Friday. Get Empire of God: How the Byzantines Saved Civilizationhere.
Comments
Patricksays
I loved the Empire of God, especially reading about the Eastern Empire of Byzantine and how Islam interacted with Romans at the time. I know Islam won in the end, Why? Were the armies too small, were the Romans too ignorant, lack the resources?
Patrick Kelley
Mosays
VOCAB! Will watch at a later time. I have yet to buy/read this book. I need a whole new bookshelf for all of Robert’s books, LOL!
Hudders.says
Excellent. Yet another video to share with friends, family, colleagues & my church groups.
The desire for real understanding regarding the true history of islam & its awful imprint on the world right up to present, is stronger than any time I can recall.
Thank you for posting, the more the merrier.
gravenimagesays
Video: Vocab Malone and Robert Spencer, “Did the BYZANTINE EMPIRE ‘Save’ Western Civilization?”
…………………………………….
Great to see Vocab Malone again–and good stuff about Robert Spencer’s new(ish) book.
And yes–though imperfect the Byzantine Empire *did* save civilization. Ever civilized person in the West owes them a debt of gratitude.
And the mention of the shameful attack of the West on what should have been their Christian allies against JIhad terror–I’ve long wondered how much this contributed to the fall of Constantinople two centuries later.
The fall of Constantinople is one of the great tragedies of history.
One small point to Mr. Malone–most Protestant Christians are not iconoclasts. Some like Calvinists are,–but not most others.
Also looking forward to Mr. Spencer’s book on antisemitism.
࿗Infidel࿘says
I used to wonder what the term “Iconoclast” meant – whether it meant an endorsement of the icons and figurines of Christ, Mary,… or a rejection of them. It wasn’t clear even from reading that book, but I finally figured out when Robert explained the basis of that Eastern Orthodox belief
I look forward to the new anti-Semitism book next year
Reziacsays
Robert! turn your microphone up a bit. You’re always hard to hear compared to your hosts. (Chronic problem on TWIJ, too.)
࿗Infidel࿘says
For this video, I had no problems hearing him, and I usually don’t in TWIJ either. Only place I’ve noticed a major audio volume shortcoming is when he appears on Frank Gaffney’s show
Also, if you click on the Closed Caption CC icon, then it’ll show you the subtitles, even if you have it mute or barely audible. I’ve found that useful when I have problems hearing what’s on (assuming that a particular video has that available. This one does)
Roopods6says
Might be a good preparation for understanding the current war between the ‘Romanized’ west attempts to subjugate the ‘Romanized’ eastern leg which the Russian Federation now represents. That once the current western system of governance ‘falls away’ (Greek: APOSTASIA – to fall away – 2 Thessalonians 2.3,6) there will be a leader who unites both legs. What we’re seeing right now: 10 rulers who give their realms to the BEAST (Daniel 2.41-43, 7.23-24, 9.27, 11.36-39, Revelation 17.12-13,16-17).
gravenimagesays
The West is not subjugating Russia.
Philipsays
This is the next Robert Spencer book I’ll read. I’ve read The Truth About Muhammed, Palestinian
Delusion, and, most recently, Muhammad: A Critical Biography. So, interesting to hear this as an introduction.
࿗Infidel࿘says
First time I’m seeing this guy Vocab Malone, and he’s a fun interviewer. His staff seems to have gotten the sound effects nailed 😆 but more important than that, he asked a lot of fascinating questions right from the word “Go”
I liked how he pulled in the discussion of the Holy Roman Emperor, and had his questions on Charlegmagne (which until I heard “Charlemagne da God”, I had no idea how to pronounce). Also, the parallels about how both the Eastern Orthodox as well as the Protestants looked at the Roman Catholic Church as a rogue church was a tad amusing
One of the last questions that was asked – whether they missed any questions? Although it’s not from this book, it would have been interesting to hear something about the Slavs – the role that they played in the Byzantine Empire. After all, it was not just Greece but a large portion of the Balkans – today’s Bulgaria, Serbia, Montenegro, et al, that all fell under the Eastern Roman Empire. In what way did their culture diverge from the empire at Constantinople, and how did they diverge from the Greeks, if they were initially under the same empire?
