Reflections on Christianity - Essay Example

Reflection Paper On Christianity Reflection Paper On Christianity The crusades were military campaigns that were funded by the Catholic Church during the high middle ages. It was a turning point in the history of Christianity, it one of the most significant events as under this banner a large number of Christians came together to fight for their religion. Many historians believe that Crusades were actually a defense mechanism; it was to clean the territory off religious impurity that is the expansion of Islamic in the near east of Europe. Crusades being an important event are often depicted through various mediums of art. One of such depictions is the film, “Kingdom Of Heaven’ by Ridley Scott which was released recently in 2005. This movie takes place during the 12th century in specific during the second crusade. Although this film is a work of fiction it does provide a historical account for the events that took place during that time. The plot of the film is based on the character of Balian of Ibelin. He was a French blacksmith who follows his father to fight in the crusades. The main events of this film are the falling of the kingdom of Jerusalem and the power struggle between the Muslims and Christians over Jerusalem. Through the character of Guy de Lusignan, this film is depicting the rising greed in different rulers that was present at that time. Guy is the husband of Sybilla, the king’s sister. After the death of King Baldwin IV, Sybilla took the throne and named his husband the king of jerusalem. Guy was a person who was greedy and intended to rule after the death of King Baldwin, it was his greed of expanding the empire and establishing a Christian Kingdom and so he wanted to provoke a war with Muslims so he could be successful in his goals. This character portrays another aspect of the crusades that was the aspect that much noble man took part in this war not primarily because of religion, but because of other personal reasons. This film is not one of those films that show just one side of the event. It managed to show both the sides of the crusades. It portrayed the side of Muslims, which is usually absent in the western media. It showed how it was actually the idea of some angry churchmen who took upon their self to rid the world of impurity that is Muslims, and this simple idea lead to one of the greatest wars in the history. It also highlighted that the Crusades then provoked the peaceful Muslim world to fight back, which resulted in a lot of loss of property and life. The movie itself shows how the violence turned Muslims into warriors who fought to save their dignity and honor. The crusade was mainly because of the atrocities that the Muslims faced during the times when they were not in power. This movie also showed the culture of crusade from the side of Christians, who called this war as the Holy War, and believed that fighting in this war against the Muslims will be a service to God and they will be granted a place in heaven. It shows how many noble men along with the churchmen left everything they owned behind to take part in this war. These fighters use to go from town to town to gather support. This fact is shown by how in the film the main character Balian meets his father Baron Godfrey who is travelling with other fellow crusaders in order to find more men for the Holy War. He also tries to convince his son but fails and he leaves. This movie did not only highlight the motivational reasons behind the 12th century crusade but also some results of the crusades. It showed the massive amount of bloodshed that took place during that time. The film also showed the large amounts of destruction that took place during the crusades in Jerusalem.  All the riots that took place after the death of King Baldwin depicts the damage Jerusalem faced during the wars, the burning of temples, mosques and many villages. It highlights the constant war between the Saladin and Guy de Lusignan, it shows the power struggle that took place between them and also shows the many disadvantages it bought to not only the Muslim community but also resulted in the bloodshed of many Christians. It also showed the point of view of many Christians that were against the whole idea of crusades and thought that they were unjust and cruel to Muslims. The main character of Balian, in the end of the film opposed the crusades. The face of religion itself carries with it different meanings and the meaning of the religion Islam has been portrayed explicably in the movie. It helps the audience to understand the deeper meanings of the religion. Religions have been made to create a meaning beyond the world which is invisible to all the people living. Fisher in her book puts this beautifully with the following quote “In many cultures and times religion has been the basic foundation of life, permeating all aspects of human existence”. In the movie the meaning of religions has been explored in a sense that may be visible to only but a few. It helps people to understand the complexities that revolve around the different religions and how one would react if someone lays a finger on eternity. The movie has not taken the side of the Islamic society but has rather helped the audience to develop a view as to why these Crusades did happen at the first place. To conclude the idea of depiction of crusades in the film of Kingdom of Heaven, this film provides a very modern approach to the whole idea of crusade. It is fresh view to the idea of Crusades; it shows not only shows one side of the Holy War but shows both sides. The movie lets the audience judge about the rights and wrongs of the crusades. Works Cited: Fisher, M. P. (1999). Living religions. Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Prentice-Hall. Kingdom of Heaven. (2005). [DVD] Hollywood: Ridley Scott. Read More