This episode is a long one baby! HAPPY 2025!
Come on a deep dive of the Jansenist Movement and its affect on the European Enlightenment Period and how it ideologies and cultural impact shaped the beginnings of the French Revolution!
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Episode Transcript
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(00:36):
Hello and welcome to Esoterica and Nonsense, a podcast where we
discuss myths, legends, folk tales, fairy tales, supernatural
phenomenon and religions from around the world.
I am your host, Annabelle. You know what it is?
It's basically story time. It's basically me going on deep
(00:58):
dives on the Internet to learn about some old ancient shit that
we've all forgotten, and I research it so you don't have
to. It's 2025, baby.
I'm recording this on January 1st, 2025, and I'm amped.
I feel so excited. I feel so, so, so excited about
(01:21):
life. And I just feel a resurgence of
inspiration and admiration. And I really just think about
the legacy of human beings that have contributed to humanity
through creativity, art. And that's like, that's what I
(01:43):
want to do. I want to create things.
That's, that's that's the part of humanity I'm most proud of.
And that's the part of me that Iwant to really focus on in my
life. And I just feel really inspired
to do it. And I just have so much love and
gratitude for this beautiful planet that we live on.
Planet Earth, as we call it, andI'm yes, yes, so happy to be
(02:08):
here. Happy New Year's, everyone.
Also a reminder, I had a headache for almost 2 days.
I never get headaches. I was very confused.
I was drinking plenty of water, but I realized it was an
electrolyte issue. So I just put a little bit of
pink Himalayan salt in my water and it completely cured my
headache. Everything's fine.
(02:29):
So this is your reminder to makesure you're getting your
electrolytes, please and thank you.
Also, I have my window open because I'm here living in the
Yucatan and it's the sun is setting and it's easily 80°
right now and it's just with thewindow closed, it's unbearable.
And I can't really have the fan on while I record.
So let's hope that the Peppers outside don't bark too much
(02:51):
during recording or else we're going to be hot.
We're going to be hot boxing sage and sweating our little
booties off. But anyway, let's stop dilly
dallying. Let's get to the meat of this.
This is going to be a doozy. Everyone.
I'm warning you now. This is going to be a doozy.
(03:12):
If you didn't listen to the previous episode, which was
about Gateway experiences and the holographic theory, I
mention a phenomenon that happened in France in the 1700s
about a man named Francois de Paris, and he was a member of a
(03:34):
sect of Christianity called Johnsonism.
I was actually calling it Yonsenism only I, I, I actually
didn't know the pronunciation and I assumed it was pronounced
Yonsenism simply because it was a, it was originated in, in
Holland. It was, it was Dutch.
(03:54):
And you know, like, I don't know, there's like the name
Johann and like the last name Johansson.
I guess that's, that is AJ. But they, they haven't say
Johansson or Johannesburg or like whatever, I don't know.
So I just assumed it was Jansenism.
But I finally looked it up on how to pronounce it and I was
incorrect. So strike that from the record.
(04:16):
Pepper was wrong. And apparently in English you
say Jansenism, Johnsonism, and in in French it's Johnsonism.
So I'm just going to say Johnsonism.
I that's like the best we can dowith my crude American peasant
(04:37):
accent. But anyway, this episode we are
going to do a deep dive into Johnsonism.
What is Johnsonism? And we're going to talk about
how Johnsonism left a legacy notonly on the Christian culture of
Europe, but also in the political culture and how
(05:00):
Johnsonism paved way and was part of the culture that
eventually resulted in the French Revolution and the
supernatural shit with it. Because it's fucking
supernaturalist book. It's some wild stuff and I can't
wait. So let's get into it.
(05:21):
So what is Johnson ISM, you ask?I I had never heard of it,
honestly, until I was rereading the holographic Universe and
they talked about some of the supernatural occurrences that
started happening. But Johnson ISM was a
theological movement within Catholicism.
It it originated in the 17th century.
(05:41):
So the 17th century would be the1600s.
Just. I have to say that out loud.
I don't know if that helps you. It helps me because, yeah, I I
don't know, I guess some people all act like we all know that.
But sometimes I just need that reminder.
I say it to myself every time I hear whatever century.
OK, so Johnsonism is based on the teachings of a man named
(06:06):
Cornelius Johnson. And.
OK, pause. I'm pretty.
I mean, if this was, if he was Dutch, they, his name was
probably Cornelius Jansen, right?
I feel like it is Jansenism. I, this is just like an
intuition thing, but in English it's Johnsonism.
So we're just going to roll withthat because I'm speaking
(06:28):
English. So let's move on.
OK. So Cornelius Johnson was a Dutch
theologian and just theology is essentially like the study of
spirituality academically, just in a nutshell.
And so this man who was a theologian would publish works
(06:50):
and really like his writings that were kind of derivative of
Catholicism, focused on originalsin, human depravity, and the
necessity of divine grace and predestination, aligning with
certain aspects of Saint Augustine's teachings.
So in a nutshell, he was kind ofa simplistic believer in the
(07:16):
Bible and believed that, you know, you know, humans were born
depraved and born with sin and that only divine grace could
like relieve you of that. But the the aspect of Saint
Augustine that I find interesting and the aspect of
Johnsonism that was radical at the time was that the Cornelius
(07:39):
Johnson preached that it was important to have a personal
connection with God and that youpaying tribute to the Vatican
was not necessary. And that it was more important
for you to have a personal relationship with God.
And if anything, you would pay your respects or your taxes to
(08:00):
your local church and community,which honestly eats.
I love that. I kind of prefer that vibe,
especially because in my opinion, I do think the Vatican
is its own government and has Coopted Christianity to control
people. And really that's what a lot of
Johnsonism is about. And that's what we're going to
kind of uncover. As you can imagine, the Vatican
(08:23):
denounced Johnsonism and couldn't fucking stand it.
And really, this was at the timea radical movement.
And again, this man who started it was starting this in the
1600s. And this was a radical thing at
the time. To be a consider yourself a
Catholic and to say I do not have the Vatican as my highest
(08:45):
authority, My highest authority with God is my relationship with
God. Radical and honestly chef's kiss
love you Cornelius. So Cornelius Johnson was a
Bishop and he was deeply influenced by Saint Augustine's
writing. And really like the aspect of
Saint Augustine's writing that really captivated him was
(09:08):
writings about grace and salvation.
And really Cornelius Johnson as well as Saint Augustine critique
the perceived laxity of Catholicmoral theology.
And they stress the need for divine grace and salvation.
(09:28):
Again, they're really focusing on asking for salvation from God
and not asking the Vatican for personal salvation, which makes
sense. I mean, like, we're like
academically, right? If you read the Bible and
believe in God, your relationship with God would be
the most important covenant, right?
(09:52):
Versus like a church in Rome, right?
Just just academically speaking.OK, Anyway, So Johnson, sorry,
pardon me, I'm, I'm, if you can't tell, I am so excited
about this. I'm, I'm telling you, this is a
this is this type of stuff really gets me going.
(10:13):
It's like a it's like a hot cup of coffee.
It's like an iced cup of coffee.OK, so Johnsonism spread and
gain traction primarily in France, interestingly, and
particularly among clergy and intellectuals, most notably at
the Abbey of Point of Port Royalnear Paris.
(10:36):
And this makes sense to me, right?
Intellectuals and clergy memberswho are actually reading the
scriptures would totally have identified with these teachings
because they are reading the scriptures and interpreting the
Scriptures intellectually. And I'm sure we're finding a
whole bunch of problematic issues with the Vatican, you
know, that kind of can go unsaid.
(10:58):
And so key supporters of this movement include famous
theologians such as Jean du Vergier du Aujon.
And this was basically an Abbot of a French church and a man
named Blaise Pascal. I didn't really do a deep dive
into these men. And if you want to, please do.
(11:21):
But this is just, there's so much information to cover.
So we're just like, we're whipping through it because
we're going to be. I want to get you to the meat.
I want to get to the meat. OK.
So as you can imagine, as I've already touched on, and as you
are already thinking in your smart little brain, the Catholic
Church did not like this movement one bit.
(11:45):
It was Johnsonism was officiallycondemned as heretical by Pope
Urban the 8th in 1642, and againby subsequent popes including
Pope Innocent the 10th and Pope Clement the 11th.
They were not having it. I mean, obviously this is kind
of to be expected. Anyway.
The Vatican's like a tyrannical government will not take any
(12:10):
person undermining their authority.
And again, I just want to say like right here, I know, like, I
don't know, I, I'm very opinionated and I know sometimes
when I get fired up, I like, I, I don't want to be condemning.
I'm not against spirituality andI love spirituality.
I'm just very skeptical of any religious order because I notice
(12:33):
it preys upon exploiting people for money and for power.
And that is not what any spirituality is about, truly,
truly and including Christianity.
And so I'm sad. I'm sad that the teachings of a
quote UN quote prophet, whether you believe he is or not,
(12:54):
teachings of a man became conflated to control people both
with their beliefs and with their finances.
And it's, it's fascinating because if you can control
people's beliefs, you can actually control reality to a
certain extent. And it is sad to me how much of
these teachings, which are basedin radical acceptance and
(13:16):
compassion have been tainted to bigotry and and oppression.
That is like so sad to me. So I'm just saying that because
I don't really want to be sitting here condemning people,
but I I think that we should allbe questioning any religious
authority. And I think the Vatican is an
(13:37):
easy structure to look at because it's so famous and has
been around for so long and has such a widespread chokehold on
countries around the world, specifically countries that were
colonized by European countries.OK.
