The Magian Age - Waves of the Future
Neo-Spirituality, Cathar Prophecy 2021, Magian Age, Angelicals, Spirit Guides, Magi, Reiki, Meditation...The Magian Age
Section C
A Genocide
by the Catholic Church
Gnosticism: Touching the Divine - Spiritual Christianity
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1. Gnosticism: The Spiritual Branch of Christianity
Before February 2017, I had researched off and on other religions in the times of Jesus of Nazareth (Gnosticism, Catharism, proto-orthodoxy, etc). Wikipedia has a lot of information and links available for them. It gives a good idea of the jumble of values in the middle of which Christianity emerged.
At that point in time, the closest thing I would associate with in terms of a religion was Gnosticism, not to be confounded with agnosticism or atheism, which question the existence of God. Gnosticism--a word coined much later in the 17th century--is sort of a catch-all term for a number of early Christian religious trends that had roots in Middle East and Eastern mysticism (Zoroastrianism, Hinduism, etc.) and were spiritual rather than moral in nature. Wikipedia defines it as follows:
Gnosis refers to knowledge based on personal experience or perception. In a religious context, gnosis is mystical or esoteric knowledge based on direct participation with the divine. In most Gnostic systems, the sufficient cause of salvation is this "knowledge of" ("acquaintance with") the divine. It is an inward "knowing"....
... Scholars debate Gnosticism's origins as having roots in Neoplatonism and Buddhism, due to similarities in beliefs, but ultimately, its origins are currently unknown. (Wikipedia, Gnosticism, March 05, 2019)
... Scholars debate Gnosticism's origins as having roots in Neoplatonism and Buddhism, due to similarities in beliefs, but ultimately, its origins are currently unknown. (Wikipedia, Gnosticism, March 05, 2019)
In other words, Gnostics looked for some sort of inspiration or direct or inner contact with God.
As a Gnostic teacher, you had to have a certain spiritual depth, a certain connection with God. You could not just train from books. What was important was your spiritual level of insight, not the amount of data you could cram into your head.
Having had all of my life a strong interest in Eastern religions and esoterism, the spiritual angle of Gnosticism really resonated with me. I was looking for an inner connection to the divine, not a dated and arbitrary moral code. Wikipedia further sets it as a major trend of early Christianity:
As Christianity developed and became more popular, so did Gnosticism, with both proto-orthodox Christian and Gnostic Christian groups often existing in the same places. The Gnostic belief was widespread within Christianity until the proto-orthodox Christian communities expelled the group in the second and third centuries (C.E.). Gnosticism became the first group to be declared heresy. (Wikipedia, Gnosticism, March 05, 2019)
In other words, the early moral and scripture-based branch of Christianity expelled an equally popular and important sister faith, one that was spiritual rather than moral in nature and that was based on inspiration and true experience of the divine.
In doing so, it began the process of killing the spiritual branch of Christianity and denied the world the most important half of that faith, its very essence.
The moral arm became dominant over time, with most of us having not even a clue centuries later that a spiritual branch of Christianity had ever existed.
2. Catharism: Spiritual and Gender-Equal Christianity
As just seen, right from the early years of Christianity, there were two important but different trends that shared the teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. The moral one gave birth to the orthodox Christian movement, which later on split into modern Catholicism, Anglicanism, and what not. The Gnostic branch was spiritual in nature and had Eastern roots.
The existence of a spiritual branch of Christianity was absolutely fascinating to me and the perfect mix for my beliefs.
That prompted me to look further down the timeline to see what had happened to Gnosticism. This took me to Catharism, a religion based not on moral orthodox Christianity but on a mix of Eastern spirituality and the teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. An earlier look at it had intrigued me and raised my interest not only for that reason but also for the fact that it had reincarnation as one of its core beliefs, a very important aspect for me. A quick search of the Wikipedia page confirmed that Catharism was also a gender equal religion.
