The Good Christians

Published on: Author: becherer@uoregon.edu

For the Good Christians the role of genealogy isn’t a validation of the pope lineage or the apostolic succession the Church claims to have. In the minds of the Good Christians, according to Eberwin’s interpretation, the lineage cannot be passed down or even passed onto someone else because it has been corrupted. The Good Christians use scripture to justify their positions and also to criticize the Church. The Good Christians look back upon how the Apostles lived and try to mirror that by living a poor life with community possessions, not individual possessions. Scripture is used to give the Good Christians a new way of life that the Church didn’t try to promote because they got greedy. Bernard addresses the heretical movement as a fox, a concealed movement within the Christians that threatens the righteous and the true Christians by trying to play upon individuals fears and ignorance. He attacks the Good Christians for their secrecy and their inability to divulge their secrets to anyone that isn’t a part of the group. Bernard uses this secrecy to try to dismantle any power the group may possess by claiming the Church doesn’t try to keep secrets of salvation away from those who wish to learn it.