On Wed, 24 Jul 1996, T.A. RAYBORN wrote:
> I know that the Cathars were devoted to the New Testament, or their
> particular interpretation of it. Did they regard Yahweh of the Old
> testament as a different being, like the Gnostics and their concept
> of the archons? Thanks for any info.
[further bit]
dear tim
For the Cathars, the O.T. was *true* but described the work of the "Bad
God" - an explanation for Yahweh's homicidal mania in contrast to God's
benevolent kindness. The "two gods" theory appears as both "absolute"
dualism [there are two eternal principles, warring it out] and
"mitigated" dualism [the good god created the bad god, who created the
world]. However, once they'd made that point, they seem to have been
more interested in how *matter* was evil, rather than obsessing about
the existence of the evil demiurge ... They were also, particularly
latterly, concerned with depicting the R.C.Church as evil, the whore of
babylon, etc.
cheers
john arnold
Centre for Medieval Studies
Kings Manor
Exhibition Square
York YO1 2EP
ENGLAND
(01904) 433948
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