One disagreement w/ Robert – the Mongols didn’t convert to islam. It’s that their armies consisted of a lot of Turks, and after a while, during the wars of succession, there were Turks who rose to the top, and they Turkified the empires as well as converted them to islam. For the Golden Horde, it ended when Mohammed Ozbeg Khan converted to islam, as well as large parts of his empire w/ it. Problem that the Mongols had is that they were pluralistic, which worked fine w/ their Shaman, Buddhist and Nestorian factions, but when the Turks came to power, they transformed them altogether
Anyway, fascinating interview and interviewer: hope to see more of him
gravenimagesays
Infidel, I know that Vocab Malone and David Wood are good friends and frequent colleagues.
Mikesays
I remember a few years ago, when David Wood and others (including Mr. Spencer) were in the “Islamicize Me” series.
“Halal Hogan” (obviously a spoof of pro-wrestler Hulk Hogan) was hilarious and so was the episode “Farting in the Mosque”! It was worthy of The Three Stooges!
At the same time however, they did cover a lot of important and serious issues related to Islamic theology and practise.
gravenimagesays
Yes–if only a *single* European Christian ruler had chosen to help Byzantium, history might have been *much* different.
And yes–many Byzatine scholars fleeing the invading Muslims cane to the West–and while the Renaissance had already begun, it was much enriched by this. One only hoped that this would have been a peaceful exchange of ideas, though, rather than their having been violenlty driven out of the eastern Roman Empire.
And it is grimly true that few understand about violent Jihad and its horrific history.
And always amazed by how prolific Robert Spencer is. Excellent and important work.
࿗Infidel࿘says
Yeah, it’s tragic what happened to the Byzantine empire. One contrast b/w the fall of Sassanid Persia vs the fall of the Byzantine Empire – the Byzantine capital was far away from its frontiers, be it Antioch, Manzikert,…. By contrast, the Sassanid capital Ctesiphon – near today’s Baghdad – was nearer the Arabs (who I believe, based on Robert’s and Jay Smith’s work, started from Damascus, not Medina/Mecca) than anything else in Persia. While it’s true that the reason both the Byzantines and the Persians lost a good portion of their empire (all of it for Persia’s case) was that both were burnt out fighting each other, I do think that if the Persian capital had been somewhere like Marakanda (later Samarqand) or Zaripsa (Balkh), they might have lasted longer
However, based on the findings in “Did Muhammad Exist?” and Jay Smith’s work, I now call them the Arab conquests, rather than the islamic conquests. Islam came much later, probably w/ the Seljuq Turks as far as the Byzantines were concerned, and the Ghaznavids as far as the Indians were
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Patrick says
I loved the Empire of God, especially reading about the Eastern Empire of Byzantine and how Islam interacted with Romans at the time. I know Islam won in the end, Why? Were the armies too small, were the Romans too ignorant, lack the resources?
Patrick Kelley
Mo says
VOCAB! Will watch at a later time. I have yet to buy/read this book. I need a whole new bookshelf for all of Robert’s books, LOL!
Hudders. says
Excellent. Yet another video to share with friends, family, colleagues & my church groups.
The desire for real understanding regarding the true history of islam & its awful imprint on the world right up to present, is stronger than any time I can recall.
Thank you for posting, the more the merrier.
gravenimage says
Video: Vocab Malone and Robert Spencer, “Did the BYZANTINE EMPIRE ‘Save’ Western Civilization?”
…………………………………….
Great to see Vocab Malone again–and good stuff about Robert Spencer’s new(ish) book.
And yes–though imperfect the Byzantine Empire *did* save civilization. Ever civilized person in the West owes them a debt of gratitude.
And the mention of the shameful attack of the West on what should have been their Christian allies against JIhad terror–I’ve long wondered how much this contributed to the fall of Constantinople two centuries later.
The fall of Constantinople is one of the great tragedies of history.
One small point to Mr. Malone–most Protestant Christians are not iconoclasts. Some like Calvinists are,–but not most others.
Also looking forward to Mr. Spencer’s book on antisemitism.
࿗Infidel࿘ says
I used to wonder what the term “Iconoclast” meant – whether it meant an endorsement of the icons and figurines of Christ, Mary,… or a rejection of them. It wasn’t clear even from reading that book, but I finally figured out when Robert explained the basis of that Eastern Orthodox belief
I look forward to the new anti-Semitism book next year
Reziac says
Robert! turn your microphone up a bit. You’re always hard to hear compared to your hosts. (Chronic problem on TWIJ, too.)
