Roots of modern Christianity

[muckefuck]

"I have heard tell that there is a paradise, and I believe it. I have heard tell that there is a hell, but, that, I neither believe nor deny. I believe that there is a paradise because that is a good thing, from what I hear, but I do not believe nor deny hell, because that is an evil thing." (Testimony of Grazida Lizier of Montaillou, as translated by Dr Nancy Stork and reproduced here.)

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[lhn.livejournal.com]

The whole rejection of the physical world, along with the body and all of its functions. In common with other dualist heresies dating back to Manichee, it claims that all material things are the creation of the Devil whereas only pure spirit come from God. Therefore, extreme asceticism is required to release the spirit from the flesh so that it may entre Heaven. I already find that mediaeval Christianity has too much emphasis on suffering and abnegation for my taste and contemporaneous mainstream Christians found the Cathars freaky in their self-denial.

Though sometimes manifested in weird forms, as with Pierre Clergue, the priest responsible for Grazida's spiritual and carnal instruction. (She was one of a dozen documented mistresses of his, btw.) I'm not sure how widespread the idea that since everything physical was evil, there was no point in worrying too much about any given act, but it seems to have worked for Pierre. (At least till the Inquistion showed up. :-) ) He's so clearly an opportunist, though, that it's unclear how representative the idea was.

The counterpoint to this, in any case, is the way you were supposed to make up for your sins in life. When you were believed to be dying, you were expected to commit yourself to the endura, a regimen of total self-denial. Essentially, dying people were supposed to starve themselves to death. (And certainly, that would ensure that there would be no incorrect diagnoses of terminal illness-- if your condition didn't get you, the endura would.)