[Steppes] RE: Living in the past

[lizdenpeters at juno.com]

On Wed, 8 Sep 2004 11:54:07 -0500 "Donna S. Mallory, CPA"
<DSMallory at waymark.net> writes:
> "Much of the Cathars' philosophy and doctrine was Manichaean, which 
> was
> dualistic in nature. In other words, if it was of the flesh or of 
> earthly
> nature, it could not be holy or good (including the sacrament of 
> bread and
> wine from the Christian communion). Therefore, the "Prefecti" 
> or"Electi",
> which were the teachers and holy men and women, abstained from 
> eating flesh.
> Marriage and sex, even for procreation, was also condemned.
> 
> Over time, the Manichaeans morphed into the Paulicians and Bogomils, 
> whom
> the Byzantine Emperors worked hard to eliminate. Even Anna Comnena 
> wrote
> about them at the end of the 11th century. The belief system went
> underground until it showed up among the Cathars in southern France 
> and
> Spain the the 11th century. The Cathars also had a pure elite - the 
> perfecti
> or boni homines (or bonhommes), who accepted the discipline of 
> austere
> living, stict dietary rules and permanent celibacy. "Early 
> Christian
> Heresies", Joan O'Grady."
> 
> Xene,
> 
> If all these sects practiced strict celibacy how did they keep from 
> dying
> out
> after one generation?  Did their followers come from new converts?  
> Just
> wondering--
> doesn't sound like a very sound practice for the survival of the 
> species.
> 
> Anne
> 
> 
The death of the Shaker movement was due, in part, to their strict
adherence to celibacy and separation of the sexes.  Because their was no
procreation to continue the sect, it basically died out after 1-2
generations.  It's a pity but look at the wonderful traditions and design
theory they left as a heritage.  They were definitely "form follows
function" designers and precursors of the modernist movements who use
that as a basic tenet of design.  But I digress  . . .

Any movement that does not allow even limited procreation is doomed.  I
can understand it (to a degree) as concept of purity and chastity, it
just isn't terribly practical.  Human beings are sexual beings and it
would be difficult, at best, to recruit large numbers based on the
concept of celibacy.  Also,  any sect or people whose belief is outside
the "mainstream" (whatever THAT is!) is also subject to persecution by
those who do not understand.

The majority of people that I have come across are not terribly tolerant
of things they do not understand.  It is a very basic human fear of the
unknown.  It is my belief that all hatred is based upon that fear.  As
humans, it seems that we are almost genetically programed to hate and
destroy what we fear.  My theory anyway.

Lady Fionnghuala the Fair  ~ "Nuala"
"It seems the less a statesman amounts to, the more he loves the flag."
                      ~~~~~Kin Hubbard~~~~~~