Humanity needs urgently to revitalize itself again with the Light of the Truth in order to attain spiritual evolution, as the desire for it was already once suffocated before by human concepts that justified its atrocities as being pleasing to the Creator. Humans are not ashamed in affirming that the satisfaction of its greed and vanity by promoting pillaging and massacres, was desired for by the Creator. Evidently, the absurdity of it all has generated the most fateful consequences for humanity.
After the death of Jesus’ disciples, there arose in Rome a powerful religious organization that grew and greatly increased its area of influence throughout Europe. On the other hand, the legacy of the prophet Mohamed also inflated the growth of Arab power, which became dominant in the Middle East and took control of Jerusalem in the year 638 AD.
When a thousand years after the assignation of Christ had already elapsed, Rome extemporaneously launched a war to free the Holy Land. This way, noble and peasants were encouraged to adhere to action under the promise that “whoever fought against the infidels would win a pardon for all their sins and secure a guaranteed place in paradise reserved specially for them”. (Magazine. Super Interessante nº. 213).
The peasant-serfs were obliged to work the fields with the sweat of their labor, without being able to act in self-defense, they sustained the luxury and the lust of the nobility, whilst the landholders dissipated riches with idleness and pleasure. Peasants, noblemen, priests and soldiers were aroused with the idea of the Crusades. Much energy and many lives were mobilized, but spiritually humanity remained stagnant.
For Mike Collett-White, in the new 21st century battlefield between the Christian Crusaders and the Saracens is the epic motion picture “Kingdom of Heaven”, by Ridley Scott, who was praised by Moslem groups on the pleasant portrayal of Saladin, the Moslem-Kurd army commander. Not only have historians accused Ridley Scott of being too nice to Saladin, they have also criticized him of overly demonizing the Templar Knights. Guy de Lusignan, who with the support of the Templars became the King of Jerusalem, appears as the classical stereotype super villain. (Source: Reuter’s agency).
In English, the title of the film is “Kingdom of Heaven” because the word Crusade in the Arab world even today harbors negative feelings. Balian, the hero of the film, interpreted by Orlando Bloom, is determined as a human, to improve the living conditions of the people, regardless of their ethnic or religious origin, as if it were the kingdom of heaven.
Christian, Jews and Moslems coexisted peacefully in Jerusalem. But, due to the atrocities committed by the Templars, the environment for the Christians in Palestine became unbearable. In 1187 the Holy Land once again fell under Saracen rule this time led by the Sultan Saladin, who was upset with the prepotency of the Templars in Jerusalem. The Church mobilized the noblemen that were eager to retake the Holy City, amongst them were Phillip Augustus, the King of France, Richard the Lion Heart, prince of England, and Frederick Barbarossa, the beloved German Emperor who still had some knowledge about the beings of nature through the Germanic legends. Barbarossa exercised great influence in Europe, and because of this there was an interest in keeping him out of the political scene. A new crusade would be an excellent opportunity to occupy the European sovereigns, and remove them from decision-making in their kingdoms. (Source: Echoes from Distant Times, Publisher: Order of the Grail on Earth).
In about two hundred years of wars, from 1095 to 1291, between victories and defeats suffered by both sides, finally the Sultan Saladin recovered control of Jerusalem in 1187, without the much-desired human spiritual progress-taking place. There just remained tragedy, death, and a profound deception with human behavior that should have sought for the beneficial harmonious peace building. Certainly this deeply shook the religious sentiment of the many human spirits that ended up in disbelieving in everything.
Unfortunately, humans have always given more value to the constitution of an earthly power rather than to live and evolve in peace, in an effort of trying to make a copy on Earth of the Celestial paradise, where there exists eternal blessing, for there, the laws of Creation reign. The hundreds of years mankind has spent warring amongst each other, instead of seeking the recognition of the true Will of the Creator that is expressed through His cosmic laws, has brought to planet Earth the present desolate predicament of misery and pain, destruction of the environment, and the tragic human spiritual regression, opposite of that which was desired for by the Creator when He pronounced the words “Let there be Light”, allowing thus through His Incommensurable Love, the appearance of life on Earth.