Being based on the Jewish prophesy of the messiah or Christ, Christianity recognizes the Old Testament and is undeniably linked to it--hence, in my view, linked to gender inequality. On the other hand, the fact that Catharism was equalist suggested flimsy links to it, if any. In fact, a closer look confirmed that Cathars generally rejected the Old Testament.
There you had it, a spiritual religion that shared the teachings of Jesus of Nazareth, one that supported the idea of gender equality as well as reincarnation, and one that was not linked to the Old Testament.
Furthermore, it was not the New Age stuff invented as you go as we see nowadays.
It was an important and authentic branch whose roots dated back to the early years of Christianity, one that was widespread and popular at the time and that lined up with everything I believed in.
As you will see later, it even competed favourably with orthodox Christianity for over a thousand years.
That day, the world changed for me.
The early moral orthodox Church, a gender-unequal stream of faith led almost exclusively by males, not only rejected the early spiritual branch of Christianity (Gnosticism) but also opposed its gender-equal successor, Catharism. As you will see later, it eventually completely destroyed it.
In the process, it killed off not only the spiritual branch of Christianity, but also the potential for a gender-equality revolution in society literally almost a thousand years ago. The missed opportunity meant a thousand years' worth of misogyny, gender discrimination, violence against women, rapes...
And, for what exactly? Nothing prevented these two important branches of Christianity from coexisting.
Catharism: The Spiritual & Gender-Equal Branch of Christianity
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1. A Quick Look at Catharism
Wikipedia describes Catharism as follows:
A Christian dualist or Gnostic revival[4] movement that thrived in some areas of Southern Europe, particularly what is now northern Italy and southern France, between the 12th and 14th centuries. The followers were known as Cathars and are now mainly remembered for a prolonged period of persecution by the Catholic Church, which did not recognise their belief as being Christian. (Wikipedia, Catharism, March 08, 2019)
The cities of Albi and Languedoc in southern France are most often associated with the movement. It was also popular in northern Italy. The role of women and gender is one of the things that distinguished it from Christianity. Cathars believed in reincarnation and held that one's spirit could be reborn as either male or female, making their faith essentially gender equal:
The spirit was of utmost importance to the Cathars and was described as being immaterial and sexless.[49] Because of this belief, the Cathars saw women as equally capable of being spiritual leaders, which undermined the very concept of gender as held by the Catholic Church.[50] (Wikipedia, Catharism, March 08, 2019)
Both Cathars and Gnostics, gave more recognition to the role of women than Christianity in the early development of the religion. Speaking of Mary Magdalene, Wikipedia states:
Her vital role as a teacher contributed to the Cathar belief that women could serve as spiritual leaders. Women were found to be included in the Perfecti [Cathar ascetic teachers or gurus] in significant numbers.... (Wikipedia, Catharism, March 08, 2019)
One thing that caught my attention about this spiritual religion was its loose organization: "Catharism was initially taught by ascetic leaders who set few guidelines..." (Wikipedia, Catharism, March 08, 2019). It had more of an Eastern guru structure and, for that reason, acted less as a magnet for power-seekers and corruption. As such, the organization of Catharism was more conducive to authenticity with respect to the teachings of Jesus of Nazareth.
2. Catharism, a True Jewel of Faith
One of the most striking aspects of Catharism to me was their belief that there were two Gods rather than one. The first one was the good God of the New Testament, which created the spirit. The second one was the evil God of the Old Testament, which was responsible for the creation of the material world. It was often viewed as being Satan, himself, or his father.
In Catharist beliefs, humans were angels that were seduced by Satan into a downfall to the evil God's material world in which they were trapped forever and from which they could escape if they renounced it. The latter was achieved by perfecting themselves through cycles of reincarnation.