They're the Peppers are barking.They're like, preach.
Thank you. Thank you Peppers.
(13:58):
OK, so key beliefs of Johnsonism.
I mentioned of these a little bit before.
Original sin and human nature, right?
I mean, this is like the classicself loathing Catholic ideals.
Do we have to close the window? OK, you know what, let's take a
break. I'm going to close the window so
(14:20):
that the Peppers aren't so loud.Love you one second.
Hello. We're coming at you live from
the Pepper World headquarters. It's 2025, baby.
It's 2025. This is your reminder to follow
your dreams. This is your reminder to get
creative. This is your life.
(14:42):
You are only going to be this version of you for a one time
only offer one time only situation.
Live it up, babe. Live it up.
I believe in you. You can do this and the sky is
the limit. I'm so excited for you.
(15:04):
Sometimes the hardest part of the creative process is judging
ourselves and stopping ourselvesbefore we even start because of
whatever, because we think, oh, I'll never make it, or I'm not
good enough, whatever. No master was born a master.
(15:25):
Every single master of of music,of painting, of dance, of
architecture, whatever, spent years, decades cultivating those
things. And there's only one you in the
whole world, and they will only ever be one of you.
So take it to the bank, baby. Believe in yourself.
(15:45):
It might take time, it might nothappen overnight, but you can
actually do this. I'm telling you and you know
that it's true. You can do this. 2025.
Believe in yourself, baby. And we're back.
Window was closed and we are sweating bullets.
And I do this just for you. Love you.
(16:07):
OK. Key beliefs of Johnsonism really
revolves around original sin andhuman nature.
We all know the drill. Classic Catholicism.
Essentially, human nature is believed to be deeply corrupted
by original sin, and without thedivine grace of God, humans are
incapable of doing good or attaining salvation.
(16:28):
A little bit extreme in my opinion, but let's roll with it.
So of course, divine grace and salvation depend entirely by
God's grace and not human effort.
Grace is irresistible and granted only to the elect
(16:49):
emphasizing predestination. So basically, like God will
choose you and that's God's prerogative, and there is
nothing that you can do that is will necessarily negate or
ensure that you will receive God's grace.
And then of course, they believed in moral rigorism.
(17:10):
They had a strict moral discipline and aestheticism,
which were essential to their beliefs.
So they were very bare bones, you know, monk like renouncing
possessions and so, so on and soforth.
And interestingly, the Johnsonists were critical to the
Jesuits and they accused them ofpromoting LAX moral theology,
(17:34):
mostly through their concept of probalism.
Wait, hold on, I actually forgotto I I I really want to define
probabilism because that's one of those words that I like only
know through context and not through the exact definition.
So, oh, sorry, probab probable probabilism is a theory that
(17:58):
states that when certainty is not possible, plausibility or
truth likeness is the best criteria on.
Interesting. So got it.
So basically, in a nutshell, theJohnsonists believes that the
Jesuits were just a little bit too LAX and they made too many
(18:21):
assumptions for things they couldn't be sure about.
So as you can see here, in a way, you could argue that
Johnsonists are like what Catholics wish they were.
They're a little bit more militant, a little more simple,
a little bit more litigious to the scripture and simplicity,
which I can respect. And, you know, like, if you're
(18:41):
going to follow the scriptures, follow the scriptures, baby.
That's all I'm going to say. And there was also some
criticism of the sacraments. And I think This is why the
Vatican couldn't take it. Johnson is advocated for
infrequent reception of the Eucharist, believing it required
(19:04):
rigorous preparation and purity.They opposed that when they saw,
They opposed what they saw as overuse or misuse of confession.
And I also find this interesting, meaning that they
really believed in intention anytime there was to be a fast
or a confession to really do it with intention and not to be
(19:26):
going through the motions. And ultimately, like I can get
down with this. I really understand what they're
saying theologically. They're kind of saying like,
let's be more intentional about our religion that we are
following. Like it's our job radical.
So let's just like learn a little bit more about what was
(19:47):
happening in this era, right? This movement, Johnsonism was
born in the mid 1600s and then gained momentum throughout the
1700s. And so I'm just going to give
you like some broader context ofthis era so you can really
understand like what's happeninggeopolitically.
And specifically, like, we're focusing on France mostly
(20:07):
because this is where Johnsonismreally took off.
So during this time during the 17th century, there was a lot of
religious conflicts. Europe was still dealing with
the aftermath of the Reformationand the Counter Reformation.
And actually I did touch on thisa little bit in an episode I
have about the Devil's or the possessions of Ludon.
(20:29):
And this was a time in France where there was a Protestant
movement that was coming up and there was essentially like small
genocides happening throughout the French countryside to keep
the Protestants suppressed. And I mean, this is also the
tail end of the bubonic plague. And so there was just a lot of
(20:51):
like interesting tensions between village culture and
culture of the capital, which ofcourse is like culture of the
king and and kings finding ways to control village culture in in
a nutshell. So of course, naturally the
Catholic Church sought to reassert its authority, while
(21:14):
movements like Gallicanism and Johnsonism resisted.
And I'm going to get into Gallicanism in one second, but I
also find that movement really interesting.
And in a nutshell, you know, theCatholic Church is a government.
It in a sense it is a, the Pope is a king to a certain extent,
(21:34):
or really the emperor of Rome arguably.
So this was a time where there was a lot of tension between the
papacy, the kings of different countries of Europe and then the
villages and the and the beliefsof the people in those villages.
Also, there was a big kind of conflict between absolutism and
(21:57):
nation state. So really what I mean is that
there was monarchs. A great example would be Louis
the 14th of France. He sought to consolidate power,
and this was often clashing withthe church, which had
traditionally wielded significant influence.
Right. So like, this is it, It's kind
of like a layered conflict because the papacy wants full
(22:20):
power. The king of said country.
We're talking about France rightnow.
The king of France wants full power.
And then of course, the local clergy and villages are having
their own beliefs. And so it's, it's like, which
overlord, which big boss is going to win in controlling the
(22:40):
beliefs of the locals? This is, it's this is so
fascinating to like, not to go on a full side tangent, but part
of why I find this subject so interesting is because I
obviously grew up in the United States and there is this part of
our is it the Constitution? Sorry, correct me if I'm wrong,
(23:02):
but I believe it's in our Constitution.
There's, there is a, there is a,there is a phrase that is a big
part of the American ideology that there is a separation
between church and state. And obviously I think that there
should be a separation of churchand state.
(23:23):
However, I don't think it's actually possible specifically
with Christianity and specifically with the type of
Christianity that is practice inthe United States.
Because Christianity in the United States was brought over
by Europeans and the Christianity that they practice
was taught to them by the Catholic Church.
(23:47):
And of course then it would branch out.
You know, there was Anglicans and Protestants and whatever,
right? There are so many branches of
Christianity through Western Europe, but they all became Co
opted by the papacy, which was developed to control people as a
government. So I do think it's really
(24:07):
interesting, this concept of separation of church and state
from the lens of the American culture, because I don't think a
lot of us, I mean me, I'll, I'lljust speak for myself.
I don't think I was ever educated growing up how much
nuance there was about the papacy, the Roman church, and
(24:29):
how it began, and also the religious history of Europe and
the religious history that is interwoven in the government
history. There wasn't ever really a
separation of church and state. So this ideal to separate them
now is a beautiful idea, but I truly don't know if it is
(24:51):
possible because the people who practice Christianity are
actually worshipping a government and that government
is the Vatican. I mean, right, maybe I'm wrong.
If you think I'm wrong, e-mail in esotericanonsense@gmail.com
or if you have your own personalstory about Christianity,
(25:11):
France, literally whatever, write in
esotericaandnonsense@gmail.com and with your permission, I will
read your story on the podcast. Literally anything.
OK, so I'm getting off topic. So during this time we are in
the 17th century, we're in France and Western Europe
(25:34):
really, and tensions are rising.And what I mentioned earlier is
Protestantism and Protestantism in bare bones Protestant.
Damn it, my mouth can't wrap around this.
Protestantism was really a movement about stripping down
Christianity to its bare bones and letting go of all the
(25:58):
lavishness of Catholicism, letting go of all the gold,
letting go of all the embroidered robes.
These were the people that, you know, the, the pilgrims that
came to the United States. They were people that were
adopting a very simplistic lifestyle because that is what
they believe the scriptures werepreaching and tensions were
(26:19):
rising in Western Europe during the 16th, sorry the 17th and
18th century. Protestant powers such as
England and the Dutch Republic often supported movements that
weakened Catholic unity, obviously because that benefited
the king of that nation if the people were showed more
allegiance to the king than theydid to the Vatican.
(26:40):
Indirectly this bolstered the Gallicanism movement and similar
efforts to decentralize papal power.
This also caused a lot of philosophical shifts. the
Enlightenment thinkers questioned traditional
authorities, including both monarchs and the Pope, fostering
an intellectual climate that weakened Gallicanism's religious
(27:03):
foundation. Boom.
Like and like think about this, these movements which question
the Catholic Church run hand in hand with the Enlightenment
period, this period that I find so many white scholars obsess
over the Enlightenment period, quote UN quote, of Europe.
It's kind of embarrassing because the rest of the world,
(27:26):
especially like the Arab world in Asia, even in the Americas,
these people were highly advanced and much more cleanly.
