I say that many of these heresies, independently of the doctrines they assert, encounter success among the simple because they suggest to such people the possibility of a different life. I say that very often the simple do not know much about doctrine. I say that often hordes of simple people have confused Catharist preaching with that of the Patarines, and these together with that of the Spirituals. The life of the simple, Abo, is not illuminated by learning and by the lively sense of distinctions that makes us wise. And it is haunted by illness and poverty, tongue-tied by ignorance. Joining a heretical group, for many of them, is often only another way of shouting their own despair. You may burn a cardinal’s house because you want to perfect the life of the clergy, but also because you believe that the hell he preaches does not exist. .Umberto Eco
About This Quote
The fact that many heretics and sects attract followers does not depend on their doctrines. The success of these movements is not the result of their ideas; they attract people because they offer a way out of their misery and fear. These groups offer people an escape from the fear of the devil and his agents who they believe are always around them. A person can live in fear for years, but when they join a heretical group they make their fear tangible by seeing it with their own eyes.
Source: The Name Of The Rose
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