once a scientist who learned how to animate chemicals and dust into slime. He thought he was clever and wanted to prove he was just as capable as God. He told God watch me make life. God said, go ahead. The scientist said first I take some dust. God said, Stop, get your own dust.


So god makes something from nothing?
0 Replies
 
Grouch
 
  1  
Reply Tue 14 Apr, 2009 08:00 am
@marcus cv,
Fatal_Freedoms;64980 wrote:
I can see a civil conversation with you is out of the question, perhaps if you weren't so emotionally attached to this issue you could discuss this with something other than crude remarks and stubborn belligerence.


Well my friend you’ve done little to keep it so. I would like to say that I believe capable of learning anything, but in your 3.5k posts I doubt you’ve changed your stand on anything, no matter what evidence or reason is given to you.

Fatal_Freedoms;64980 wrote:
The paradox is quite simply really, so simply i'm sure even you with you zealous bigotry could understand it:

A moral relativist believes whatever society thinks is right is right, so if that same society oppress and condemns the existence of that very same moral-relativist, he can have no objections.


Oh I’m a bigot now too? Hold on there cowboy that’s one thing I’ve never done on this forum. I know you’re just angry and your argument is pathetic and failing so you’re just looking to name to call me. But at least ground them in reality.

Yes moral relativism is the only morality supported in the entire human existence. But you do not apply it correctly. You are purposefully misrepresenting it as something its not. Because so society changes it morality, doesn’t mean the individual has to acquiesce to it. It’s a bad counter argument used against moral relativism, its one that asked the moral relativist to say that another set of morals are wrong. When they don’t have to say they are wrong, but they don’t have to accept harm either.

Sorry boss but this is as far as moral relativism goes.

In philosophy moral relativism is the position that moral or ethical propositions do not reflect objective and/or universal moral truths, but instead make claims relative to social, cultural, historical or personal circumstances.

Fatal_Freedoms;64980 wrote:
Slavery didn't BECOME immoral, it always was immoral.


Ok.. you’re time to do some supporting for once. According to what provable absolute standard? GO!

Fatal_Freedoms;64980 wrote:
Simply because it was acceptable doesn't make it morally correct.

Morality didn't change, society changed.


Sure it does! Unless you are able to prove that some other standard should be used.

Fatal_Freedoms;64980 wrote:
Okay, if SOCIETY decided, you could say nothing of it. Why would you stop society from doing a moral act, by doing so you would become immoral according to your own reasoning.


I could say plenty about it, I can’t judge it though. That’s the huge point you can’t grasp. We have the DP in our current society, its morally acceptable to kill people who have committed certain crimes. People do a lot of things to avoid it though, but legal and otherwise, I would not say that all these attempts are immoral.

Fatal_Freedoms;64980 wrote:
Well at least you're honest. Willing to die for absolutely nothing simply because the times call for it. Honest, but you have no principals, and have no understanding of morality. Might doesn't make right. If it did then Hitler must've been a pretty okay guy, right?


No…again you have problems, boarding on lying really. I would die for something, I accept the DP as a possible punishments for certain crimes, those crimes are not nothing are they? No, they are agreed to set standards of behavior that have been violated.
You continue to miss what moral relativism is. It does not allow me to judge the actions of Hitler are immoral or not. As morality has a temporal nature, he made right for a lot of people Germans didn’t he.

Fatal_Freedoms;64980 wrote:
AN example of CULTURE changing.


And that is to say that CULTURE defines MORALITY. At least until you can prove the existence of a meta-physical morality higher than that. I’m waiting…

Fatal_Freedoms;64980 wrote:
Okay, I'll give you a piece of information so you are not quite so clueless. There is a reason why isolated cultures share common ideas of morality, there is a reason why murder of innocents is condemned in virtually every culture, why stealing is considered wrong, if morality was arbitrary there would be no common ground, but there is.


Accept there is common ground among thieves, among tyrannical dictators, among the religious. Those commonalities exist because of moral evolution, because society generally works better that way. But every moral standard makes the exception to one of those at some point in time.

Fatal_Freedoms;64980 wrote:
Different cultures share similar but varied ideas of morality


So morality CAN and DOES differ? By what amount? 2% 10% if morality can differ by that much why can’t it differ by 50%? See the inescapable problems you’ve fallen into? You’ve admitted that morality can differ between groups yet you can’t establish the bases for morality.

Fatal_Freedoms;64980 wrote:
because they share a common foundation of morality, a foundation they themselves didn't understand very well, yet they acted and thought upon these principals.


What’s that foundation? What does it consist of? Identify and prove it.