But anyway, the Enlightenment period of Europe we think of as
mostly philosophical, scientificart, poetry, but there was an
(27:47):
aspect of this that is religiouspeople were questioning the
Catholic Church and that was truly radical and I it deserves
we need to make space for that. OK, so during this time, the
major controversies and criticism really revolved around
(28:09):
the Johnsonist opposition from the Jesuits, which I touched on.
And the Jesuits could not stand the Johnsonists.
They just thought they were fullof shit.
They accused them of being too similar to Calvinism, mostly
because they kept talking about predestination, this idea that
like no matter how good you are,God may not save you.
(28:32):
And it's really kind of like up to God.
It's it's almost like this like destiny idea.
And officially, even though the papacy deemed Johnsonism
heretical meaning like against the Church, in 1642 they
released a a writing known as the Papal bowl Unigenitus, which
(28:57):
was written in 17130, which is even earlier I realized.
And this caused significant divisions in the French Church
as many Johnson supporters refused to accept this.
And I'll, I'll, I'll like expandon what this was the papal bowl.
(29:18):
And it was essentially like a, like a press release, if you
will, or, or a doctrine that thepapacy released, which was kind
of making clear who was right, who was wrong.
And they deeply condemned Johnsonism, and it also deeply
condemned Gallicanism. And the two movements became
(29:39):
intertwined because both of these movements reduce papal
authority in favor of local and national church autonomies.
And even the French monarchy viewed the Johnseness as
politically subversive. And I think that is important.
Even though the French monarchy did want its local authority,
they wanted it to be focused in the capital of of the monarchy,
(30:02):
obviously. And in a way, the Johnson's were
feared because they were a movement that could
theoretically have people thinking for themselves, and
that is dangerous, especially ina monarchy.
OK, so before I touch on Gallicanism, I am going to talk
(30:23):
about this. I publication this this writing
that the papacy released and it's known as the papal bowl of
Unigenitis. Unigenitis released in 1713.
So essentially Pope Clement the 11th issued this papal bowl and
(30:47):
this condemned the 101 propositions taken from the
works of the Yontinus theologianPascier Quesnel, particularly
from his books known as Reflection, Moral, Moral
Reflections. Unagenitis was a direct attack
(31:09):
on Johnsonism, targeting its views on grace, free will, and
the role of the sacraments. This publication led to the
widespread resistance in France,especially among Jensen and his
sympathizers, creating a theological crisis.
Right. So at this point, all of these
(31:30):
people now are questioning the papacy and pulling back.
And this led to a growing papal authority known as ultra
monetism. The Vatican sought to
centralized and strengthen its authority over national
churches, a proposition opposed by Gallicanism.
In France, the suppression of Jansenism was part of the
(31:51):
broader ultra monetist effort toassert papal control over
doctrine and suppressed regionalvariations in theology.
Like I don't this is, this is really just like getting me
going. I just, I just, I wish this was
the kind of stuff they taught usin school, you know, And so as
(32:14):
you can imagine, like, I'm just kind of giving you this context
of what's happening at the time in France, because this is all
kind of setting the stage for not only the Enlightenment
movement, but also the French Revolution.
There's tension between the Vatican and the monarchy,
between the monarchy and the nationalized churches and
(32:35):
between the Vatican and the national churches.
And there's this movement of people questioning authority,
and this is powerful. Questioning authority is so
powerful. Never let us forget this.
OK, so let's talk about Galkanism a little bit because I
(32:55):
know I've mentioned it quite a bit.
And let's like get deep into that.
But before, let's take a little break.
Hello dear Peppers, Thank you somuch for listening to the
podcast. I would love to hear from you.
(33:16):
I would love to hear your ghost stories, the fairy tales you
heard growing up, the weird visions that you've had, lucid
dreams, nightmares, freaky deakystuff.
Please e-mail in at esotericaandnonsense@gmail.com
and if you're comfortable, I will read your story on the
(33:38):
podcast. If you are a fan, I would love
to invite you to check out my online store.
The link is in my show notes. I have merchandise for the
podcast. There's tumblers, there's
sweatshirts, there's T-shirts, as well as a whole bunch of
other original art of mine that I am selling.
(33:59):
Thank you so much. And if you are a Gold Star fan,
you can check me out on Patreon.Every monthly donation helps me
tremendously as I am doing this show solo.
Baby, stay hydrated, Love you. OK, So what is Gallicanism?
(34:23):
My friends? The key tenets of Gallicanism
were one, the autonomy of national churches.
And again, this smells a lot like Johnsonism, right?
The French Church should have significant independence from
the Pope in administrative, legal, and doctrinal matters,
right? Obviously the Vatican hated this
(34:45):
number 2. The royal authority in Church
affairs, Galkanism, believed that the King, not the Pope, had
supreme authority over the temporal aspects of the Church
within France. They also believe that bishops
and clergy were subject to royaloversight in many areas,
including appointments #3 Galkanism believed that there
(35:09):
was limits on papal infallibility, meaning that the
Pope's decision were not seen asabsolute.
They required the approval of the ecumenical councils or local
bishops to have full effect. Oh, and like, oh, you can just
feel it. The Pope obviously hated this.
(35:30):
Number 4, the Galkanists believethey had a belief in opposition
to ultra monetism, this idea which advocated for strong papal
authority. So they were not for this idea
of this like one leader of Christianity and that there
could be localized leaders. It's pretty, it is actually
(35:53):
pretty radical. So interestingly, there are
medieval roots of Gallicanism. Gallicanism traces its roots to
conflicts between the papacy andthe European monarchs during the
Middle Ages, such as the Investiture Controversy and the
avian papacy. Now I'm just kind of like I,
(36:17):
there's like so much to talk about.
And so like, I just, I don't want to like go, I don't want to
like make this a four hour podcast.
But in a nutshell, this movementof Galkanism started much
earlier. It started in the Middle Ages.
And again, this is kind of what's the word I'm looking for.
(36:37):
Like it's, it makes total sense,right?
The Pope in a lot of ways wants to be seen as king of
Christianity. And in a way like the Pope
wanted to have more power than kings, and kings hated that.
And that's like, it's really just a battle of egos of men,
right? And that's like, it's it.
(37:01):
What's the word? I'm looking for it.
It sounds about white. We all know how men can be in
positions of power and how they react and interact with each
other. So Galkanism was really born of
the conflicts of male egos of Pope, local clergy and monarchs.
(37:21):
So into the 17th and 18th century, Galkanism reached its
peak, influenced by the broader political and religious
developments. So really what was happening is
that as Louis the 14th became king, he was really trying to
create an absolute monarchy. Louis the 14th was known as the
(37:45):
Sun King, and Gallicanism becamea key part of his effort to
centralized power. He believed in the divine right
of kings and saw the Pope as a potential rival to his
authority. So of course, even though
Gallicanism, I was born in the Middle Ages, once a king started
backing it, you know, that's when it really grew popularity.
And so to be clear, Gallicanism was condemned by the Vatican, by
(38:12):
the Pope, as well as Johnsonism,right?
So Johnsonism and Gallicanism were both equally heretical
according to the papacy. However, according to the French
monarchy, Gallicanism was a OK right, because Gallicanism was
advocating for the king being incharge of church affairs,
(38:33):
whereas Johnsonism was not. And that's an important
distinction here, right? And like, this is like where
we're seeing the difference between the conflict between
local clergy and the Vatican versus local clergy and the
monarch, right? So that it's, it's almost like
this love triangle of a battle of egos, if you will.
(38:55):
OK, blah, blah, blah. There's like, there's all this
like stuff with Gallicanism. I want to like stay on track
because technically what I really want to get into isn't
the supernatural stories of Johnsonism.
But in a nutshell, I just want to mention the legacy that
Gallicanism had and it really influenced national churches.
It influenced similar movements in other Catholic countries,
(39:18):
such as Febronianism in Germany,which I've actually never heard
of. Maybe we should do an episode on
that. And of course, we all know about
how the English Church eventually seceded from the
Catholic Church and really this idea of stocking the interest of
(39:40):
kings to take autonomy from the papacy and really kind of owning
their own authority. But eventually, as time went on
into the 19th century, a Pope named Pope Pius the 9th marked
the decline of Gallicanism as hecreated the declaration of papal
(40:04):
infallibility. And really like basically this
man, Pope Pius the 9th really kind of brought this authority
back and reclaimed his authorityas the ultimate king of of
Catholicism. OK, so let's let's skip forward.
(40:25):
I actually took I kind of overdid it on my notes and I
feel like I feel like I really did too much.
So now I want to talk about Francois Dipelli.
And this was the man who he did not start, sorry, he did not
(40:46):
start Jansenism, but he became, he, he was a clergyman who
really wrote and expanded upon its beliefs and and got more
followers. So this man, Francois de Paris,
was born in Paris around the year 16901690 to a wealthy and
(41:11):
noble family. Despite his privileged
background, he showed early signs of rejecting wealth and
comfort in favor of a devout aesthetic lifestyle.
He studied theology at the Sorbonne, where he was
influenced by the ideas of Johnsonism and its emphasis on
(41:31):
divine grace, human sinfulness, and moral rigorism.
He was ordained as a Deacon, andhe chose not to advance in the
priesthood, believing himself unworthy, a decision consistent
with Johnson's humility and selfabasement.
Oh my God dude, a Catholic reformation is I just, it's a
(41:52):
lot if you know what I mean. It really is.