࿗Infidel࿘ says
For this video, I had no problems hearing him, and I usually don’t in TWIJ either. Only place I’ve noticed a major audio volume shortcoming is when he appears on Frank Gaffney’s show
Also, if you click on the Closed Caption CC icon, then it’ll show you the subtitles, even if you have it mute or barely audible. I’ve found that useful when I have problems hearing what’s on (assuming that a particular video has that available. This one does)
Roopods6 says
Might be a good preparation for understanding the current war between the ‘Romanized’ west attempts to subjugate the ‘Romanized’ eastern leg which the Russian Federation now represents. That once the current western system of governance ‘falls away’ (Greek: APOSTASIA – to fall away – 2 Thessalonians 2.3,6) there will be a leader who unites both legs. What we’re seeing right now: 10 rulers who give their realms to the BEAST (Daniel 2.41-43, 7.23-24, 9.27, 11.36-39, Revelation 17.12-13,16-17).
gravenimage says
The West is not subjugating Russia.
Philip says
This is the next Robert Spencer book I’ll read. I’ve read The Truth About Muhammed, Palestinian
Delusion, and, most recently, Muhammad: A Critical Biography. So, interesting to hear this as an introduction.
࿗Infidel࿘ says
First time I’m seeing this guy Vocab Malone, and he’s a fun interviewer. His staff seems to have gotten the sound effects nailed 😆 but more important than that, he asked a lot of fascinating questions right from the word “Go”
I liked how he pulled in the discussion of the Holy Roman Emperor, and had his questions on Charlegmagne (which until I heard “Charlemagne da God”, I had no idea how to pronounce). Also, the parallels about how both the Eastern Orthodox as well as the Protestants looked at the Roman Catholic Church as a rogue church was a tad amusing
One of the last questions that was asked – whether they missed any questions? Although it’s not from this book, it would have been interesting to hear something about the Slavs – the role that they played in the Byzantine Empire. After all, it was not just Greece but a large portion of the Balkans – today’s Bulgaria, Serbia, Montenegro, et al, that all fell under the Eastern Roman Empire. In what way did their culture diverge from the empire at Constantinople, and how did they diverge from the Greeks, if they were initially under the same empire?
One disagreement w/ Robert – the Mongols didn’t convert to islam. It’s that their armies consisted of a lot of Turks, and after a while, during the wars of succession, there were Turks who rose to the top, and they Turkified the empires as well as converted them to islam. For the Golden Horde, it ended when Mohammed Ozbeg Khan converted to islam, as well as large parts of his empire w/ it. Problem that the Mongols had is that they were pluralistic, which worked fine w/ their Shaman, Buddhist and Nestorian factions, but when the Turks came to power, they transformed them altogether
Anyway, fascinating interview and interviewer: hope to see more of him
gravenimage says
Infidel, I know that Vocab Malone and David Wood are good friends and frequent colleagues.
Mike says
I remember a few years ago, when David Wood and others (including Mr. Spencer) were in the “Islamicize Me” series.
“Halal Hogan” (obviously a spoof of pro-wrestler Hulk Hogan) was hilarious and so was the episode “Farting in the Mosque”! It was worthy of The Three Stooges!
At the same time however, they did cover a lot of important and serious issues related to Islamic theology and practise.
gravenimage says
Yes–if only a *single* European Christian ruler had chosen to help Byzantium, history might have been *much* different.
And yes–many Byzatine scholars fleeing the invading Muslims cane to the West–and while the Renaissance had already begun, it was much enriched by this. One only hoped that this would have been a peaceful exchange of ideas, though, rather than their having been violenlty driven out of the eastern Roman Empire.
And it is grimly true that few understand about violent Jihad and its horrific history.
And always amazed by how prolific Robert Spencer is. Excellent and important work.
࿗Infidel࿘ says
Yeah, it’s tragic what happened to the Byzantine empire. One contrast b/w the fall of Sassanid Persia vs the fall of the Byzantine Empire – the Byzantine capital was far away from its frontiers, be it Antioch, Manzikert,…. By contrast, the Sassanid capital Ctesiphon – near today’s Baghdad – was nearer the Arabs (who I believe, based on Robert’s and Jay Smith’s work, started from Damascus, not Medina/Mecca) than anything else in Persia. While it’s true that the reason both the Byzantines and the Persians lost a good portion of their empire (all of it for Persia’s case) was that both were burnt out fighting each other, I do think that if the Persian capital had been somewhere like Marakanda (later Samarqand) or Zaripsa (Balkh), they might have lasted longer
However, based on the findings in “Did Muhammad Exist?” and Jay Smith’s work, I now call them the Arab conquests, rather than the islamic conquests. Islam came much later, probably w/ the Seljuq Turks as far as the Byzantines were concerned, and the Ghaznavids as far as the Indians were