The Lost Teachings of the Cathars: Their Beliefs and Practices

This is written from an evangelical point of view. Accept it for what it is. You may disagree all you want, but I have the right to say it like I see it. Nothing "hateful" is meant in it.I have read a good bit about gnosticism, and of course, the Templars are all over everywhere now, but the Cathars were a mystery to me. Not so much anymore. It always amazes me how similar the pseudo Christian groups are even today. There really are only a few points about God that cause the differences. What did God really say, what did God really do and who is God really. Can you trust Him? Can you be as good as God? The issues Satan raised in both the Garden of Eden and in the wilderness with Jesus. I appreciate learning more about the history of these thoughts. This book helped a great deal for that.The author is clearly of a different opinion than mine. He states it plainly and gives his opinion very kindly. I am not quite as good at that!

Disclaimer: This review is written from a Catholic perspective and a gnostic Church-hating reader might have a much different experiende.The book pretends to be a scientific work, but is in fact a pro-cathar and anti-Catholic apology. The author omits the darker sides of catharism dismissing them off-hand as catholic calomnies and the logical conclusions that must drawn from the theological position of the Believers in Catharism, while nitpicking in detail every imperfection and abuse of power of the Albigensian crusade and the subsequent inquisition (of which there were many, surely, and that were indeed very harsh).The author has the tendency of jumping to conclusions where it suits him and proposing these as facts (e.g. the Perfects in Montségyr were exclusively old mystics who whiled their days away in prayers or young initiates, etc). The author also has no trouble in defending Cathar actions as "necessary" even when his judgment would have been much harsher towards Catholics.Furthermore, the author makes theological judgment along the lines of "what the Cathars believed is more correct than what the Catholics believe" without any actual qualification or logical rationale behind the statements based solely on the tenet of "I like this better" and goes to great length to explain away the gaping holes in Cathar pesudo-theology. Indeed, it seems evident to me that the author is himself a gnostic and would have loved to be a Cathar if only he could and - to be fair - hints at such a position in his Introduction. (However, he should have stated that openly to be completely honest as I do at the beginning of my review).I bought the book for my kindle at $2.19 which I find adequate price for the deeply flawed book. Also, it does contain some information on Cathar believes and practices...that, however, is clouded by the author's tendency to masturbate intellectually and emotionally over his own love for the concepts and Catharism.In conclusion, I am not happy with the book. I would have liked to read more facts and less posturing and hate.

Chuck full of information but it's a shame that such a rich topic was not used to weave the story better. This is like a regurgitation of just random facts only vaguely organized.If you're looking for a reference to look up some facts like dates and names, this is fine. But be prepared. It's a good reminder of how important story telling is, even in history books.

Print is tiny and faded so beware. I suggest buying this book in Kindle. After I have struggled through trying to read the print a chapter or so I will make a comment about the actual writing. Amazes me that publishers pull this with the print size. Do they save 50 cents? Take Penguin Classic, it is their standard operating procedure to put their books out with painful to read small print. Why? I never buy Penguin Classics. Too bad because I would like to.

Not entirely sure that I fully agree with some of what he writes about the Cathars, but he has done the research whereas i haven't so i will give him the benefit of the doubt.Their liberal attitudes might well have altered the course of history if the militant sect of catholicism hadn't butchered and burn't them into oblivion.

The Cathars heritage has been subject to so much literary license that it was good to read an account which seeks to capture what they stood for . He uses a vast array of sources to give as much depth and breadth to the readers insight as possible. A great read and record.

This is a great text that unveils the hidden history of how the Roman Catholic Church terrorized a group of believers who dared to be different.Doug Thomas author of African Traditional Religion in the Modern World

Good read for those interested in Early Christianity and the ruthless suppression and slaughter of those who dared to believe differently than Rome.

A most enjoyable read. This book on the Cathars is an enthusiastically open-minded overview of the subject with a healthy dose of critical inquiry and a smattering of subtle humour. It is not an academic archeology, more an impressionistic vision of the scene but has oodles of references, sources, and pointers for a reader who is interested in taking up a more detailed trail of any of the narratives or topics. The author who is sympathetic to the essence of non-dogmatic spiritual exploration without being credulous, also includes an impressive cross-referencing to a variety of related areas of interest drawing from what is clearly an extensive knowledge about the heart of a variety of global religions and cultural movements.

I found this book to be both fascinating and easy to read. There are very few books that actually tell you what the Cathars believed; most books focus on their tragic persecution and extinction. I am puzzled by those people who think that they are modern day Cathars. The Cathars believed that the world and everything in it was evil and no good. It is not surprising that the Cathars left no art or music or anything else material as all matter was corrupt. I don't think you could build a great civilisation on such negative beliefs about the world. If you are interested by the Cathars, do read this book.

A reaonably good overview of the history of the Cathars. In terms of 'lost teachings ' not much is really known, but the author does as good job in bringing out what is known of this fascinating medieval religious movement

Andrew Phillip Smith tells the evocative story of The Cathars in Occitane with an acquired knowledge and an innate insight.

I used this book for research to help me with a novel i am writing.