He really believed in living a life of poverty and charity.
He renounced his inheritance andwealth, choosing instead to live
among the poor in the Faubel Somercel, which was a working
class district of Paris. He gave away his possessions,
(42:12):
and he lived a life of extreme poverty, often relying on
donations and alms. He was deeply involved in acts
of charity, helping the sick andthe destitute while emphasizing
their spiritual welfare. And to his credit, this is more
in line with the teachings of Jesus.
Like, I have to give him some credit.
You know, it doesn't necessarilysound like fun.
(42:35):
I'm not getting like the vibe that he's like a fun time.
And I do get that vibe from Jesus.
I do get the vibe that Jesus AKAYeshua, Golden Boy, I get that
the vibe that he was like smoking weed, right?
I'm not getting this vibe from Francois, but I will give him
some credit that this seems morein line with what Jesus was
(42:56):
really talking about, which was like not worrying about material
wealth and truly being charitable.
So Francois became a staunch defender of Johnsonism and it's
theology particularly he challenged this publication, the
(43:16):
papal bowl of of Unigenitus. And obviously as we mentioned
earlier, this papal publication condemned the Johnson's movement
and all of their doctrines. Francois refused to accept the
papal bowl and openly opposed its supporters, including many
bishops and high ranked clergy in France.
(43:39):
His resistance made him a symbolof the Jansenist cause,
particularly after his death. Respect.
So Francois. The Bailey's spiritual life was
characterized by extreme aestheticism, which reflected
his deep commitment to Johnson'sprinciples.
Reminder that aestheticism really means like a monk
lifestyle. Renouncing worldly possessions,
(44:02):
living simplist, simplistically living in caves.
Like, that kind of shit, right? So this, this is like some
pretty intense stuff. But Lhasa subjected himself to
harsh physical penances, including wearing hair shirts.
I don't really know what they mean by that.
(44:22):
Like human hair shirts, horse hair shirts.
Like probably not like cashmere or mohair, right?
Like probably a hair that's scratchy.
But anyway, he would he would dosmall self torture by wearing
quote hair shirts, sleeping on bare boards or The Dirty floor
(44:42):
and he would fast frequently. These practices were meant to
atone for his sin and imitate the sufferings of Christ.
I just love like the hair shirt aspect, like I will need to wear
the hair shirt so that I can imitate the sufferings of
Christ. I just love that, I just love
(45:06):
that So. He also had a deep devotion to
prayer and contemplation. Francois spent long hours in
prayer, often meditating on the themes of divine grace, human
sinfulness, and the passion of Christ.
And I do want to mention honorable mention to Hinduism
right now. This does remind me of the story
I heard of Kali and my friend who told it to me kind of like
(45:30):
throughout this phrase where he was like in India, we all know
that if a person meditates for long enough, the gods will grant
them with a single boon or like a single wish.
And so I just kind of want to mention that because Flash Wall
was meditating quite a bit and you know, as we'll get to in a
second, after he died, he allegedly was like granting all
(45:53):
these miraculous miracles and ina way became this like religious
giant or spiritual giant. So anyway, Flaswa's prayer life
emphasized humility and total dependence on God's grace, and
he really believed in Sacramentorigidity.
(46:15):
He advocated for strict preparation before receiving the
sacraments, particularly the Eucharist, and he frequently
confessed his sins. Emphasizing personal
accountability before God and charity was the cornerstone of
his spirituality. And I do respect that because
that is really what Christianitypreaches.
(46:36):
He viewed acts of charity as both moral obligation and a way
to live out the gospel of Christ.
And I have to agree with him. That's what the gospel says,
baby. That is what the gospel says.
He integrated his care for the poor with his theological
convictions, often using his interactions as opportunity for
(47:00):
wait, wait, wait. Could take wait, I don't know
this word. Catechesis.
Wait. Oh my God, this is so
embarrassing. Damn it.
I I actually looked this word upearlier because I was like, I'm
going to act like I know this word.
I don't know this word. And this is a reminder that we
(47:20):
don't know every word. Even if we speak a language, we
don't necessarily know the word.OK, I don't even know how to say
this Catechesis cat catechesis. This is a a Christian religious
education that teaches the fundamentals of faith to
(47:41):
children and adults. OK, OK, so kind of like the what
do you call it like religious instruction, almost like Sunday
school catechesis. Oh, sorry, it was out loud.
Catechesis, catechesis. OK, I don't that doesn't sound
right, but anyway, sorry, sorry,sorry.
(48:02):
So we just learned a word together.
And anyway, really what I'm getting at is that Francois
believed that caring for the poor was, was his Sunday school,
if you will, but those were his,his ways to learn of the
Christian doctrine. So let's get to the interesting
(48:27):
part. Let's get to the part we all
signed up for. Good evening, my Peppers.
Do you ever sit and wonder how can I help the world?
Things sometimes feel like they're going to shit.
(48:48):
The world feels like it's on fire.
What can we do? Well, I have a small act of
kindness in mind. Our planet is a plant Kingdom
planet. The plants are the basis of all
life. Plants have allowed living
(49:10):
organisms to thrive. Why not plant some more plants
Now? Maybe you don't know very much.
You say, Annabelle, I don't knowvery much about plants.
That's totally OK. Perhaps start with a succulent.
Most succulents barely need water, maybe once a month, and
(49:31):
honestly they do best with little to no water.
Also you can propagate more succulents from single leaves.
I highly recommend an agave. Agave is incredible.
It's easy, it's low maintenance,and you can use it for face
masks maybe. Perhaps you live in a house or
(49:53):
you have a property where you can plant a tree, even something
simple like a lemon tree. If every human being planted one
tree tomorrow, that would be almost 8 billion more trees on
planet Earth. With more trees, that is more
housing and food for animals. It is more oxygen for us to
(50:17):
breathe. We live symbiotically with
plants. So plant a little plant.
So let's talk about the death and legacy of Francois the
Belly. So as he lived, he did gain a
(50:38):
lot of traction and really kind of became the living figurehead
of the Johnson's movement. And he died fairly young, only
at the age 37 in the year 1727, likely due to the physical toll
of his aesthetic lifestyle and how little he ate and how hard
he was on his body. But his death was seen as the
(51:02):
culmination of a life lived in total devotion to God.
He left a legacy as a martyr of the Johnsonist movement, and
after his death, Johnsonist elevated Francois as a symbol of
their resistance to papal authority and the French
monarchy's control of the Church.
So he was buried in the cemeteryof Saint Medard, or I guess with
(51:28):
an American accent, St. Medard.
And I actually looked into it. Sadly, the cemetery is not like
an active cemetery to this day. A lot of it has kind of been
like dismantled and I think built over or like repurposed.
But at the time, this was a functioning cemetery.
(51:49):
And this cemetery became a Pilgrim pilgrimage site where
Johnson is would visit and reported miracles.
So this is it's just so interesting.
So the miracles were one thing and then there was also a group
(52:09):
of people like known as the Convulsionaries.
And like this is kind of like your classic, like speaking in
tongue situation. But people started visiting his
graves in huge numbers and they were claiming to have miraculous
healings or to start like convulsing, I guess, like almost
having epileptic fits. So during his life, Francois did
(52:32):
not claim to have miraculous powers.
However, after his death and thethings that were seen in his
tomb, this became evidence to Johnsonis the sanctity and God's
approval of Johnsonism. And this became a controversy.
And the controversy surrounding these miracles intensified the
divisions within the church and attracted scrutiny from both
(52:54):
religious and secular authorities.
So let's get into the miracles these and, and I did touch on
this in my last episode, but these were like huge news at the
time. People were talking about this
for like over 100 years. So there was numerous healings
(53:16):
that were recorded. Individuals claimed to have been
cured from chronic illnesses by visiting the tomb of Francois de
Pelli, including paralysis, blindness, cancer.
There are testimonies that were meticulously recorded, often
with medical details which supported the claims of these
(53:39):
individuals. There was also reports of a
static states of convulsion. Some pilgrims who came to the
tomb experience convulsive fits,trances or a static states at
the site. These individuals became known
as convulsionaries and they often displayed extraordinary
phenomenon such as speaking in tongues or prophesizing
(54:02):
surviving extreme physical trials without harm, such as
being struck or pierced. And these convulsionaries became
a hallmark of the miracle movement and were both
celebrated and ridiculed. And there also is an alleged
account of an entire St. of people outside the cemetery all
(54:25):
convulsing at the same time. There was also, pardon me, there
was also supernatural signs around the cemetery.
There was accounts of glowing lights and orbs, unusual weather
phenomenon, and other inexplicable occurrences near
the tomb. Oh my God, this is so cool.
(54:46):
Was Francois an alien? So let's get some details.
I'm going to give you receipts. One of the most famous healings
was the healing of a woman knownas Marian de Bazanvi.
Whatever. Sorry if I'm pronouncing your
name wrong. Marian.
This happened in 1727. She was suffering from a
(55:06):
debilitating illness that left her partially paralyzed and
bedridden. She visited the tomb and
reportedly experienced an instantaneous recovery.
Witnesses claimed she walked away unaided, praising God for
her healing. Another woman who was named
Mahalite Tibal in 1731, she was a young woman afflicted with
(55:32):
gangrene in her leg, meaning herleg was rotting away, and she
prayed fervently at Francois's tomb.
