Each day this Lent we’re looking at major “turning points” in Christian history – moments or seasons in which the story of God’s people took an important and often unexpected turn.
If you live in Kentucky, Ohio, or Indiana and have watched at least one hour of TV during the past 10 years, you probably know the name Darryl Isaacs.
The 61-year-old personal injury lawyer, who identifies himself as “The Hammer,” typically cradles a giant sledgehammer during his commercials while standing atop a photoshopped semi-trailer that has just run into a photoshopped SUV.
During his frenetic, semi-comedic pitches, he boasts that the law firm of Isaacs & Isaacs has won more than $1 billion in financial settlements. “And I will fight for you!” he declares. He has often been identified as the most famous person in his home state of Kentucky.
In 2015, Isaacs himself was severely injured. A motorist ran into him while he was riding his bike. By the way, if you’re going to run into someone on a bike, don’t run into a personal injury attorney.
His lengthy recovery helped steer him towards a number of philanthropic pursuits. Darryl is a generous contributor to the Salvation Army’s Angel Tree initiative, and he has given away thousands of free bike helmets to kids.
The bottom line is that if you find yourself in a fix in the Ohio Valley region of America, you can always reach out to the Hammer.
When European Christians in the early 700s found themselves in a fix, they also reached out to the Hammer – and that may be one of the primary reasons that the present day citizens of France, Germany, Italy, and Spain don’t speak Arabic as a first language.
What’s the most explosive religious movement of all time?
Historians concur that would have to be Islam – a faith that overran almost the entire ancient world in less than 100 years, demonstrating an unprecedented ability to conquer and assimilate territory.
In A.D. 622, the prophet Muhammad was a fugitive huddling with just a few fearful disciples. Buoyed by his claim to have received, via an angelic messenger, the text of the holy book that would come to be known as the Quran, this fledgling group ultimately captured the strategic city of Mecca just eight years later.
Islam, which is anchored on the life of the Old Testament patriarch Abraham, calls for an uncompromising devotion to Allah and heartfelt obedience to a multitude of spiritual, political, and economic laws. Muhammad’s movement was able to accomplish what few thought possible – the unification of the squabbling nomadic tribes of Arabia around a shared vision for life.
Following his death in 632, rivals quarreled over the prophet’s legacy.
Within a few years, however, Islam exploded.
Warriors raced across the entirety of North Africa, Palestine, Persia, and even parts of India. In 711, Muslim troops crossed the Straits of Gibraltar into Spain. Within 20 years, Islamic forces were knocking on both the eastern and western doors of so-called Christian Europe.
In A.D. 732, the Islamic leader Ibd al-Rahman al-Ghafiqi led an army into the heart of present-day France. Blessed with superior numbers and the superb horsemanship of his cavalry, he felt confident of victory. In truth, almost nothing stood between his troops and the conquest of the European continent.
Enter the Hammer.
Charles, king of the Franks – one of the Germanic tribes endeavoring to fill the vacuum left by the late great Roman Empire – was one of the most esteemed military leaders of his time. His battlefield prowess had even earned him the nickname Martel, the Gallic word for “hammer.”
Charles had been anticipating a military confrontation with Islamic forces for something like a decade. He carefully chose battle-hardened troops and aligned them in a defensive square not far from the village of Tours.
He delayed actual fighting until October 10, knowing that his men were warmly dressed for the chilly temperatures of a northern European fall, while their opponents were wrapped in comparatively thin Mediterranean garb.
The battle – which was really a series of skirmishes – was fierce. Charles the Hammer and his men prevailed.
The Arab troops retreated south. The fighting at Tours represented the high water mark of the Muslim incursion into Europe. Within a century, Islamic forces had largely returned to North Africa.
It was a decisive pivot point in the history of Christianity.
In the words of Belgian historian Godefroid Kurth, the Battle of Tours "must ever remain one of the great events in the history of the world, as upon its issue depended whether Christian Civilization should continue or Islam prevail throughout Europe.”
But wait. Isn’t something missing here?
Where in this story do we encounter heartfelt spiritual commitment, the search for theological truth, or pervasive prayer? None of these elements stand out. What little we know of Charles Martel, in fact, is that he seems to have been what we would nowadays call a C&E (or Christmas and Easter) Christian.
The Battle of Tours proved to be a circumstantial turning point. Only by looking in the rear view mirror can we grasp what was really at stake, and how future generations would be impacted.
God, for his part, is apparently able to accomplish his purposes in history even when the primary human actors on the stage seem oblivious to his presence.
Significant spiritual breakthroughs, however, were just around the corner.
We need look no farther than the grandson of Charles Martel – a young man who bore the same name and would come to be known as Charles the Great, or Charlemagne.
Even Darryl Isaacs would agree that here, at last, we’ve come upon a guy who knew how to hit the nail on the head.
We’ll turn to his story next week.
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