Fatal_Freedoms;64980 wrote:
I'll give you a hint. Morality is an evolved trait. Morality gives humans an advantage. Morality exists because the existence of society depends on it. Morality is a system of thought that preserves society, this is why different cultures share commonalities, because all cultures want to survive and thus all cultures use morality based on the same thing: Survival.


Oh ****!!! You just defined changing morality!!! Morality evolved? What evolution? Evolution is change over time correct.

I love that you brought up the need to survive. Because that is what changes morality. That is what makes the killing of an innocent moral, because it allowed of the survival of a group, that is what makes stealing ok, because it makes for the survival of a person.

I’ll give you 2 situations please answer them both.

You’re a group of 12-20 Jews trying to escape Nazi territory. You are 10 yards from freedom but there are 10 Nazi troops in your immediate area. This is the only chance you will ever had to escape, if found you will be killed then, if you return you’ll be killed tomorrow. If you escape you all will live a happy life to its natural end at old age. The baby cries (its going to die tomorrow anyways) you have 1 second to decide on action. You can kill it without a sound and escape, or be found. Killing the baby, gives everyone that long happy life. Is not life for 19 better than death for 20?

Or…

It is post apocalyptic America, general enforcement of law has come to an end. You and your family are hungry, in fact if you don’t eat today you’re baby is going to die. In your searches you come to delusional man on his death bed. Maybe 3 days to live, but he’s horded enough food to last you and your family months. He can’t feed himself, and he doesn’t give you authority to take any food. He is going to die soon, but your baby will die sooner if she doesn’t eat. Do you steal his food? It is moral in this case to take something without permission because it will ensure the life of a child?

Damn…what a conundrum you just fell into. I’m sorry, I hope your morality doesn’t let you or your child die.

Fatal_Freedoms;64980 wrote:
There is no contradiction

ideas of morality =/= morality

The differences is that some actions may be beneficial in some circumstances and not others, this is what accounts for the variability.



Which means that morality is variable and dependent on circumstance. Morality is either 100% universal in every respect or it has the ability to differ between time and culture. Any variability at all dismisses the idea that there is any sort of absolutism in morality.

Fatal_Freedoms;64980 wrote:
You could try.


So you would defend your property. But you yourself just said that the Christian nations had no right to defend their own existence from the Muslims. Hypocrisy much?


Fatal_Freedoms;64980 wrote:
You are confused here. Simply because morality is not dependent on ideas of society does not mean morality never coincides. Remember morality is survival, and taking my home is a matter of survival so I am justified in defending it from you or anyone else. In the rare case that your survival depends upon taking my home, you would not be wrong in doing whats necessary to survive, but neither would I.


So it’s ok to be immoral in a given situation? If in that situation the immoral action intended and does produce a net good how is that action still immoral? Can you directly explain that?

Fatal_Freedoms;64980 wrote:
What the crusaders did far exceeded mere self-defense, they we not just defending themselves they were taking lands that they had no right to own in the first place. .


um, yes, forgot to respond to this one.

well here is my response:

Fatal_Freedoms;64980 wrote:
Oh, so now you accuse me of lying? You become very antagonistic don't you? I suppose I am questioning something that you hold very dear to you, that is expected. And yes, I have talked about about Muslim taking of lands and I have talked about culture, and no I did not talk specifically about millennialism nor is it necessary to the conversation.


Yes. Because you are. You have not talked about the Muslims taking of lands in any detail, you haven’t talked about culture in anyway but to quickly dismiss the whole idea of it attributing to the contributing anything to the situation. And millennialism is very important to understanding why the first Crusade happened. You will not find an academic book on the Crusades that does not explain the cultural significance it and on the Christian nations.




Fatal_Freedoms;64980 wrote:
Again the question was whether the Crusades were self-defense. I don't really care if you think going into Egypt was "justified" it still is not "self-defense" which is what this topic is actually about.


Yes, Muslims invaded and occupied Christian lands, stopped allowing Christians to pilgrimage there ect. Christians made the attempt to take back their lands, succeeded once but the lands were retaken. After that it was a cultural/religious war still about taking back their lands and eliminating the enemy. All of this was self-defense. It is terribly ignorant to attempt to understand this using hind sight. Not a single modern historian does that in any respect.

Fatal_Freedoms;64980 wrote:
And I care why? They may have believed they were doing the right thing, but in reality they were not. And I don't give a damn about your moral-relativist bull****.


Hopefully because you had some honest desire to learn about a very important period of time in world history. It seems as though you’ve admitting that is not the case.

Considering moral absolutism fails and you’ve personally failed to uphold it or support its existence. I hope in the 3rd or 4th attempt in asking you to prove its existence you do so.

Fatal_Freedoms;64980 wrote:
And How does one type loudly?


Record yourself and find out?