Allegedly, her leg reportedly healed overnight with no medical
explanation. The event was witnessed by a
crowd of pilgrims and documentedby observers and then a woman
named Catherine Vinal In 1732, she was suffering from severe
(55:57):
epilepsy. Catherine visited the tomb and
fell into an ecstatic state during a convulsive episode.
Afterwards, she was free from her seizure seizures, which she
attributed to the intercession of Francois.
What? So what's so interesting
historically is the unique and controversial aspect of the
(56:21):
miracles. And this was the
convulsionaries, the people thatwere having convulsions and
trances. This phenomenon was so
widespread at the tomb of Francois that the individuals
became known as the convulsionaries.
And this like became a coined term in France and greater
Europe. They would have physical
(56:41):
convulsions. Like I said, it would basically
they were having violent contortions.
They would roll on the ground. They would even enter rigid
trans like states. They would often emerge unharmed
and they were known to go through these extreme physical
tests like being pierced by rodsor walking on hot coals or or
(57:03):
like being burnt. And this became like the most
famous aspect of the the tomb ofFrancois.
The people who were known as theConvulsionaries often claimed to
receive divine messages or prophetic insights during their
(57:23):
trances. They often spoke in tongues or
recited scripture with fervor, attracting large crowds to
witness these events. And like I mentioned, these
glowing orbs and lights became super popular and there was
alleged moments where people would talk about localized
storms over the tomb where the rest of the cemetery would have
(57:48):
no rain. There would be orb light
circling his tomb. And like there was also
anecdotal reports mentioning miraculous events involving
animals such as sick livestock being healed.
And as you can imagine, the papacy was pissed hearing about
(58:12):
this, as was the king of France.How cool, How cool is the story?
I think the story is so interesting.
Like even if even if this was like just like a culty thing
that like maybe wasn't true. But again, like the orbs of
light like this, this is pretty wild.
And even if it was a gag and they were just fucking around
like they ate with that because the papacy got so fucking angry.
(58:38):
And interestingly, this whole movement really created more
tension politically in France. The supporters of Johnsonism
recorded the details of these miracles.
They had names, they had dates. And these part of why they were
recorded so intentionally was because how many counter
(59:00):
accusations of fraud that they had.
And interestingly, the papacy did send out clergy members to
go to France and watch this. And they did confirm that they
saw it. But the papacy rebranded this as
the work of the devil. That's how they handled this.
That's how the PR team handled this.
They were like, this happened. This is real, but it's devil's
(59:22):
work. And I'm just saying if the
papacy said that it happened, like it fucking happened, I'm
sorry. This is wild.
So this did create more political tensions and it really
did create more skepticism and church opposition.
The Catholic Church, particularly under the papal and
royal pressure, dismissed the miracles out of nervousness
(59:44):
because they really didn't want people to start questioning the
papacy. And local bishops were
initiating investigations, really hoping to have the public
not believe in these phenomenon.And So what sort of happening is
the Johnsonists were kind of gaining steam, Like they saw
(01:00:07):
this as proof that their beliefswere true and that God favoured
them. But this also created resentment
within the Catholic hierarchy and really started leaning into
the idea that Johnsonists were actually.
Promoting and participating in demonic activity, and there was
(01:00:29):
even critics within the French society, including government
officials. Obviously, the King himself and
even some people who are still practicing Catholics found this
to be disruptive and delinquent for people to be visiting the
cemetery, especially at night. It eventually became illegal for
(01:00:51):
these people to visit the cemetery and so they would often
visit in secret during the nighttime.
And in the Enlightenment circlesof the philosophers of the time
in France, a big name being Voltaire, he mocked the
phenomena of the Johnsonists as irrational and emblematic of
religious superstition. And like I said, this really led
to a government suppression in 1732 because crowds at the
(01:01:15):
cemetery were growing so big that King Louis the 15th ordered
the cemetery to be closed, famously stating that by royal
decree, we forbid God from performing any more miracles in
this place. Meaning that Louis the 15th had
the audacity to forbid God from performing miracles.
(01:01:36):
That's wild. That's fucking wild.
And and granted, I just like want to bring up that Louis the
15th was the father of Louis the16th and Louis the 16th was the
king that was beheaded during the French Revolution with, of
course, our girl Marie Antoinette.
So like, I just really want to plant that seed that this is,
this is part of the social and political religious climate that
(01:02:00):
was leading up to the French Revolution, right?
Johnsonism. Who fucking knew?
I didn't know. Another fun fact that I wanted
to mention is there was talk of alleged ghosts that were sighted
around the tomb of Francois. Specifically, there was a grave
(01:02:21):
known as the Weeping Grave, and legends hold that one of the
graves near Francois's tomb would mysteriously produce
tears, small droplets of water that people believed were
miraculous. The phenomenon was later
dismissed as natural condensation, but it added to
the cemetery's mystique. Also, sometimes locals reported
(01:02:45):
hearing wailing and chanting near the cemetery long after it
was abandoned. There was also a tombstone known
as the cursed Tombstone and there was a story that told of a
grainstone that supposedly causebad luck to anyone who touch it.
Some Johnsonis Johnsonis believethat this was a result of a
(01:03:05):
curse placed to protect FrancoisDipelli and other Johnsonists
who would visit the cemetery. Who knows?
So the legacy of these miracles did last and made a big impact
on Johnsonism, but also the political climate of France.
(01:03:26):
These miracles deepened divisions within the Catholic
Church and the Johnsonist movement and a mystical
dimension that further set it apart from mainstream
Catholicism. Right, Like Johnsonism is now
becoming more and more estrangedfrom Catholicism and really
diving back into the mysticism and like the magic and
(01:03:51):
ultimately the idea of the convulsionaries and the people
speaking in tongues and all of that is really what alienated
most modern Johnson is from continuing to practice it.
I think that's like, it's like kind of like the mega church
vibe. It really like I think pushed
people away, but it really LED during the Enlightenment period.
(01:04:12):
This led to debates on supernatural phenomenon.
The events around the tomb of Francois fueled debates and
philosophical conversations about the nature of miracles and
the role of God in everyday life.
They were cited by both sides inthe broader Enlightenment era
arguments about faith, science and superstition.
(01:04:36):
Some modern interpretations is that today some historians and
psychologists have studied this phenomenon of the
convulsionaries as a case of mass hysteria, religious fervor
and social rebellion. And that doesn't surprise me
because in our modern day, we really have put less and less
(01:04:57):
belief into things like mysticism and really like come
at everything from a perspectiveof like, it can be explained
with logical thinking. But who's to say?
Like, maybe there was really religious miracles happening,
spiritual miracles, I should say.
Who? I wasn't there, were you there?
(01:05:19):
So this is where it gets really interesting.
I mean, I think it's already pretty interesting, don't you?
But after these miracles startedhappening and becoming
widespread, the Vatican obviously intensified its
efforts to root out Jensen, his supporters, using the
(01:05:40):
Congregation of the Holy Office,AKA the Inquisition, to
investigate suspected heretics. Bishops who refused to enforce
Unigenitis faced censure or removal attempts to control the
narrative as well. The papal and boys and clergy in
(01:06:02):
France work to counter the Johnsonist narrative, portraying
the miracles as fantastical and undermining the credibility.
This is kind of where the Vatican and the King of France,
Louis the 15th, did align because they both wanted the
Johnsonist gone, and really the long term impact of the
(01:06:26):
Vatican's behaviour led to increase centralization because
of the suppression of the Johnson's movement.
This marked a significant step toward the centralization of
papal authority, culminating in the doctrine of papal
infallibility at the First Vatican Council.
(01:06:46):
And really, this led to a more strained relationship with
France. The Jensenist controversy left a
legacy of distrust between the Vatican and the French Church,
which persisted into the 19th century.
There was a polarization within Catholicism at this point.
The Vatican's rejection of Jensenism alienated many devout
(01:07:08):
Catholics, who desired greater moral and theological rigor.
This polarization laid the groundwork for later, later
reformist movements both within and outside the church, and
ultimately this led to religioustensions.
And this religious tension was deeply a part of the eventual
(01:07:30):
French Revolution. What?
Come on people, come on. This is your daily reminder that
you are pure magic and the worldaround you is magic.
Don't forget to enjoy, take advantage of it.
Did you know there have been studies that our thoughts and
(01:07:53):
words can change the molecules around us?
A Japanese scientist did a studywhere he spoke to water and
froze it. Some of the water he told I love
you, whereas other water he would say I hate you.
And after he froze these containers of water, he found
that the molecular structure hadchanged.
(01:08:17):
And essentially the water that he had said I love you too
became an incredible patchwork of sacred geometry, organized,
gorgeous, architecturally incredible.
Whereas the ones that he said I hate you too had a chaotic
structure. This is your reminder to be kind
(01:08:38):
to yourself. Your body is something like
7080% water. So the things that you say to
yourself, the things that you say out loud truly change
reality. You are incredible.
Forget not. So ultimately, we kind of
(01:09:01):
already can see where this is going because of the Jensenness
movement. It created discord between the
Papacy and Jansenism, but also Jansenism created discord
between the monarchy. And while this was all
happening, there was also Gallicanism, which the monarchy
(01:09:22):
was supporting but the Vatican wasn't, as well as philosophers
and Enlightenment thinkers. And because all of these
movements were in direct contrast with each other, it
really started to debase where people left their allegiance of
beliefs. And usually what the papacy
would do was put out doctrine and information to counteract
(01:09:47):
things like Enlightenment movement and to really keep
people loyal to the beliefs of the papacy.
