Roland, I just read your Da Vinci code blog. Very entertaining and informative, but totally slanted.

You stated: "to the Crusades where knights bearing the cross of the Holy Roman Empire tried to impose their will on Arabs as well as many of their own countrymen, the Catholic Church has shown that whatever it's original purpose, it wanted above all to maintain control and domination."

Yes, the knights templar became greedy and that is why they were disbanded. Did you forget to mention why this all started? Remember before the Crusades began, That Rome was sacked by Moors. And lets not forget, The Moors were determined to keep Christianity from spreading. However, the Moors felt that the only way to do this was by the sword. They drew the first sword and attacked Antioch and felt it was their duty to cleanse the earth of Christianity.

I am not saying two wrongs make a right. The Christians Retaliated for being attacked first. It might of been best to work things out with the Moors, however, look at the times. It was a savage world at that time, whether it was over Religion or not. Yes they imposed their will, however did they not have an apt teacher?

Again, I am not condoning what the church did, but remember lets not make the Moors of the past seem like boy scouts, just like I don't portray the Knights as boy scouts either.