Fatal_Freedoms;64980 wrote:
I am not talking to the poster am I?


You are talking to me…who btw only mentioned the start of the Crusades…you don’t miss much do you.

Fatal_Freedoms;64980 wrote:
I've not copy and pasted anything in our discussion.


Really? That’s not what google says…

The First Crusade thus ended in victory. It was the only crusade that achieved more than ephemeral results. - Google Search

Your whole post here. #27 of the thread if this link does not work correctly is just an copy and paste.
Crusades: First Crusade — Infoplease.com
The Crusades
crusade: Definition, Synonyms from Answers.com

Wow all 3 of them verbatim what you poster. Yeah you didn’t copy and paste and you didn’t just lie about it now.

Fatal_Freedoms;64980 wrote:
Irrelevant. Original course or not, it still doesn't constitute self-defense.


Oh here they come more one liners so you don’t actually have to defend your position. Please try it for once.

Fatal_Freedoms;64980 wrote:
So I should just accept it because they believed it? Surely you jest. Such an intellectually incompetent statement does not even deserved to be on an internet forum.


If you cared to lean and understand history and not just be an intellectual coward trolling internet forums for attention on topic you know little more than C jr. high school student. Then yes you should, or at the very least provide a counter argument consisting of something more than. “That irrelevant, invasion not = defense, they (really SOME) raped and pillaged their natural enemy.”

One must think you are physically incapable of doing more at this point.

Fatal_Freedoms;64980 wrote:
Or so you insist.


Make a supported statement countering anything I’ve posted. Go ahead I’ll wait.

Fatal_Freedoms;64980 wrote:
I've made a negative statement, i'm merely criticizing your position, in this case the burden of proof lies on you to show that it was self-defense and so far the only thing you've been able to muster is "they believed this and that" nonsense. Your whole argument relies on an unfounded assumption. A bad one at that. That because they believed it was okay then it is.


You’ve posted an un-academic and unfound opinion. One in which you refuse to back up with facts at all. The basis of your argument is not one of producing evidence, but one of denying the important of everything that counters your ignorance. You have no understanding of social issues or culture other than whatever one you currently occupy. You’re a dishonest person, already proven to be a liar.






Fatal_Freedoms;64980 wrote:
again the "they believed this..." argument isn't going to get you anywhere.


You’re lack of an argument isn’t getting much farther.

Fatal_Freedoms;64980 wrote:

I wasn't aware you ever started.


I remember when I had my first beer.

I’d love in your own words to see you write an argument against the self defense nature of the first crusade consisting of more than 3 sentences. That’s not asking for too much is it?

Oh end any support on this moral absolutism you seem to be so fond of? Come on…go pull that one out of the sky.
Fatal Freedoms
 
  1  
Reply Tue 14 Apr, 2009 12:58 pm
@Grouch,
Grouch;65038 wrote:
Well my friend you?ve done little to keep it so. I would like to say that I believe capable of learning anything, but in your 3.5k posts I doubt you?ve changed your stand on anything, no matter what evidence or reason is given to you.


I've not changed my stance nor have you. But I think you a damned fool if you think you're gonna change my mind, nor do i think i will change yours.




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Yes moral relativism is the only morality supported in the entire human existence.


Ha, how absurd.

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But you do not apply it correctly. You are purposefully misrepresenting it as something its not. Because so society changes it morality, doesn?t mean the individual has to acquiesce to it.


Of course they do or they are not being moral, according to your own logic.

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It?s a bad counter argument used against moral relativism, its one that asked the moral relativist to say that another set of morals are wrong. When they don?t have to say they are wrong, but they don?t have to accept harm either.


But by denying them(moral action) you are being immoral.

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In philosophy moral relativism is the position that moral or ethical propositions do not reflect objective and/or universal moral truths, but instead make claims relative to social, cultural, historical or personal circumstances.


I espouse neither absolutism nor Moral relativism. I am a Utilitarian.


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Ok.. you?re time to do some supporting for once. According to what provable absolute standard? GO!


Survival. Survival of the individual and more importantly survival of the group.


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Sure it does! Unless you are able to prove that some other standard should be used.


First prove that your standard is the correct one. You made the claim.


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I could say plenty about it, I can?t judge it though. That?s the huge point you can?t grasp. We have the DP in our current society, its morally acceptable to kill people who have committed certain crimes. People do a lot of things to avoid it though, but legal and otherwise, I would not say that all these attempts are immoral.


Of course not. You are a pawn. If all of history's great leader's thought as you do, then no progress could've been made.



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No?again you have problems, boarding on lying really. I would die for something, I accept the DP as a possible punishments for certain crimes, those crimes are not nothing are they? No, they are agreed to set standards of behavior that have been violated.
You continue to miss what moral relativism is. It does not allow me to judge the actions of Hitler are immoral or not. As morality has a temporal nature, he made right for a lot of people Germans didn?t he.


