We must not forget that
our first goal is to seek
the union of the inner self with our GOD of all goodness, returning to
our true spiritual home.
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Good Christians on Governor George W. Bush
(August, 2000)
Statement on the Election of George W. Bush as U.S. President
"You join me, or you are dead." (Rev. 13:15)
20 July 02 Suit challenges airline ID requirements
23 Sep 01 Cathars
will oppose mandatory national ID cards and DNA tests
23 Sep 01 The good Christian will support
conscientious objector
status
23 Sep 01 GCCC will provide
Sanctuary
to objecting military personnel
Introduction to an Underground Church
Good Christians have existed in North America since approximately 1749, generally in scattered, loosely linked communities. It has been our tradition to worship in private homes. We do not build churches. Instead, we seek to live simply, work quietly, professing in our daily life our distinct expression of the radical Good News of GOD.
You may find us to be both different and familiar at the same time. Our language may be offensive to some. We try to be straight forward and up front. No one can every accuse us of trying to con our way into your life with sickly sweet statements, waiting for the chance to turn you into some mindless money machine spouting memorized gibberish. A witless witness serves neither GOD nor the church.
Persecuted in the Pre-Reformation Past
Many historians and scholars of Church history regard us as the catalytic forerunner of the Protestant Reformation. The "Good Men" as they were called in days before political correctness, are the spiritual descendants of those commonly referred to as 'Cathars', of whom historians have traced back to the days of the early church.However, we mark the distinctive nature of our fellowship from the tenth and eleventh centuries.
Alive Today, Growing Tomorrow
Despite the diaspora that followed; remnants of the Cathar faith survived in small numbers throughout the centuries until the present day. The influences of being an underground church for much of our existence have in large measure shaped our development and are to be borne in mind when seeking to understand our distinctive spirit.With over one half century of varied, semi-organised ministry in North America behind us, and the recent union with six member fellowships, the Cathars have steadfastly resisted formal incorporation as a denominational body anywhere in the world. The Cathars do NOT benefit from the tax exemption schemes enjoyed by most churches and denominations. This follows from our views on the separation of Church and State.
As we celebrate nearly a millennia of resistance and survival in the face of the Powers who rule this world, we are pleased at the solid level of growth taking place throughout the world. The Internet has sped this process quite considerably as more people have easier access to historical and scholarly information.
What Others say about the Cathars
"Its call to purity of life and committed spirituality in a day of moral and religious laxity earned it a place among those who have sought renewal in the Christian movement"C.G. Oliver, Jr. Evangelical Dictionary of Theology
"The moral standard
of their lives generally compared favorably against that of the Catholic
clergy. Regarded as both spiritually and socially dangerous, they were condemned...and
subdued with great cruelty."
A Dictionary of Comparative Religion, 1970, pg.54
"People have often wondered
whether Catharism can...be looked on as a Christian heresy. Was it not an
altogether different religion? Catharism was Christian inasmuch as the Cathars
proclaimed themselves to be Christians, indeed the only authentic Christians;
inasmuch, too, as their rites reproduced that of the primitive Church, and
their doctrine was inspired by the Gospel interpreted in a certain way. For
instance, their basic prayer was the prayer Christ himself taught his disciples,
the "Our Father."
J. Madaule,
The Albigensian Crusade, 1967, pg 35
"...there are many examples
of Christian groups whose expectations of the Kingdom of GOD and of the Spirit
has encouraged equality between men and women (Cathars, Waldensians, Quakers)."
Dictionary of the Ecumenical Movement, 1991, pg.421
"A puritanical movement
ruthlessly exterminated"
An Encyclopedia of Religion, 1964, pg. 129
"They were exterminated
by the bloody crusades against them and the Inquisition"
Encyclopedia of the Lutheran Church, 1965, pg.37
"By the fourteenth century,
this bizarre sect was eradicated."
The (Roman) Catholic Encyclopedia
(OSV) 1991, pg. 53
And a touch of "reality" for those who prefer their "facts" from Roman Catholic historians:
"These data and others
of a similar nature bear out the assertion that the Inquisition marks a substantial
advance in the contemporary administration of justice, and therefore in the
general civilization of mankind...The large numbers of burnings detailed in
various histories are completely unauthenticated, and are deliberate inventions
of phampleteers..."
The (Roman) Catholic Encyclopedia
, 1917, III pg. 34
