Serbian.
In this age we hear a lot of nonsense. One of the more common stupidities I hear is the claim that: “If it hadn’t been for the good monks who preserved the European heritage, in books, then it would all have been lost. So we should be very grateful to them.” As if we would have needed those monks to record our heritage, had they and their religion not come and destroyed most of our heritage in the first place.
Another common stupidity I hear, is that of how: “Christians defended Europe from Islam, from the Muslim invasions, and kept them at bay for more than 1000 years!” Yes, Europe was Christianized by the time the Muslims attacked, but why on Earth would the fact that they were Christians matter in this context? So are they suggesting that if the Europeans, in Spain, Byzantium and France, had not been Christians, then they would not have defended themselves? Would they perhaps have rolled over and played dead, and just let the Muslims take all of Europe?
If I recall correctly, neither the Gauls, nor the Britons nor the tribes of Germania rolled over and played dead when they were attacked by the Romans. Nor did the Saxons roll over and play dead when the Christians in France attacked them. Nor did the Scandinavians roll over and play dead in the Viking Age, when the Christians attacked them. Nor did any other non-Christian Europeans, when they faced foreign threats. So what makes the Christians think that they would have behaved any differently had they been attacked by the Muslims? The moment different European tribes faced a common threat in the Pagan era, they united and defended themselves forcefully, skillfully and bravely.
People defend themselves no matter what religion they have. And people were living in both Spain, France and Byzantium at the time when the Muslims invaded. So Christianity didn’t defend Europe against Islam. Europeans did, and Europeans would have no matter what religion they had, and had they been Pagans (with a sense of Honour) instead of Christians (cultivating humility and weakness in man), I am sure they would have done it much better too.
And I wonder: how exactly is it Christianity is defending Europe today?