But really what was happening inFrance is all these
counterculture movements were creating a more diverse soup and
ultimately creating a culture ofquestioning authority.
I think it's really important toremember like this is like 102
(01:10:08):
hundred year period where it became more normal for people to
question authority. Obviously, religious people were
questioning the authority of thechurch or the king, but also
people, intellectuals and philosophers were questioning
the beliefs of the king and the papacy.
And I think that this is such animportant concept and a thing
(01:10:31):
that we need to contextualize about this time period and how
it eventually led to the French Revolution.
Because leading up to the FrenchRevolution, there was almost 200
years of people beginning to question, just question things.
And I really, I really do think that it's such a powerful
sentiment. And so all of these movements
(01:10:53):
really created more schisms within French culture.
There was the Gallicanism movement that was kind of toying
between nationalism and religion.
There was the Jansenist movementthat was kind of understanding
the difference between like localized spirituality versus
ultra monetism, the idea of having like one supreme ruler of
(01:11:16):
religion. And there was also the Jesuits
that were kind of toying betweenthe idea of quietism and
mysticism, the difference between the emphasis on
passiveness or the emphasis on the mystical union with God.
And while this is all happening,philosophers and artists are
going through the Enlightenment period period.
And this Enlightenment period really was about a criticism of
(01:11:40):
the Church. Enlightenment thinkers such as
Voltaire, Rousseau, Diderot. They criticized the Catholic
Church for its perceived corruption, dogmatism, and
alliance with absolutist monarchies.
The Church's role in suppressingmovements like Johnsonism and
Quietism made a target for thoseadvocating reason, liberty, and
(01:12:01):
individualism. This led to the reason versus
faith debate. The Enlightenment period
elevated reason and scientific inquiry over religious doctrine,
which challenged the traditionalChristian beliefs.
The philosopher Voltaire mocked the miracles of the Jansenists
(01:12:21):
at the tomb of Francois, but he also was mocking Catholicism.
A lot of the time. There was a huge anti clergical
sentiment that was beginning to grow in France.
The church's wealth privilege and perceived oppression of
dissent fueled resentment among the middle and lower class.
And I think this is so importantbecause as they started
(01:12:44):
questioning the privilege of thepapacy, they also began to
question the privilege of the monarchy.
This is huge. Ultimately, the religious
tensions in France weakened the authority of the Church.
This left the the social structure of France to be quite
(01:13:05):
fragmented and vulnerable. By the time of the French
Revolution, the Church had lost much of its moral and spiritual
authority in the eyes of the French people.
There began to also be anti clergical legislation.
The revolution targeted the church as a symbol of privilege
and oppression. There was a civil constitution
of the clergy in 1790. This stated that the
(01:13:29):
nationalized church property andplaced the clergy under state
control. Clergy were required to swear
loyalty to the revolutionary government, further dividing the
church into constitutional clergy, those who compelled and
refractory clergy, which were those who resisted.
And this is really interesting because this is not necessarily
(01:13:53):
a separation of church and state, but this is a separation
of church with the old mega church being the papacy, right?
And so the, during the revolution, they really took
that into account. They were asking clergy to be
loyal to the localized government and the local
culture. I I really do think this is so
(01:14:13):
interesting and a really big aspect of the French Revolution
was a revolution, a revolutionary movement of
dechristianization. There were radical people who
sought to erase Catholic influence by and by the cult of
Reason, and later the cult of the Supreme Being replaced
(01:14:34):
Catholic rituals with secular ceremonies.
Churches were desecrated and clergy were persecuted and
executed during the Reign of Terror in 1793 through 1794.
Like what? I didn't even know about any of
the religious prosecution that was happening during the French
Revolution. This is monumental.
(01:14:56):
The Johnsonist emphasis on moralrigor, individual
accountability, and resistance to unjust authority resonated
with revolutionary ideals, so even people who weren't
necessarily Johnsonist were veryimpacted by the culture that
Johnsonism created. Many revolutionaries admire the
Johnsonist opposition to absolutism and saw their
(01:15:19):
struggle as a precursor to the fight for political liberty.
Fuck yes dude, the legacy and tensions of the post
revolutionary France really created a society based around
secularization. The revolution laid the
foundation for secular French republics.
(01:15:41):
Sorry, a secular French Republicwith the separation of church
and state formalized in the 19thcentury.
Or at least an attempted separation of church and state,
right? The religious tensions continued
on, especially under the reign of Napoleon and during the
restoration of France. Obviously, like I mentioned, as
(01:16:02):
time went on, Johnsonism began to decline, especially because
through the movement of the Enlightenment, people became
more and more skeptical of things such as like speaking in
tongues and and suit things thatwere like seem too mystical.
Obviously like alchemy was superpopular at the time and
Hermeticism, but this was kind of based more on mysticism
(01:16:23):
through the lens of logic and less through the lens of
spirituality. And through the French
Revolution, it also led to a bigshift in papal authority.
The Vatican lost a lot of influence over the French period
over sorry, over the French people during this period
period. And it contributed to the
(01:16:44):
eventual retreat from direct political involvement in
national affairs. And that is that is something I
really want you to leave with today.
The Vatican has a fierce PR department and the French
Revolution did really change theglobal environment because due
(01:17:09):
to the French Revolution and I think in my opinion, the
succession of the English Church, I think the papacy
learned an important lesson to be very strategic on how they
involve themselves politically and to basically do it with more
stealth. They can't appoint themselves as
(01:17:31):
king, but they have to do it in a little bit more subtle and
manipulative way. Because now we have reached a
point in history where people are not fucking having it.
Kings aren't having it and localpeople are not having it.
And that is why I'm so excited to learn about the Johnson S
movement and it. I do think it's not a
coincidence that I have never heard of it and I think most
(01:17:53):
people have never heard of it because our beliefs, whether you
are religious or not, whether you are spiritual or not, our
beliefs shape our reality. And when people started to
believe that they shouldn't be reporting to the papacy, that
they shouldn't be reporting to the king, it did change the
(01:18:15):
culture of their nation. It did take 150 years, almost
200 years to gain momentum. But even people who weren't even
practicing Johnson's were influenced by the sphere of
these beliefs that they should question authority.
And that is a very powerful sentiment.
And that is something that I think we should all leave with
(01:18:37):
today. We really nothing has control
over us except the things that we allow to have control over
us. Even if even if we think that we
have no autonomy within our own minds and within our within our
own body. Nothing can actually change your
inner world and your beliefs. They can totally have power over
(01:19:00):
you physically, but no one can actually change your beliefs
unless you let them. And I, I just, I am really
inspired by this concept and this movement of Johnsonism
because it really is radical forits time period.
And it really did set in motion the French Revolution.
I, that is just so interesting. And, and the fact that within,
(01:19:24):
let's see, the French Revolutionhappened in like 1793 or
something, right? 17-9 in the 1790s, like Francois
the pal, he died in 1727. So literally just like 63 years
after this man died, the French Revolution happened.
And I, I, that's really not thatmuch time that, that is, that is
(01:19:47):
really interesting to me. And the legacy, the legacy that
we have on each other is really a butterfly effect.
Even even if you don't become famous, even if no one knows
your name, the actions that you have as a person can shape.
The world around you and that can catch fire.
(01:20:07):
Ideas can grow and that is powerful.
Anyway, I feel like I could talkabout this forever.
I had so much fun doing a deep dive.
I hope you had just as much fun as me.
Your thoughts, opinions and beliefs are powerful.
Never forget that. Let's create a beautiful world
together. I love that.
(01:20:27):
I want that. I'm doing it with or without
you, so you can do it or not, but I'm going to do it.
Get with it, we're going to plant trees and eat fruit with
our titties out. I love you so much.
Over and out baby. Happy 2025.
Hello and welcome to Esoterica and Nonsense, a podcast where we
discuss myths, legends, folk tales, fairy tales, supernatural
phenomenon and religions from around the world.
I am your host, Annabelle. You know what it is?
It's basically story time. It's basically me going on deep
(00:58):
dives on the Internet to learn about some old ancient shit that
we've all forgotten, and I research it so you don't have
to. It's 2025, baby.
I'm recording this on January 1st, 2025, and I'm amped.
I feel so excited. I feel so, so, so excited about
(01:21):
life. And I just feel a resurgence of
inspiration and admiration. And I really just think about
the legacy of human beings that have contributed to humanity
through creativity, art. And that's like, that's what I
(01:43):
want to do. I want to create things.
That's, that's that's the part of humanity I'm most proud of.
And that's the part of me that Iwant to really focus on in my
life. And I just feel really inspired
to do it. And I just have so much love and
gratitude for this beautiful planet that we live on.
Planet Earth, as we call it, andI'm yes, yes, so happy to be
(02:08):
here. Happy New Year's, everyone.
Also a reminder, I had a headache for almost 2 days.
I never get headaches. I was very confused.
I was drinking plenty of water, but I realized it was an
electrolyte issue. So I just put a little bit of
pink Himalayan salt in my water and it completely cured my
headache. Everything's fine.
(02:29):
So this is your reminder to makesure you're getting your
electrolytes, please and thank you.
Also, I have my window open because I'm here living in the
Yucatan and it's the sun is setting and it's easily 80°
right now and it's just with thewindow closed, it's unbearable.
And I can't really have the fan on while I record.
So let's hope that the Peppers outside don't bark too much
(02:51):
during recording or else we're going to be hot.
