Have you heard the Cathars? It is a religion that thrived in the Southwest of France for 100 years during the Middle Ages, then disappeared in a violent crusade. On today's episode of Join Us in France, we discuss the wild beliefs Cathars held so dear that they were willing to die for them.

We'll talk about dualism, spiritual prison, reincarnation, "bons hommes", perfects, Jesus as a "hologram", and of the importance of consolation.

As seen from today's standards, the Cathars had shocking beliefs that put them at odds with the Catholic church. And yet this religion spread all over the Languedoc area in France. This is the area between Toulouse, Foix, Perpignan, Béziers, and Albi.

How did this happen? Why did people convert to this religion although they risked being killed for heresy? After listening to this episode, you'll understand how the people loved Cathar preachers (they called them "Perfects") and feared Catholic clergy.

Table of Contents for our discussion on Cathar Theology

• [00:00:00] Intro
• [00:00:37] Anout the Cathars and their strange religion
• [00:01:47] Sponsorship
• [00:02:34] Annie and Elyse talk about Cathar Theology
• [00:03:16] Cathar = Purification and they did not call themselves by that name
• [00:04:02] The basics of Cathar theology
• [00:05:35] Materialistic
• [00:11:02] Who is Jesus in Cathar theology?
• [00:13:58] Jesus brings Consolation
• [00:14:39] Church of Rome was evil
• [00:15:27] Communion
• [00:16:06] The relics
• [00:17:27] Cathars were vegan
• [00:19:10] Consolamentum or spiritual death
• [00:20:49] Getting the Consolamentum at the end of one’s life
• [00:21:37] Becoming a Perfect
• [00:22:36] Regular people got the Melioramentum
• [00:23:47] Why the Catholic Church wasn not okay with this
• [00:24:42] Perfects were like children
• [00:25:39] Perfects lived in poverty and relied on the community
• [00:26:02] Why did people become Cathars?
• [00:26:58] Catholics weren’t taught theology at all
• [00:29:38] Cathars believed in equality
• [00:31:51] Troubadours sang songs about evil Catholic leaders
• [00:32:16] Don’t worry about things, what matters is the spirit
• [00:32:51] The organization of the Cathar church
• [00:33:24] The good works of the Cathar religion
• [00:34:43] In the Southwest wealthy families became Cathars
• [00:36:20] Cathars were loved and Catholics were feared
• [00:36:36] Women in the Cathar church
• [00:39:36] The Cathar movement lasted about 100 years before they were all killed
• [00:40:01] The next episode is going to be about the crusade against the Cathars
• [00:40:53] Cathars didn’t leave behind churches
• [00:42:27] Cathar country is where nature and history are mingled into one
• [00:42:55] Thank you Patrons and Donors!
• [00:44:54] Itinerary Consult
• [00:45:30] This week in French News
• [00:48:26] Annie’s personal update
• [00:49:47] Book recommendation: My Remarkable Journey

More episodes about the Southwest of France

 

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