Cathars called themselves "good Christians" and were adamant in following what they believed to be the true teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. They abhorred killing. As such, they abstained from eating animal foods and opposed war. Beyond that, specific beliefs are hard to firmly establish for lack of historical records and the fact that they were not consistent throughout Catharist communities, perhaps owing to their loose organizational structure.
Cathars were generally well respected within communities. For example when the Languedoc Knights failed to persecute them on the orders of their bishop, they replied: ""We cannot. We have been reared in their midst. We have relatives among them and we see them living lives of perfection."" (Wikipedia, Catharism, March 08, 2019).
In many respects--and especially all the important ones like gender equality, reincarnation, the rejection of the Old Testament, the links to Eastern spirituality as well as to the teachings of Jesus of Nazareth--this thousand-year-old faith better fit my values than any modern religion.
Catharism was a true jewel of faith. You could have the full spirit of Christianity--the teachings of Jesus of Nazareth--within a gender-equal and spiritual faith.
A religion embodies your values. It tells the world who you are and what you stand for. As well, it is the drive for what you want to become and the kind of society that you want to live in and build for your children.
Religions are not inbred in your DNA. They are a choice. If you choose a gender-unequal faith, don't be surprised if you get a gender-unequal society. It is not a coincidence. You can choose the world that you want to wake up to tomorrow.
That being said, as you will see later,
Catharism was not going to be the end of the road for me.
The story got much bigger after that.
A Genocide by the Catholic Church
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1. A Genocide Ignored by the Media
Ever heard of the Albigensian Crusade (the Cathar Genocide)? Probably not. Wikipedia has a list of 44 genocides going as far back as 149 B.C.E. (Wikipedia, List of genocides by death toll, March 12, 2019 Historical Version*. Note: It is very disturbing that the genocide has been removed from current page... alternatively see Albigensian Crusade and Béziers Massacre).
However, among them only one was contrived by the Catholic Church, the Cathar Genocide. This is probably why it is ignored by the media even today despite the fact that being gender equal makes Catharism likely the most relevant faith of modern times. The historical records and facts are well established. Each name on the list has to meet the United Nations Genocide Convention definition for genocide: "acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group" (OSAPG Analysis Framework, n.d.).
* Somebody quietly removed the Cathar genocide & Lemkin note
from the Wipipedia current list.
The Inquisition, and the Cathar Genocide that began it, are firmly established historically (see also Lemkin below).
The Albigensian Crusade, together with the preceding events and the subsequent Inquisition, was in fact more than a genocide, it was the complete extermination of a faith. Although there are cultural and ancestral Cathars today (often living under other religious denominations), the faith aspect itself was extinguished in the 14th century. Between 200,000 and 1,000,000 men, women, and children are thought to have been killed in the crusade alone (Wikipedia, List of genocides by death toll, March 12, 2019 Historical Version*). To that, you need to add the deaths from the wars that preceded it and those that resulted from the Inquisition that followed it.
The Cathars were perceived as a threat by the hierarchist Church as they represented a truer legacy of the teachings of Jesus of Nazareth: the simple living, the ascetic leadership, the equalism, etc. (see Catharism: A Jewel of Faith). For example, in 1206 Diego of Osma, the future Saint Dominic who went on to create the Catholic Dominican Order, tried to convert them peacefully:
He concluded that only preachers who displayed real sanctity, humility and asceticism could win over convinced Cathar believers. The institutional Church as a general rule did not possess these spiritual warrants [or qualities]. (Wikipedia, Catharism, March 08, 2019)
So, you have an important Catholic saint saying not only that Catharism was much more fervent and dedicated than his own religion, but also that the Catholic Church did not have what are essential spiritual qualities: sanctity, humility, and asceticism.