We're going to be hot boxing sage and sweating our little
booties off. But anyway, let's stop dilly
dallying. Let's get to the meat of this.
This is going to be a doozy. Everyone.
I'm warning you now. This is going to be a doozy.
(03:12):
If you didn't listen to the previous episode, which was
about Gateway experiences and the holographic theory, I
mention a phenomenon that happened in France in the 1700s
about a man named Francois de Paris, and he was a member of a
(03:34):
sect of Christianity called Johnsonism.
I was actually calling it Yonsenism only I, I, I actually
didn't know the pronunciation and I assumed it was pronounced
Yonsenism simply because it was a, it was originated in, in
Holland. It was, it was Dutch.
(03:54):
And you know, like, I don't know, there's like the name
Johann and like the last name Johansson.
I guess that's, that is AJ. But they, they haven't say
Johansson or Johannesburg or like whatever, I don't know.
So I just assumed it was Jansenism.
But I finally looked it up on how to pronounce it and I was
incorrect. So strike that from the record.
(04:16):
Pepper was wrong. And apparently in English you
say Jansenism, Johnsonism, and in in French it's Johnsonism.
So I'm just going to say Johnsonism.
I that's like the best we can dowith my crude American peasant
(04:37):
accent. But anyway, this episode we are
going to do a deep dive into Johnsonism.
What is Johnsonism? And we're going to talk about
how Johnsonism left a legacy notonly on the Christian culture of
Europe, but also in the political culture and how
(05:00):
Johnsonism paved way and was part of the culture that
eventually resulted in the French Revolution and the
supernatural shit with it. Because it's fucking
supernaturalist book. It's some wild stuff and I can't
wait. So let's get into it.
(05:21):
So what is Johnson ISM, you ask?I I had never heard of it,
honestly, until I was rereading the holographic Universe and
they talked about some of the supernatural occurrences that
started happening. But Johnson ISM was a
theological movement within Catholicism.
It it originated in the 17th century.
(05:41):
So the 17th century would be the1600s.
Just. I have to say that out loud.
I don't know if that helps you. It helps me because, yeah, I I
don't know, I guess some people all act like we all know that.
But sometimes I just need that reminder.
I say it to myself every time I hear whatever century.
OK, so Johnsonism is based on the teachings of a man named
(06:06):
Cornelius Johnson. And.
OK, pause. I'm pretty.
I mean, if this was, if he was Dutch, they, his name was
probably Cornelius Jansen, right?
I feel like it is Jansenism. I, this is just like an
intuition thing, but in English it's Johnsonism.
So we're just going to roll withthat because I'm speaking
(06:28):
English. So let's move on.
OK. So Cornelius Johnson was a Dutch
theologian and just theology is essentially like the study of
spirituality academically, just in a nutshell.
And so this man who was a theologian would publish works
(06:50):
and really like his writings that were kind of derivative of
Catholicism, focused on originalsin, human depravity, and the
necessity of divine grace and predestination, aligning with
certain aspects of Saint Augustine's teachings.
So in a nutshell, he was kind ofa simplistic believer in the
(07:16):
Bible and believed that, you know, you know, humans were born
depraved and born with sin and that only divine grace could
like relieve you of that. But the the aspect of Saint
Augustine that I find interesting and the aspect of
Johnsonism that was radical at the time was that the Cornelius
(07:39):
Johnson preached that it was important to have a personal
connection with God and that youpaying tribute to the Vatican
was not necessary. And that it was more important
for you to have a personal relationship with God.
And if anything, you would pay your respects or your taxes to
(08:00):
your local church and community,which honestly eats.
I love that. I kind of prefer that vibe,
especially because in my opinion, I do think the Vatican
is its own government and has Coopted Christianity to control
people. And really that's what a lot of
Johnsonism is about. And that's what we're going to
kind of uncover. As you can imagine, the Vatican
(08:23):
denounced Johnsonism and couldn't fucking stand it.
And really, this was at the timea radical movement.
And again, this man who started it was starting this in the
1600s. And this was a radical thing at
the time. To be a consider yourself a
Catholic and to say I do not have the Vatican as my highest
(08:45):
authority, My highest authority with God is my relationship with
God. Radical and honestly chef's kiss
love you Cornelius. So Cornelius Johnson was a
Bishop and he was deeply influenced by Saint Augustine's
writing. And really like the aspect of
Saint Augustine's writing that really captivated him was
(09:08):
writings about grace and salvation.
And really Cornelius Johnson as well as Saint Augustine critique
the perceived laxity of Catholicmoral theology.
And they stress the need for divine grace and salvation.
(09:28):
Again, they're really focusing on asking for salvation from God
and not asking the Vatican for personal salvation, which makes
sense. I mean, like, we're like
academically, right? If you read the Bible and
believe in God, your relationship with God would be
the most important covenant, right?
(09:52):
Versus like a church in Rome, right?
Just just academically speaking.OK, Anyway, So Johnson, sorry,
pardon me, I'm, I'm, if you can't tell, I am so excited
about this. I'm, I'm telling you, this is a
this is this type of stuff really gets me going.
(10:13):
It's like a it's like a hot cup of coffee.
It's like an iced cup of coffee.OK, so Johnsonism spread and
gain traction primarily in France, interestingly, and
particularly among clergy and intellectuals, most notably at
the Abbey of Point of Port Royalnear Paris.
(10:36):
And this makes sense to me, right?
Intellectuals and clergy memberswho are actually reading the
scriptures would totally have identified with these teachings
because they are reading the scriptures and interpreting the
Scriptures intellectually. And I'm sure we're finding a
whole bunch of problematic issues with the Vatican, you
know, that kind of can go unsaid.
(10:58):
And so key supporters of this movement include famous
theologians such as Jean du Vergier du Aujon.
And this was basically an Abbot of a French church and a man
named Blaise Pascal. I didn't really do a deep dive
into these men. And if you want to, please do.
(11:21):
But this is just, there's so much information to cover.
So we're just like, we're whipping through it because
we're going to be. I want to get you to the meat.
I want to get to the meat. OK.
So as you can imagine, as I've already touched on, and as you
are already thinking in your smart little brain, the Catholic
Church did not like this movement one bit.
(11:45):
It was Johnsonism was officiallycondemned as heretical by Pope
Urban the 8th in 1642, and againby subsequent popes including
Pope Innocent the 10th and Pope Clement the 11th.
They were not having it. I mean, obviously this is kind
of to be expected. Anyway.
The Vatican's like a tyrannical government will not take any
(12:10):
person undermining their authority.
And again, I just want to say like right here, I know, like, I
don't know, I, I'm very opinionated and I know sometimes
when I get fired up, I like, I, I don't want to be condemning.
I'm not against spirituality andI love spirituality.
I'm just very skeptical of any religious order because I notice
(12:33):
it preys upon exploiting people for money and for power.
And that is not what any spirituality is about, truly,
truly and including Christianity.
And so I'm sad. I'm sad that the teachings of a
quote UN quote prophet, whether you believe he is or not,
(12:54):
teachings of a man became conflated to control people both
with their beliefs and with their finances.
And it's, it's fascinating because if you can control
people's beliefs, you can actually control reality to a
certain extent. And it is sad to me how much of
these teachings, which are basedin radical acceptance and
(13:16):
compassion have been tainted to bigotry and and oppression.
That is like so sad to me. So I'm just saying that because
I don't really want to be sitting here condemning people,
but I I think that we should allbe questioning any religious
authority. And I think the Vatican is an
(13:37):
easy structure to look at because it's so famous and has
been around for so long and has such a widespread chokehold on
countries around the world, specifically countries that were
colonized by European countries.OK.
They're the Peppers are barking.They're like, preach.
Thank you. Thank you Peppers.
(13:58):
OK, so key beliefs of Johnsonism.
I mentioned of these a little bit before.
Original sin and human nature, right?
I mean, this is like the classicself loathing Catholic ideals.
Do we have to close the window? OK, you know what, let's take a
break. I'm going to close the window so
(14:20):
that the Peppers aren't so loud.Love you one second.
Hello. We're coming at you live from
the Pepper World headquarters. It's 2025, baby.
It's 2025. This is your reminder to follow
your dreams. This is your reminder to get
creative. This is your life.
(14:42):
You are only going to be this version of you for a one time
only offer one time only situation.
Live it up, babe. Live it up.
I believe in you. You can do this and the sky is
the limit. I'm so excited for you.
(15:04):
Sometimes the hardest part of the creative process is judging
ourselves and stopping ourselvesbefore we even start because of
whatever, because we think, oh, I'll never make it, or I'm not
good enough, whatever. No master was born a master.
(15:25):
Every single master of of music,of painting, of dance, of
architecture, whatever, spent years, decades cultivating those
things. And there's only one you in the
whole world, and they will only ever be one of you.
So take it to the bank, baby. Believe in yourself.
(15:45):
It might take time, it might nothappen overnight, but you can
actually do this. I'm telling you and you know
that it's true. You can do this. 2025.
Believe in yourself, baby. And we're back.
Window was closed and we are sweating bullets.
And I do this just for you. Love you.
(16:07):
OK. Key beliefs of Johnsonism really
revolves around original sin andhuman nature.
We all know the drill. Classic Catholicism.
Essentially, human nature is believed to be deeply corrupted
by original sin, and without thedivine grace of God, humans are
incapable of doing good or attaining salvation.
(16:28):
A little bit extreme in my opinion, but let's roll with it.
