Different Forms of Christianity - Essay Example

? Due Throughout history, from the earliest formation of spiritual beliefs and religions, the primary purpose was to bring faith, hope, stability, comfort, and order to the community. Although it can be misused, misinterpreted, underestimated, and overestimated depending on one’s personal views, it has played a pivotal role in history as a whole, and sometimes that role is neither pleasant nor positive. One particular faith, Christianity, gained support and a following of immense proportions one that has allowed it to remain today one of the strongest religions in the world. But Christianity does not rally under a single banner, there are a multitude of denominations, many of which most people are quite familiar with; Catholics, Baptists, Protestants, and Episcopalians are all common churches in practice today. However, there are a number of other Christian churches, from a very long time ago, with different interpretations of Christianity that placed them out of favor with the traditional church, and are often forgotten in religious discussions. The Paulicians, the Bogomils, the Cathar (also, called the Albigensians) are all, likely, less familiar, examples of Christianity, but are deserving of attention. The first of these rather obscure branches of Christianity are the Paulicians. This sect is what is called a dualistic sect, which originated in Armenia in, approximately, the 7th century. The Paulician belief system was, primarily, a mixture of two Gnostic movements from the 3rd century, the Marcionism and Manichaeism. Their fundamental doctrine has two distinct principles that gave a different interpretation of traditional Christian doctrine. The first, that there is an evil god, the one responsible for the creation of the world and the ruler of this world and a good god that will rule the next world. This contrary belief, the idea of two gods, put them at serious conflict with accepted, existing, doctrine. The second principle of the Paulician is that they do not believe that Mary was the true mother of Jesus. They, also, rejected the Old Testament, as well as, the sacraments, worship, and established church hierarchy.("Paulician" ) Paulician ideology flourished through the 8th century, but were ultimately destroyed. In at least one massacre, the faith suffered a loss of, approximately, 100,000 people.(Gillis) The Paulician’s ideology spread to places like Macedonia, Greece, and Bulgaria, and, may have, contributed to other later sects, including the Bogomils. The Bogomils formed around the 10th century. The beliefs include the idea that this world was created by the devil and the rejecting the Christian conception as an example of grace. They believe in a good god that has twin sons; Jesus and Satan. However, there are many that believe that the dualistic views of Bogomils may have less to do with influences from the Paulicians, but more to do with traditional Bulgarian mythology, due to its Balkan roots, that have, since the 2nd century, of a god and his twin sons that battle in opposition to one and another. Overall the Bogomils opposed everything about the Orthodox Church. Until the 14th century the Bogomil ideology found its “congregation” but the Ottoman Conquest of the 15th century, essentially, wiped out the sect and very little more was heard from the movement again.(Weiling Feldthusen 1) The Cathar order appeared around the 12th century and flourished in some areas to the point where their beliefs and practices held the majority, even above Catholicism. This is the only sect, aside from the Knights Templar, that have managed to maintain their presence in continual research and mythology.(Hughes) This sect was, also, on occasion, referred to as the Albigensians. The Albigensians are not a different order of Christianity, but the specific name give to a particular sect of Cathar located in Languedoc in 1181. The Cathar, also, had another name given to them by the Catholics, the “ Great Heresy.” In many ways the two interpretations of Christianity were often polar opposites, so much so, that Catholics questioned if Cathars could even be considered Christian; the Cathar held firm that they, indeed, were Christians. The Cathar believed, as with the previous sects discussed, that there were two gods, one good and one evil, that exist in opposition. However, many of the other practices and ideals of the Cathars are less bizarre and more, what today we would call, progressive. They believed in the equality of men and women. They did not fundamentally discourage contraception, suicide, or euthanasia. Unfortunately, the Cathars were, in effect, exterminated. The Roman Church formed an internal “Crusade” against the Cathar, and, successfully, committed genocide of the followers of this belief system. By the conclusion of the 14th century there were few Cathar left, however, a few practices may have survived and been incorporated into the modern practices of today.("Cathars and Cathar Beliefs in the Languedoc") Many of the people living at the time were not impressed with the Roman Churches show of power. Voltaire stated, “There was never anything as unjust as the war against the Albigensians.”(qtd. in "Cathars and Cathar Beliefs in the Languedoc") Today we are, generally, much more tolerant, respectful, and considerate of those people in our communities that share differing beliefs and faiths than ourselves. It is not so easy today to simply eliminate people of a different ideology because you do not agree with them, and that is exactly what happened with these Christian sects. They threatened the established church, they were gaining followers, and for this reason they eradicated them. It had less to do, I think, with the religious doctrines and more to do with power and control. The concerns of power, ambition, and control are made by man, not by faith. Again, religion, and faith based ideologies, were not intended to create greater conflicts, but to inspire and comfort people. Ultimately, perhaps it is wiser to have faith in what you believe and have respect for what others believe. In the end, I think, it will matter less what you believed in, but what good you did with your time while believing in it. Works Cited "Cathars and Cathar Beliefs in the Languedoc." Cathars and Cathar Beliefs in the Languedoc. Cathar Tours, n.d. Web. 18 Oct 2012. . Gillis, Clive. "The Paulicians - And What Followed ." European Institute of Protestant Studies. Ian Paisly, 19 2007. Web. 18 Oct 2012. . Hughes, Marilynn. "Who Were the Albigensians?." Suite101. Suite101, 22 2009. Web. 18 Oct 2012. . "Paulician." Encyclopedia Britannica. 2012. . Weiling Feldthusen, Ewa. "Kontur." Kontur. (2006): 1-9. Web. 18 Oct. 2012. . Read More