Bernard has come down through history as a “saint” and a very pious man. However, there is more to the story than a man that “lived a holy life.” In fact, calling him a “saint” is something only a heathen religious group would do!
Bernard was born to one of the richest and most powerful royal families in France. He was the third son. Before his birth, a “wise man” said that he would become a great religious man. Because of this, the parents invested heavily in his education and training, and they certainly had the finances to do so!
He was born (1091) at a time secular historians have called the “Dark Ages.” This name is a sad moniker because the real churches (Baptist) continued to prosper underground (illegally), and seek to reach people with the gospel, everywhere. Bernard, as a powerful religious figure, did all he could to persecute and stamp out all true followers of Christ and His word. In spite of this, there were several that tried to witness to him and lead him to the true Christ. He rejected the witness and chose the heathen idols of government religion.
One of those who witnessed to him was Henry of Lausanne in Switzerland, who started out as a monk, but was unable to contain the enthusiasm of his spirit. He was overwhelmed with the knowledge that a secluded life was no way to serve Christ, and being an effective speaker, began a preaching itinerary. His preaching was very well received, as he preached against vices, and people fled the government religion and formed many “societies” or local churches. It created such a crisis for the government’s religious leaders, including Bernard, a special meeting was convened in Pisa to deal with them in 1134!
In 1112, he entered the Cistercian abbey of Citeaux, bringing with him most of his brothers and about 25 friends.
In 1115 he led a group to found a religious house at Clairvaux. He remained there for the rest of his life, in spite of many opportunities for advancement. His ability to bring miraculous cures to people coupled with his eloquence, made him the most powerful speaker in France, and even Western Europe.
In 1129 he organized the Knights of the Templar, a very wicked group of soldiers organized to do the bidding of the heathen leadership of the Roman church.
Philosophically he was a mystic, and started Mariolatry as it is known today, publishing one of his first books on the topic and then adding several more throughout his life. In them he explained that Jesus was swayed by anything his mother asked of Him. Prayers to Mary were thus more effective than those to Jesus! He also pushed the meditation on items, such as the cross.
He was the one who excited Europe to leap into action to take Jerusalem from the Turkish government in the second Crusades. But his preaching first inspired people to riot against Jews. Being a mystic, reality did not matter to him, so his fairy tale stories were presented as factual. He taught that the Jews were burning the sacred wafer of the government religion and so putting Christ (the religion teaches the wafer is the actual body of Christ) through renewed agony by their stabbing, torturing and burning of the wafers. He went on to teach that Jews went about kidnapping children and then murdering them so they could use their blood for Passover. After his speeches people were so worked up they would leave his preaching and go destroy the property of Jewish people, vandalizing, killing and doing things people do in riots!
The armies that then formed to save Jerusalem from the Turks were haughty, unorganized and undisciplined, and met certain doom in the ensuing battles against the Arabs. Bernard blamed the Crusader’s lack of faith for the failure. Instead of admitting his own inadequacies in forming such a group, Bernard blamed those following him, much like the “popular” preachers of today blame their follower’s lack of faith for things not working as promised.
Bernard died on August 20, 1135.
Sources
Christian History: Bernard of Clairvaux., electronic ed. (Carol Stream IL: Christianity Today, 1989; Published in electronic form by Logos Research Systems, 1996).
J. M. Cramp, Baptist History: From the Foundation of the Christian Church to the Close of the Eighteenth Century (Roger Williams Heritage Archives, 1871; 2003) pages 108-110.
F. L. Cross and Elizabeth A. Livingstone, The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church, 3rd ed. rev. (Oxford; New York: Oxford University Press, 2005), page 194, “Bernard, St.”
Paul Lagass and Columbia University, The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed. (New York; Detroit: Columbia University Press; Sold and distributed by Gale Group, 2000) “Bernard of Clairvaux, Saint”
David M. Levy. “Anti-Semitism in the Middle Ages” Israel My Glory (Bellmawr, NJ: The Friends of Israel Gospel Ministry, Inc., 1999) Volume 51 Issue 2.
Kenneth W. Osbeck, Amazing Grace: 366 Inspiring Hymn Stories for Daily Devotions (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Kregel Publications, 1990), page 283.
J. W. Porter, The World's Debt to the Baptists (Roger Williams Heritage Archives, 1914; 2003), page 161.
