6,493
edits
Difference between revisions of "Cathar"
Jump to navigation
Jump to search
no edit summary
Occultwiki (talk | contribs) |
Occultwiki (talk | contribs) |
||
| Line 41: | Line 41: | ||
Among the most notable and controversial beliefs of the Cathars was the idea of two gods or deistic principles, one good and the other evil. The Catholic Church asserted this was antithetical to monotheism, a fundamental principle that there is only one [[Yahweh|God]], who created all things visible and invisible, as stated in the Nicene Creed. Cathars believed that the good God was the God of the [[Bible|New Testament]], creator of the spiritual realm, whereas the evil God was the God of the Old Testament, creator of the physical world whom many Cathars identified as [[Satan]]. The latter, often called ''Rex Mundi'' ("King of the World"),[23] was identified as the God of [[Judaism]], and was also either conflated with Satan or considered Satan's father, creator or seducer. | Among the most notable and controversial beliefs of the Cathars was the idea of two gods or deistic principles, one good and the other evil. The Catholic Church asserted this was antithetical to monotheism, a fundamental principle that there is only one [[Yahweh|God]], who created all things visible and invisible, as stated in the Nicene Creed. Cathars believed that the good God was the God of the [[Bible|New Testament]], creator of the spiritual realm, whereas the evil God was the God of the Old Testament, creator of the physical world whom many Cathars identified as [[Satan]]. The latter, often called ''Rex Mundi'' ("King of the World"),[23] was identified as the God of [[Judaism]], and was also either conflated with Satan or considered Satan's father, creator or seducer. | ||
Cathars believed human spirits were the sexless spirits of [[angel]]s trapped in the material realm of the evil god, destined to be reincarnated until they achieved salvation through the ''consolamentum'', a form of baptism performed when death is imminent, when they would return to the good God as "Perfect." The Cathars taught that to regain angelic status one had to renounce the material self completely. Until one was prepared to do so, they would be stuck in a cycle of reincarnation, condemned to suffer endless human lives on the corrupt Earth. | Cathars believed human spirits were the sexless spirits of [[angel]]s trapped in the material realm of the evil god, destined to be reincarnated until they achieved salvation through the ''consolamentum'', a form of baptism performed when death is imminent, when they would return to the good God as "Perfect." The Cathars taught that to regain angelic status one had to renounce the material self completely. Until one was prepared to do so, they would be stuck in a cycle of [[reincarnation]], condemned to suffer endless human lives on the corrupt Earth. | ||
===Beliefs concerning Jesus Christ=== | ===Beliefs concerning Jesus Christ=== | ||
| Line 47: | Line 47: | ||
Cathars venerated [[Jesus Christ]] and followed what they considered to be his true teachings, labelling themselves as "Good Christians." However, they denied his physical incarnation and Resurrection. Authors believe that their conception of Jesus resembled docetism, believing him the human form of an [[angel]], whose physical body was only an appearance. This illusory form would have possibly been given by the Virgin Mary, another angel in human form, or possibly a human born of a woman with no involvement of a man. | Cathars venerated [[Jesus Christ]] and followed what they considered to be his true teachings, labelling themselves as "Good Christians." However, they denied his physical incarnation and Resurrection. Authors believe that their conception of Jesus resembled docetism, believing him the human form of an [[angel]], whose physical body was only an appearance. This illusory form would have possibly been given by the Virgin Mary, another angel in human form, or possibly a human born of a woman with no involvement of a man. | ||
They firmly rejected the Resurrection of Jesus, seeing it as representing reincarnation, and the [[Christianity|Christian]] symbol of the cross, considering it to be not more than a material instrument of torture and evil. They also saw John the Baptist, identified also with Elijah, as an evil being sent to hinder Jesus's teaching through the false sacrament of baptism. For the Cathars the "resurrection" mentioned in the New Testament was only a symbol of re-incarnation. | They firmly rejected the Resurrection of Jesus, seeing it as representing [[reincarnation]], and the [[Christianity|Christian]] symbol of the cross, considering it to be not more than a material instrument of torture and evil. They also saw John the Baptist, identified also with Elijah, as an evil being sent to hinder Jesus's teaching through the false sacrament of baptism. For the Cathars the "resurrection" mentioned in the New Testament was only a symbol of re-incarnation. | ||
Most Cathars did not accept the normative Trinitarian understanding of Jesus. Some communities might have believed in the existence of a spirit realm created by the good God, the "Land of the Living," whose history and geography would have served as the basis for the evil god's corrupt creation. Under this view, the history of Jesus would have happened roughly as told, only in the spirit realm. The physical Jesus from the material world would have been evil, a false messiah and a lustful lover of the material Mary Magdalene. However, the true Jesus would have influenced the physical world in a way similar to the Harrowing of [[Hell]], only by inhabiting the body of Paul. | Most Cathars did not accept the normative Trinitarian understanding of Jesus. Some communities might have believed in the existence of a spirit realm created by the good God, the "Land of the Living," whose history and geography would have served as the basis for the evil god's corrupt creation. Under this view, the history of Jesus would have happened roughly as told, only in the spirit realm. The physical Jesus from the material world would have been evil, a false messiah and a lustful lover of the material Mary Magdalene. However, the true Jesus would have influenced the physical world in a way similar to the Harrowing of [[Hell]], only by inhabiting the body of Paul. | ||