Okay, i'll bite. Why are those crimes, crimes? Why are they made illegal in the first place, what exactly are these laws based on and why are they put in place? Why is DP an appropriate punishment for these crimes, what does the DP do that makes it appropriate?


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And that is to say that CULTURE defines MORALITY. At least until you can prove the existence of a meta-physical morality higher than that. I?m waiting?


I'd say you have it backwards. Morality is one of the many measuring sticks that helps define a society. I have never once promoted any meta-physical morality. Meta-physics is a pseudoscience, complete balderdash. Morality is based on survival. A moral action in any case is dependent upon the circumstances. A moral action is based on what will cause more benefit than harm. Murder of innocents is immoral because it decreases survival of the group while it does nothing to enhance your own survival. However murder of a murderer (self-defense) is a balanced action, it's benefit is proportional to it's harm. The most moral action is always that which does the greatest benefit for the greatest number of people.The most immoral action is that which does the greatest harm to the greatest number of people.

To you I would say morality is relative, but it's is not relative to a time or to a society, but rather to a given circumstance. An immoral action is immoral regardless of how a society feels about it.


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Accept there is common ground among thieves, among tyrannical dictators, among the religious. Those commonalities exist because of moral evolution, because society generally works better that way. But every moral standard makes the exception to one of those at some point in time.


So you admit morality exists for the benefit of society?

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So morality CAN and DOES differ? By what amount? 2% 10% if morality can differ by that much why can?t it differ by 50%? See the inescapable problems you?ve fallen into? You?ve admitted that morality can differ between groups yet you can?t establish the bases for morality.


I said the [SIZE="4"]IDEA[/SIZE] of morality differs. Do not try and twist my words.

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What?s that foundation? What does it consist of? Identify and prove it.


I already have: survival.

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Oh ****!!! You just defined changing morality!!! Morality evolved? What evolution? Evolution is change over time correct.


I said "evolved trait", Again here you go trying to twist my words around. The evolution to which I refer is that of human action, which over time has more accurately conformed to morality.



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I love that you brought up the need to survive. Because that is what changes morality. That is what makes the killing of an innocent moral, because it allowed of the survival of a group, that is what makes stealing ok, because it makes for the survival of a person.


Morality stresses the survival of the group over that of the individual. Killing of innocents has never improved the survival of a group.

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I?ll give you 2 situations please answer them both.


Okay

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You?re a group of 12-20 Jews trying to escape Nazi territory. You are 10 yards from freedom but there are 10 Nazi troops in your immediate area. This is the only chance you will ever had to escape, if found you will be killed then, if you return you?ll be killed tomorrow. If you escape you all will live a happy life to its natural end at old age. The baby cries (its going to die tomorrow anyways) you have 1 second to decide on action. You can kill it without a sound and escape, or be found. Killing the baby, gives everyone that long happy life. Is not life for 19 better than death for 20?


The most moral action is that which has the greatest benefits for the greatest number of people. The survival of the larger group is the priority in this situation and other similar situations.

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Or?

It is post apocalyptic America, general enforcement of law has come to an end. You and your family are hungry, in fact if you don?t eat today you?re baby is going to die. In your searches you come to delusional man on his death bed. Maybe 3 days to live, but he?s horded enough food to last you and your family months. He can?t feed himself, and he doesn?t give you authority to take any food. He is going to die soon, but your baby will die sooner if she doesn?t eat. Do you steal his food? It is moral in this case to take something without permission because it will ensure the life of a child?

Damn?what a conundrum you just fell into. I?m sorry, I hope your morality doesn?t let you or your child die.


As I said before, the most moral action is that which has the greatest benefits for the greatest number of people. The survival of the larger group is the priority in this situation and other similar situations.



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Which means that morality is variable and dependent on circumstance. Morality is either 100% universal in every respect or it has the ability to differ between time and culture. Any variability at all dismisses the idea that there is any sort of absolutism in morality.


It seems we are making headway. I would agree that morality is dependent upon circumstance. However I would NOT agree that morality is dependent upon a society.



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So you would defend your property. But you yourself just said that the Christian nations had no right to defend their own existence from the Muslims. Hypocrisy much?


When have I ever said that? I believe what I said is that their actions didn't constitute self-defense, never have I said they "shouldn't" defend themselves.




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So it?s ok to be immoral in a given situation? If in that situation the immoral action intended and does produce a net good how is that action still immoral? Can you directly explain that?


If it was "okay" then it wouldn't be immoral then, would it?






Long night, I will respond to the rest of this at another time....
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