Critics saw Franciscan missions as suicidal martyrdom-seeking rather than preaching
Evidence
Mission to the Saracens, for the Franciscans, was part of the vita apostolica, serving to bring the friars to glorious martyrdom and, incidentally, to convert unbelievers. Such mission is encouraged by the earliest extant version (1221) of the Rule of the Friars Minor, the so-called Regula non bullata (or Regula prima). This rule is more than a simple legal document; “it is a description of a concrete way of living the Gospel”—in other words, a sort of handbook to living the apostolic life. The rule enjoins mission, characteristically, with the very words Jesus (according to the Gospel of Matthew) sent the apostles to preach the word: “Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves.” Brothers who are inspired to go on mission should seek the permission of their superiors, who in turn should not refuse them unless they are unfit to go. The rule specifies that there are two ways to live among the Saracens: either humbly, avoiding dispute and confessing to be Christians, or boldly preaching the Word in hopes of converting them. — John V. Tolan, Saracens, 1109 (
#corroborates, via linked claim)
Some missionaries seem to have allowed or encouraged ‘preaching’ and ‘disputation’ to degenerate into provocation. … In Seville they tried to break into the Friday mosque, and, when they were driven away by the crowd, as ‘ambassadors of the King of Kings’ they went and abused Muhammad and Islam outside the royal palace instead. — Norman Daniel, Islam and the West, 686 (
#corroborates, via linked claim)
Mission to the Saracens, for the Franciscans, was part of the vita apostolica, serving to bring the friars to glorious martyrdom and, incidentally, to convert unbelievers. — John V. Tolan, Saracens, 1109 (
#corroborates, via linked claim)
Categorization
- XREF: connects to: Medieval friars debated whether provoking one’s own martyrdom was suicide; Franciscan missions aimed at martyrdom, not conversion of Muslims.; Encountering Mongol polytheism shifted Franciscan mission from martyrdom toward debate and Muslim-Christian common ground (+22 more)
Broader Connections
- Franciscan mission to Muslims prioritized seeking martyrdom over conversion
#corroborates(1.00) — John V. Tolan, Saracens, 1109 - Franciscan missionaries deliberately provoked Muslim authorities to secure martyrdom
#corroborates(1.00) — Norman Daniel, Islam and the West, 686 - Medieval Franciscan missionaries deliberately provoked martyrdom by insulting Islam
#corroborates(1.00) — John V. Tolan, Saracens, 73 - Franciscan friars repeatedly engineered their own martyrdom despite banishment
#corroborates(1.00) — John V. Tolan, Saracens, 1105 - Franciscan missionaries deliberately sought execution by abusing Islam publicly
#corroborates(1.00) — Norman Daniel, Islam and the West, 686 - Some friars actively sought martyrdom through intransigence
#corroborates(1.00) — Norman Daniel, Islam and the West, 2141 - Franciscan martyrs deliberately provoked Muslims to obtain their own deaths
#corroborates(1.00) — John V. Tolan, Saracens, 1106 - Franciscan mission to Muslims prized martyrdom above actual conversion.
#corroborates(1.00) — John V. Tolan, Saracens, 1109 - Some Franciscan friars courted martyrdom by deliberately blaspheming Muhammad
#corroborates(1.00) — Norman Daniel, Islam and the West, 2140 - Franciscan institutional constraints made open criticism of missionary methods impossible
#complicates(0.90) — Frans Dokman, Beyond Bantu Philosophy_…, 146 - Martyrdom-seeking missionizing was common, not an isolated medieval aberration
#complicates(0.80) — Norman Daniel, Islam and the West, 684 - Franciscan missions were framed as eschatological preconditions for the end times.
#complicates(0.80) — John V. Tolan, Saracens, 1128 - Placide Tempels was a Franciscan missionary who served in the Belgian Congo
#complicates(0.80) - Franciscan theology opposed rational systematic belief with affective lived faith
#complicates(0.70) — Frans Dokman, Beyond Bantu Philosophy_…, 83 - Even a dedicated missionary felt terror at real martyrdom prospects
#complicates(0.70)