Another example of the true depth of faith of Cathars is at the conclusion of the Siege of Minerve in 1210:
The Cathar perfects [ascetics & gurus] were given the choice to return to Catholicism or face death. This solution angered many of the soldiers [the Catholic Crusaders], who had wanted to participate in a massacre. Amalric [their previous commander] calmed them by insisting that the majority of perfects would not recant. His prediction was correct.[10] Only three women recanted. The remaining 140 were burned at the stake. (Wikipedia, Arnaud Amalric, October 18, 2018)
Since 1147, there had been multiple determined attempts by the Church under Pope Eugene III to halt the progress of Catharism, but those were largely unsuccessful. In 1198, Pope Innocent III took over and when one of his more aggressive legates, Pierre de Castelnau, was allegedly murdered on his return from a mission to the Cathar region in 1208, he took the Church down a genocidal path.
2. The Albigensian Crusade -- The Cathar Genocide
Following the murder of Pierre de Castelnau, Pope Innocent III immediately launched a crusade against the Cathars, which led to a military campaign that was to last about 20 years. To enlist support, a papal decree allowed the seizure of lands owned by Cathars and their sympathisers. That made it attractive to nobles who may have had otherwise little stake in the matter, and the campaign was very successful in part for that reason--assuming the word success can be used to describe a genocide.
Initially, there were several smaller conflicts that pitted the nobles of Northern France against those in the southern Languedoc area in which significant ground was made by the Catholic forces, but it is the massacre of Beziers in 1209 that changed everything.
There were many Catholics in the southern France town who chose to fight alongside Cathars rather than accept an amnesty from the papal legate. A failed sortie by the Beziers army, led to the papal crusaders under Arnaud-Amaury, the Cistercian abbot-commander, entering the city and slaughtering anyone in sight. Wikipedia describes the event as follows:
The doors of the church of St Mary Magdalene were broken down and the refugees dragged out and slaughtered. Reportedly at least 7,000 innocent men, women and children were killed there by Catholic forces. Elsewhere in the town, many more thousands were mutilated and killed. Prisoners were blinded, dragged behind horses, and used for target practice.[66] What remained of the city was razed by fire. Arnaud-Amaury wrote to Pope Innocent III, "Today your Holiness, twenty thousand heretics were put to the sword, regardless of rank, age, or sex." (Wikipedia, Catharism, March 08, 2019)
Shocking! Cistercians are a Catholic religious order still in existence today. The Inquisition that started in 1233 under Pope Gregory IX, and lasted almost 200 years, finished the job. Anyone who did not recant, was burnt alive at the stake or ended up swinging from the end of a rope. For example, even decades after the fall of Beziers, on May 13, 1239 and March 16, 1244, respectively 183 and 200 Cathar men and women were burnt to death. Most of the people responsible for those horrific actions, the inquisitors, were chosen from the ranks of the Dominicans, another Catholic religious order still in existence today.
In 1200, the total population of Europe was roughly 68 million (Wikipedia, Medieval demography, March 17, 2019). Based on Wikipedia's numbers stated earlier, the Cathar Genocide would have killed up to 1.471% of the continent's people. In today's numbers, 1.471% of Europe's population would mean over 10 million people.
The Cathar Inquisition lasted about until 1330. Starting with Pope Eugene III in 1147, the extermination of the faith would have involved 29 popes. We are not talking about an error of judgement by a pope--not that a genocide can ever be an error of judgement. We are not talking about a bad apple either, but a conscious decision and concerted effort by the Catholic Church, the deliberate extermination of a faith.
#cathargenocide
This section may seem strong to some. However, what is described here is factual. From Wikipedia:
Raphael Lemkin [the Jewish lawyer who coined the word "genocide" just before the end of World War II] referred to the Albigensian Crusade as "one of the most conclusive cases of genocide in religious history"" (Wikipedia, List of genocides by death toll, March 12, 2019 Historical Version*).
And with that the spiritual half of Christianity was extinguished, and the hopes for gender-equality, dashed for a thousand years.
But, that was not entirely the end of story for Catharism as the depth of faith and sacrifice of Cathars was to echo all the way to the 21st century and herald a new era for humanity, the Magian Age.
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