When Insults Had Class

These inglorious insults are from an era before the English language became boiled down to 4-letter curse words.  

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A member of Parliament to Disraeli: "Sir, you will either die on the gallows or of some unspeakable disease."

"That depends, Sir," said Disraeli, "whether I embrace your policies or your mistress." 

"He had delusions of adequacy." - Walter Kerr

"He has all the virtues I dislike and none of the vices I admire." - Winston Churchill

 "I have never killed a man, but I have read many obituaries with great pleasure." - Clarence Darrow 

   

"He has never been known to use a word that might send a reader to the dictionary." - William Faulkner (about Ernest Hemingway).

"Thank you for sending me a copy of your book; I'll waste no time reading it." - Moses Hadas

"I didn't attend the funeral, but I sent a nice letter saying I approved of it." - Mark Twain

"He has no enemies, but is intensely disliked by his friends." - Oscar Wilde

"I am enclosing two tickets to the first night of my new play; bring a friend, if you have one." - George Bernard Shaw to Winston Churchill

"Cannot possibly attend first night, will attend second .... if there is one." - Winston Churchill, in response.

   

"I feel so miserable without you; it's almost like having you here." - Stephen Bishop 

   

"He is a self-made man and worships his creator." - John Bright

 "I've just learned about his illness. Let's hope it's nothing trivial." - Irvin S. Cobb

 "He is not only dull himself; he is the cause of dullness in others." - Samuel Johnson

"He is simply a shiver looking for a spine to run up." - Paul Keating

 "In order to avoid being called a flirt, she always yielded easily." - Charles, Count Talleyrand 

    

"He loves nature in spite of what it did to him." - Forrest Tucker

"Why do you sit there looking like an envelope without any address on it?" - Mark Twain

"His mother should have thrown him away and kept the stork." - Mae West

 "Some cause happiness wherever they go; others, whenever they go." - Oscar Wilde

"He uses statistics as a drunken man uses lamp-posts ... for support rather than illumination." - Andrew Lang (1844-1912)

"He has Van Gogh's ear for music." - Billy Wilder

"I've had a perfectly wonderful evening.  But I'm afraid this wasn't it." - Groucho Marx

Wordless Wednesday

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Got Questions: What Is Catharism?

Like many of my readers, I also peruse a great deal of medieval literature and history. During these mental travels into the past I had come across a few references to the Catharism cult and a few others. Curious as to what they practiced, I looked them up and thought I'd share the findings. From all this reading, I've learned that our ancestors where a superstitious lot!

Cathars where a strange bunch, weren't they? They vaguely remind me of the present day cult of worshiping the earth (i.e. Climate Change, Progressives, etc.). I guess that's because they worship the same 'god of the air', the great deceiver, the father of all lies, satan.

Many years ago I read part of the Kingdom of the Cults by Walter Martin book, referenced below. If you don't have that in your home library, I highly recommend it. Knowledge of what's right and wrong help to understand the enemy that we may fight for Him. This is a spiritual warfare, after all. [Ephesians 6:12, Ephesians 6:11, 1 Peter 5:8]

Thank you LORD Jesus for protecting us from such deceits that we may worship you in truth. Amen.

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www.GotQuestions.org

Question: "What is Catharism?"

Answer: Catharism is the term used to describe a set of quasi-Christian beliefs held by a group of medieval ascetics known as the Cathars (or Cathari), which means “pure ones.” According to Catharism, everything physical was created by the evil god of the Old Testament, and everything spiritual was created by the good god of the New Testament. The Cathars believed that human beings are really angels trapped in corrupted matter, forced to reincarnate until finally released by a ritual of purification.

One of the tenets of Catharism, which began in the 12th century, was a rejection of marriage. Cathars forbade marriage for a couple of reasons. First, they believed that humans were simply angelic beings imprisoned in flesh—and angels are genderless. Also, the Cathari believed that procreation was an evil act, since it prolonged the suffering and evil of the physical world. Cathars were also vegetarian and pacifistic.

Catharism taught that salvation required a ritual known as a consolamentum. This was vaguely similar to baptism, with the addition of speaking in tongues and fasting. A Cathar typically observed the consolamentum as late in life as possible, since he believed any pleasure taken in the world after the ritual would corrupt his spirit and prevent him from ascending to heaven. Many Cathars undertook the consolamentum on their deathbeds, then voluntarily starved themselves to death in order to guarantee purity in the afterlife.

Theologically, Catharism was dualistic; biblically, Catharism is completely false, although the Cathars claimed to be Christians. Scripture says that the same God who created the heavens and the earth (Genesis 1:1) is the One who came in human form for our salvation (Acts 3:13). Unlike Catharism, the Bible says that each person is born and dies only once (Hebrews 9:27), has a human soul (Genesis 2:7), and is saved by grace through faith in Christ (Ephesians 2:8–9). No ritual can save us (Titus 3:5), nor are all worldly things inherently evil (Genesis 1:31).

In modern times, Catharism might be seen as a quirky or even progressive religious group. But in medieval Europe the Cathars were considered radical and profoundly dangerous to the stability of a fragile society. Those who denied the authority of the government to wage war and who refused to procreate were seen as anarchists threatening the culture. Catharism also rejected the Catholic sacraments and almost all other religious traditions. Unsurprisingly, Catharism was heavily persecuted by the Catholic Church; they were the particular targets of at least one minor Crusade and parts of the Inquisition. Catharism died out in the 14th century.

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Recommended Resources: The Kingdom of the Cults, revised and updated edition and Logos Bible Software.

Alison Weir Has A New Publication

Anyone else a medieval history freak fan like I am? Nothing gets me more excited than a new book on this subject, especially the Tudor dynasty (think Henry VIII, Bloody Mary, Elizabeth I, etc.) I have multiple books covering these Monarchs and more. One of my favorite authors, after David Starkey, is Alison Weir. Imagine my joy when I learned that Ms. Weir has a new book that is set to be published January 12th. Of all the people I've studied from that era, I know very little about Lady Margaret Douglas.

I've restocked the tea stash, hubby will cook scrumptious scones sprinkled with sugar, and my favorite reading chair is all set to go. After the 12th I'll be the one in the corner reading quietly about life 500 plus years ago. History is a marvelous teacher if we'll all just listen and learn from our ancestors mistakes. Which reminds me of the saying:

"Those who do not learn history are doomed to repeat it." -- George Santayana

And I pray (literally) that our Nation will learn from our current horrendous mistake making 2017 the start of our own Renaissance. Wouldn't that be splendid?! One can hope.

Have a blessed day folks.