The Troublesome Offspring of Cardinal Guzman by Louis De Bernières Page B
Authors: Louis De Bernières
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This Garcia preaches a dualistic faith, and advocates self-indulgence and concupiscence as the means to salvation. He has gained literally thousands of followers all over that part of the sierra. In this he is not at all unique, for there are many others like him. Your Excellency will no doubt be aware of the phenomenon of Canudos in Brazil, where Antonio the Counsellor once gathered thousands of faithful who fought to the last drop of blood for their whimsical beliefs. We have the impression that there are many Antonio the Counsellors at work unnoticed in this country.
We have heard that the Blessed Virgin Mary and Jesus Christ were both angels, who merely appeared to be fleshly (the theory of the ‘
corpus phantasticum
’); that she became pregnant through her ear; that she was a sinful woman of the flesh, or even a prostitute; that she was really a male named ‘Marinus’.
Of Christ we have heard that he was merely a man, of sinful flesh, because only the fleshly may come to earth; that there were two Christs, one fleshly with Mary Magdalene as his concubine, who was crucified and suffered on earth, and that the other one was without sin, neither ate nor drank, was unfleshly, and was crucified in the invisible world; that Christ’s death was a scandalous defeat at the hands of Satan, who still therefore reigns here; that he reopened the path to heaven for his fellow fallen angels; that his miracles were black magic, and he a sorcerer; that he died upon the cross in each of the seven heavens; that he could not suffer or die, and therefore it was a demon that died in his place.
We have heard that earth is a penitence for fallen angels, and that when we die we are tormented by demons into transmigrating into another body, the new host depending upon one’s degree of merit. They prove reincarnation on account of numerous stories such as that of someone remembering where they lost a shoe in their past life as a horse, and the shoe turning up in that spot, as predicted. We have also heard that there is no resurrection at all in the flesh.
We have heard that there is no purgatory, or that purgatory is ninetimes brighter than fire, that eighteen angels transport the good through it, spending one day in each of the seven heavens. In heaven there are pastures, savannahs, jungles, and birdsong. There is no hunger nor leprosy, and people don a ‘robe of light’ and reclaim the crowns that they wore before their fall as Satan’s angels.
We have heard that there is no free will; one is an angel or devil by predestination, and therefore repentance and attempts to behave well are pointless. This doctrine is justified by divine foreknowledge, and is used to license absolute libertinism, even including incest.
We have heard that all sacraments practised by a sinful priest are null and void, and that this is backdated to all sacraments made previously. Thus people will flock to be rebaptised when they perceive that their priest has sinned.
Of carnal matters it is said that marriage is ‘demoniac’ and that married congress is ‘legalised fornication’; this means that it is equally sinful to be married or to indulge in premarital intercourse, which justifies the latter, as one is condemned to sinfulness in either case.
People have invented strange prohibitions of their own, having found a heterogeneous collection of things to be satanic. Thus there are persons who will not eat flesh because the Devil created it, nor cheese, nor eggs, nor milk, but they will eat fish, because it is ‘the spontaneous product of water’. Many will swear no oaths, citing Matthew 5: 33–37, which means that they will not get married because they will not make the vows. For the same reason they refuse to become godparents. For others, insects, fish and lice are diabolical, as are serpents, frogs, toads, lizards and mice. There are cohorts of mendicants who refuse to work on the grounds that it prospers a world made by the Devil. They become
We have heard that the Blessed Virgin Mary and Jesus Christ were both angels, who merely appeared to be fleshly (the theory of the ‘
corpus phantasticum
’); that she became pregnant through her ear; that she was a sinful woman of the flesh, or even a prostitute; that she was really a male named ‘Marinus’.
Of Christ we have heard that he was merely a man, of sinful flesh, because only the fleshly may come to earth; that there were two Christs, one fleshly with Mary Magdalene as his concubine, who was crucified and suffered on earth, and that the other one was without sin, neither ate nor drank, was unfleshly, and was crucified in the invisible world; that Christ’s death was a scandalous defeat at the hands of Satan, who still therefore reigns here; that he reopened the path to heaven for his fellow fallen angels; that his miracles were black magic, and he a sorcerer; that he died upon the cross in each of the seven heavens; that he could not suffer or die, and therefore it was a demon that died in his place.
We have heard that earth is a penitence for fallen angels, and that when we die we are tormented by demons into transmigrating into another body, the new host depending upon one’s degree of merit. They prove reincarnation on account of numerous stories such as that of someone remembering where they lost a shoe in their past life as a horse, and the shoe turning up in that spot, as predicted. We have also heard that there is no resurrection at all in the flesh.
We have heard that there is no purgatory, or that purgatory is ninetimes brighter than fire, that eighteen angels transport the good through it, spending one day in each of the seven heavens. In heaven there are pastures, savannahs, jungles, and birdsong. There is no hunger nor leprosy, and people don a ‘robe of light’ and reclaim the crowns that they wore before their fall as Satan’s angels.
We have heard that there is no free will; one is an angel or devil by predestination, and therefore repentance and attempts to behave well are pointless. This doctrine is justified by divine foreknowledge, and is used to license absolute libertinism, even including incest.
We have heard that all sacraments practised by a sinful priest are null and void, and that this is backdated to all sacraments made previously. Thus people will flock to be rebaptised when they perceive that their priest has sinned.
Of carnal matters it is said that marriage is ‘demoniac’ and that married congress is ‘legalised fornication’; this means that it is equally sinful to be married or to indulge in premarital intercourse, which justifies the latter, as one is condemned to sinfulness in either case.
People have invented strange prohibitions of their own, having found a heterogeneous collection of things to be satanic. Thus there are persons who will not eat flesh because the Devil created it, nor cheese, nor eggs, nor milk, but they will eat fish, because it is ‘the spontaneous product of water’. Many will swear no oaths, citing Matthew 5: 33–37, which means that they will not get married because they will not make the vows. For the same reason they refuse to become godparents. For others, insects, fish and lice are diabolical, as are serpents, frogs, toads, lizards and mice. There are cohorts of mendicants who refuse to work on the grounds that it prospers a world made by the Devil. They become
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