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===Sexual beliefs=== | ===Sexual beliefs=== | ||
Cathars believed that the sexual allure of women impeded a man's ability to reject the material world. Despite this stance on sex and reproduction, some Cathar communities made exceptions. In one version, the Invisible Father had two spiritual wives, Collam and Hoolibam (identified with Oholah and Oholibah), and would himself have provoked the war in heaven by seducing the wife of Satan, or perhaps the reverse. Cathars adhering to this story would believe that having families and sons would not impede them from reaching [[Yahweh|God]]'s kingdom. | Cathars believed that the sexual allure of women impeded a man's ability to reject the material world. Despite this stance on sex and reproduction, some Cathar communities made exceptions. In one version, the Invisible Father had two spiritual wives, Collam and Hoolibam (identified with Oholah and Oholibah), and would himself have provoked the war in [[heaven]] by seducing the wife of [[Satan]], or perhaps the reverse. Cathars adhering to this story would believe that having families and sons would not impede them from reaching [[Yahweh|God]]'s kingdom. | ||
The Cathars ate a pescatarian diet. They did not eat cheese, eggs, meat, or milk because these are all by-products of sexual intercourse. The Cathars believed that animals were carriers of reincarnated souls, and forbade the killing of all animal life, apart from fish, which they believed were produced by spontaneous generation. | The Cathars ate a pescatarian diet. They did not eat cheese, eggs, meat, or milk because these are all by-products of sexual intercourse. The Cathars believed that animals were carriers of reincarnated souls, and forbade the killing of all animal life, apart from fish, which they believed were produced by spontaneous generation. | ||
==Legacy of Catharism== | ==Legacy of Catharism== | ||
The Cathars could be seen as prefiguring Protestantism in that they denied transubstantiation, purgatory, prayers for the dead and prayers to [[saint]]s. They also believed that the scriptures should be read in the vernacular. 20th century Baptists have argued that the Cathars are part of Baptist successionism; placing the Cathars as forerunners of Baptist theology. | The Cathars could be seen as prefiguring Protestantism in that they denied transubstantiation, [[purgatory]], prayers for the dead and prayers to [[saint]]s. They also believed that the scriptures should be read in the vernacular. 20th century Baptists have argued that the Cathars are part of Baptist successionism; placing the Cathars as forerunners of Baptist theology. | ||
There is academic controversy about whether Catharism was a real and organized movement or whether the medieval Church imagined or exaggerated it. The lack of any central organization among Cathars, regional differences in beliefs and practices, as well as the lack of sources from the Cathars themselves has prompted some scholars to question whether Catharism existed. Other scholars say that there is evidence of the existence of Catharism, and also evidence that the threat of it was exaggerated by its persecutors in the Church. Since the 1990s, some scholars have regarded the fear of Cathars as a moral panic. | There is academic controversy about whether Catharism was a real and organized movement or whether the medieval Church imagined or exaggerated it. The lack of any central organization among Cathars, regional differences in beliefs and practices, as well as the lack of sources from the Cathars themselves has prompted some scholars to question whether Catharism existed. Other scholars say that there is evidence of the existence of Catharism, and also evidence that the threat of it was exaggerated by its persecutors in the Church. Since the 1990s, some scholars have regarded the fear of Cathars as a moral panic. | ||