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Welcome to our Web Site! (originally webposted 1996) GOD
bless you,
We
are in an epoch that has streched across a
millennium
of history. At the same time we are in the early morning hours of a
true
Christian reformation. Of course, most religious observers would find
such
a statement difficult to fathom. They would be even more incredulous if
told that the "extinct" Cathar Church could play the key role in the
shift
now taking place in Christianity. One such example is our sense of
vision
about the future of the Internet and the World Wide Web.
Developing
the components of of that vision and
putting
theory into practice required a great deal of careful thought and
planning
and a vehicle for execution as modern Cathars often lack the structural
base that is necessary to carry out this two-pronged process of
conceptualization
and implementation.
Our simple web pages were among the early Christian URLS to appear on the World Wide Web in 1994-95. It was certainly the first by Cathar Christians working together in concert. At its peak, the site received over one thousand "hits" a day and upwards of 460 e-mails a week. Remembering
that many of us do not own or use many
technological
instruments in our homes (telephone, televisions, automobiles and the
like)
operating a web site was seen by some as an unexpected direction. For
many
others, it provided encouragement to build web sites of their own. You
can
visit these sites at Mega
Links to Cathar Sites on the Web . (orginal link inactive)
As an ancient faith, we have a viable alternative agenda to Constantinian Christianity. But its promotion has been fragmented. This web site attempts to address that dilemma. While
the "times may be right" for such an agenda,
there
is no guarantee that we can find either the determination or the
wherewithal
to provide much more than another short-term popular diversion on the
World
Wide Web. First,
Cathars have always been uncomfortable with
the
notion of power. This is part of a deeply ingrained tradition within
Catharism.
The notion that "power corrupts" and that "absolute power corrupts
absolutely"
is one of the central historical themes of Cathar Christianity. Power
and
evil are often synonomous in the Cathar mind. Let's be real - the Web
is
power. So many are unwilling to assume the "responsibility" of taking
on
power themselves for fear that it will corrupt them, as well. More
often
than not, Cathars will deal with power by withdrawing into a monastic
"otherwordliness,"
concentrating on personal piety and holiness, but not on the "fallen
powers
and principalities."
Second,
power has to do with masses of people and
massive
institutions. These configurations are often anathema to Cathars. There
is
the fear that in dealing on the large macro level, the individual will
be
lost in the scuffle. The very appeal of Catharism is anti-institutional
and
antimass. Millions of anxious, isolated, lonely and confused human
beings
are in search of personal solace and spiritual reconstruction. The
impersonality
of mass bureaucracies and masses of people are exactly what millions of
individuals
are turning away from. The Cathar emphasis on the individual is
precisely
why many people are turning towards Catharist renewal.
Third, there is every reason to suspect that many are reasonably content with the current situation. Why raise your head when history shows it will only be cut off? One of the most disquieting elements to consider is the buried emphasis placed on premillennial eschatology. The notion that order is collapsing and that the final stages of history and the millennium are at hand could be translated into a mass nihilistic campaign to self-fulfill the prophecy. We
offer a new covenant for a new millennium. The
future
is ours. The
historical moment has not yet arrived, but it can
awaken
within you at any time. Welcome it.
May GOD bless you and bring you to a good End.
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