RE: cathars

From: Lawrence DeBivort (debivort@umd5.umd.edu)
Date: Wed Apr 25 2001 - 19:50:35 BST

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    From: "Lawrence DeBivort" <debivort@umd5.umd.edu>
    To: <memetics@mmu.ac.uk>
    Subject: RE: cathars
    Date: Wed, 25 Apr 2001 14:50:35 -0400
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    Do you anyone who today identifies him/herself as a Cathar?

    I a, thinking of going to SE France this summer to examine the memetic
    aspects of the present interest in Catharism.

    It is interesting that Cathars, as I understand it, did not write their
    doctrine, that it was explained orally by travelling artisanal 'perfects'.
    Thus scholars have to rely on the records provided by the inquisition itself
    (e.g. the Montaillou study). Do you have a sense of how accurate the
    inquisition's rendition might be, or if there are any other authoritative
    sources?

    - Lawrence

    -----Original Message-----
    From: fmb-majordomo@mmu.ac.uk [mailto:fmb-majordomo@mmu.ac.uk]On Behalf
    Of Trupeljak Ozren
    Sent: Wednesday, April 25, 2001 2:26 PM
    To: memetics@mmu.ac.uk
    Subject: RE: cathars

    --- "Wade T.Smith" <wade_smith@harvard.edu> wrote:
    > On 04/25/01 11:31, Lawrence DeBivort said this-
    >
    > >I've just been reading a bunch of books about the
    > Albigensian/Cathar/Occitan
    > >crusade and inquisition.
    >
    > Of what memetic value is the fact that none of those three names mean
    >
    > anything to me?
    >
    > - Wade

    Knowing the average quality of US education, I am not surprised that
    the names mean nothing. :) (US is the country where even priests refer
    to Jesus as J.C. :)

    Seriously, though, some of the ideas that sprung from the Cathar heresy
    are very much alive, and widespread in normal population. I recently
    talked to a very religious Christian girl (here in Dakota), who
    although nominaly Lutheran, didn't have a clue that her belief that she
    will upon death become one with Christ, in body and soul, is *not*
    normal Lutheran doctrine. She actually said that when she dies she will
    go *back* to Christ, thus in effect implying that she *is* Christ, or
    at least part of Him, in this world.
    If I remember correctly, Cathars thought that every man and women can
    become as holy as Jesus, by renouncing the material values of this
    world...
    When she read some of the Cathar beliefs, she was surprised just how
    much they agreed with the religion she followed...funny...Cathars in
    North Dakota...:)

    =====
    There are very few man - and they are exceptions - who are able to think and
    feel beyond the present moment.

    Carl von Clausewitz

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    This was distributed via the memetics list associated with the
    Journal of Memetics - Evolutionary Models of Information Transmission
    For information about the journal and the list (e.g. unsubscribing)
    see: http://www.cpm.mmu.ac.uk/jom-emit



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