The Book of Our Country/Chapter 116
About a thousand years ago, God's revealed words and the holy doctrine of Jesus Christ had already been preached in most of Europe. The people south of the Baltic Sea were severely overwhelmed by the Nordic Vikings, and therefore wanted them to be converted to Christianity, which teaches people to love each other. From Germany and England, godly, brave men performed the preaching of the cross's teachings for the Gentiles in the north. These men had a hard life-threatening work; many among them suffered death for their faith, but in their place there were constantly new teachers who watched their lives call only they could win souls for the kingdom of God. Finally, a king in Sweden baptized. His name was Olof, whose name was Skotkung, and lived for years after Christ's birth. Southern Sweden became Christian, but northern Sweden was still pagan, and there were long bloody battles between Christians and Gentiles for 150 years before the people of the northern provinces were able to confess "the wise Christ," as they called the Savior.
In Uppsala, the Gentile Swedes had a Christian king, who was called Erik. He was a fair king and brave war helmet; In addition, one of the god-hearted men of the heart. Finally, he also allowed the most hardened heathen to make waterlessness in the holy baptism, and in his time, 1150 years after Christ, the whole of Sweden became inverse to Christianity. The Viking era ceased, churches were built in all parts of the kingdom, and there was like a beautiful morning dawn of a new light over the desolate country and the hard, warlike people.
The pagan Finnish people of the Baltic Sea had now started to worry about the coasts of Sweden with sea liner trains. King Erik decided to tame them, and in that he was supported by the pope in Rome.
At the same time, great warlords had withdrawn from Christian Europe to take back the Savior's tomb in Jerusalem from the unfaithful ones who confessed the doctrine of the false prophet Mohammed. Such trains were called crusades, because all who participated in it were buried in the cross. But when the holy grave was reclaimed, crusades took place against the Gentiles even in other countries. Around the whole of Sweden, such a crusade was preached to the heathen in Finland. It would be a holy war, where every warrior would receive the forgiveness of sins, and the one who died would receive eternal salvation. The Swedes were fierce and now had peace in their own country, they were always ready to fight for honor and profit. Now they were blessed with salvation for what was their greatest pleasure: how would they not like to listen to such an invitation!
Many thousands of brave men armed themselves, painted the cross on their shields, or sew their image on their clothes, and there was a jubilation in the kingdom and burning nib to spread the Christian doctrine. The one who has received something good, which satisfies all his soul with joy, would also like to share the same good with others.