So of course, divine grace and salvation depend entirely by
God's grace and not human effort.
Grace is irresistible and granted only to the elect
(16:49):
emphasizing predestination. So basically, like God will
choose you and that's God's prerogative, and there is
nothing that you can do that is will necessarily negate or
ensure that you will receive God's grace.
And then of course, they believed in moral rigorism.
(17:10):
They had a strict moral discipline and aestheticism,
which were essential to their beliefs.
So they were very bare bones, you know, monk like renouncing
possessions and so, so on and soforth.
And interestingly, the Johnsonists were critical to the
Jesuits and they accused them ofpromoting LAX moral theology,
(17:34):
mostly through their concept of probalism.
Wait, hold on, I actually forgotto I I I really want to define
probabilism because that's one of those words that I like only
know through context and not through the exact definition.
So, oh, sorry, probab probable probabilism is a theory that
(17:58):
states that when certainty is not possible, plausibility or
truth likeness is the best criteria on.
Interesting. So got it.
So basically, in a nutshell, theJohnsonists believes that the
Jesuits were just a little bit too LAX and they made too many
(18:21):
assumptions for things they couldn't be sure about.
So as you can see here, in a way, you could argue that
Johnsonists are like what Catholics wish they were.
They're a little bit more militant, a little more simple,
a little bit more litigious to the scripture and simplicity,
which I can respect. And, you know, like, if you're
(18:41):
going to follow the scriptures, follow the scriptures, baby.
That's all I'm going to say. And there was also some
criticism of the sacraments. And I think This is why the
Vatican couldn't take it. Johnson is advocated for
infrequent reception of the Eucharist, believing it required
(19:04):
rigorous preparation and purity.They opposed that when they saw,
They opposed what they saw as overuse or misuse of confession.
And I also find this interesting, meaning that they
really believed in intention anytime there was to be a fast
or a confession to really do it with intention and not to be
(19:26):
going through the motions. And ultimately, like I can get
down with this. I really understand what they're
saying theologically. They're kind of saying like,
let's be more intentional about our religion that we are
following. Like it's our job radical.
So let's just like learn a little bit more about what was
(19:47):
happening in this era, right? This movement, Johnsonism was
born in the mid 1600s and then gained momentum throughout the
1700s. And so I'm just going to give
you like some broader context ofthis era so you can really
understand like what's happeninggeopolitically.
And specifically, like, we're focusing on France mostly
(20:07):
because this is where Johnsonismreally took off.
So during this time during the 17th century, there was a lot of
religious conflicts. Europe was still dealing with
the aftermath of the Reformationand the Counter Reformation.
And actually I did touch on thisa little bit in an episode I
have about the Devil's or the possessions of Ludon.
(20:29):
And this was a time in France where there was a Protestant
movement that was coming up and there was essentially like small
genocides happening throughout the French countryside to keep
the Protestants suppressed. And I mean, this is also the
tail end of the bubonic plague. And so there was just a lot of
(20:51):
like interesting tensions between village culture and
culture of the capital, which ofcourse is like culture of the
king and and kings finding ways to control village culture in in
a nutshell. So of course, naturally the
Catholic Church sought to reassert its authority, while
(21:14):
movements like Gallicanism and Johnsonism resisted.
And I'm going to get into Gallicanism in one second, but I
also find that movement really interesting.
And in a nutshell, you know, theCatholic Church is a government.
It in a sense it is a, the Pope is a king to a certain extent,
(21:34):
or really the emperor of Rome arguably.
So this was a time where there was a lot of tension between the
papacy, the kings of different countries of Europe and then the
villages and the and the beliefsof the people in those villages.
Also, there was a big kind of conflict between absolutism and
(21:57):
nation state. So really what I mean is that
there was monarchs. A great example would be Louis
the 14th of France. He sought to consolidate power,
and this was often clashing withthe church, which had
traditionally wielded significant influence.
Right. So like, this is it, It's kind
of like a layered conflict because the papacy wants full
(22:20):
power. The king of said country.
We're talking about France rightnow.
The king of France wants full power.
And then of course, the local clergy and villages are having
their own beliefs. And so it's, it's like, which
overlord, which big boss is going to win in controlling the
(22:40):
beliefs of the locals? This is, it's this is so
fascinating to like, not to go on a full side tangent, but part
of why I find this subject so interesting is because I
obviously grew up in the United States and there is this part of
our is it the Constitution? Sorry, correct me if I'm wrong,
(23:02):
but I believe it's in our Constitution.
There's, there is a, there is a,there is a phrase that is a big
part of the American ideology that there is a separation
between church and state. And obviously I think that there
should be a separation of churchand state.
(23:23):
However, I don't think it's actually possible specifically
with Christianity and specifically with the type of
Christianity that is practice inthe United States.
Because Christianity in the United States was brought over
by Europeans and the Christianity that they practice
was taught to them by the Catholic Church.
(23:47):
And of course then it would branch out.
You know, there was Anglicans and Protestants and whatever,
right? There are so many branches of
Christianity through Western Europe, but they all became Co
opted by the papacy, which was developed to control people as a
government. So I do think it's really
(24:07):
interesting, this concept of separation of church and state
from the lens of the American culture, because I don't think a
lot of us, I mean me, I'll, I'lljust speak for myself.
I don't think I was ever educated growing up how much
nuance there was about the papacy, the Roman church, and
(24:29):
how it began, and also the religious history of Europe and
the religious history that is interwoven in the government
history. There wasn't ever really a
separation of church and state. So this ideal to separate them
now is a beautiful idea, but I truly don't know if it is
(24:51):
possible because the people who practice Christianity are
actually worshipping a government and that government
is the Vatican. I mean, right, maybe I'm wrong.
If you think I'm wrong, e-mail in esotericanonsense@gmail.com
or if you have your own personalstory about Christianity,
(25:11):
France, literally whatever, write in
esotericaandnonsense@gmail.com and with your permission, I will
read your story on the podcast. Literally anything.
OK, so I'm getting off topic. So during this time we are in
the 17th century, we're in France and Western Europe
(25:34):
really, and tensions are rising.And what I mentioned earlier is
Protestantism and Protestantism in bare bones Protestant.
Damn it, my mouth can't wrap around this.
Protestantism was really a movement about stripping down
Christianity to its bare bones and letting go of all the
(25:58):
lavishness of Catholicism, letting go of all the gold,
letting go of all the embroidered robes.
These were the people that, you know, the, the pilgrims that
came to the United States. They were people that were
adopting a very simplistic lifestyle because that is what
they believe the scriptures werepreaching and tensions were
(26:19):
rising in Western Europe during the 16th, sorry the 17th and
18th century. Protestant powers such as
England and the Dutch Republic often supported movements that
weakened Catholic unity, obviously because that benefited
the king of that nation if the people were showed more
allegiance to the king than theydid to the Vatican.
(26:40):
Indirectly this bolstered the Gallicanism movement and similar
efforts to decentralize papal power.
This also caused a lot of philosophical shifts. the
Enlightenment thinkers questioned traditional
authorities, including both monarchs and the Pope, fostering
an intellectual climate that weakened Gallicanism's religious
(27:03):
foundation. Boom.
Like and like think about this, these movements which question
the Catholic Church run hand in hand with the Enlightenment
period, this period that I find so many white scholars obsess
over the Enlightenment period, quote UN quote, of Europe.
It's kind of embarrassing because the rest of the world,
(27:26):
especially like the Arab world in Asia, even in the Americas,
these people were highly advanced and much more cleanly.
But anyway, the Enlightenment period of Europe we think of as
mostly philosophical, scientificart, poetry, but there was an
(27:47):
aspect of this that is religiouspeople were questioning the
Catholic Church and that was truly radical and I it deserves
we need to make space for that. OK, so during this time, the
major controversies and criticism really revolved around
(28:09):
the Johnsonist opposition from the Jesuits, which I touched on.
And the Jesuits could not stand the Johnsonists.
They just thought they were fullof shit.
They accused them of being too similar to Calvinism, mostly
because they kept talking about predestination, this idea that
like no matter how good you are,God may not save you.
(28:32):
And it's really kind of like up to God.
It's it's almost like this like destiny idea.
And officially, even though the papacy deemed Johnsonism
heretical meaning like against the Church, in 1642 they
released a a writing known as the Papal bowl Unigenitus, which
(28:57):
was written in 17130, which is even earlier I realized.
And this caused significant divisions in the French Church
as many Johnson supporters refused to accept this.
And I'll, I'll, I'll like expandon what this was the papal bowl.
(29:18):
And it was essentially like a, like a press release, if you
will, or, or a doctrine that thepapacy released, which was kind
of making clear who was right, who was wrong.
And they deeply condemned Johnsonism, and it also deeply
condemned Gallicanism. And the two movements became
(29:39):
intertwined because both of these movements reduce papal
authority in favor of local and national church autonomies.
And even the French monarchy viewed the Johnseness as
politically subversive. And I think that is important.
Even though the French monarchy did want its local authority,
they wanted it to be focused in the capital of of the monarchy,
(30:02):
obviously. And in a way, the Johnson's were
feared because they were a movement that could
theoretically have people thinking for themselves, and
that is dangerous, especially ina monarchy.
OK, so before I touch on Gallicanism, I am going to talk
(30:23):
about this. I publication this this writing
that the papacy released and it's known as the papal bowl of
Unigenitis. Unigenitis released in 1713.
So essentially Pope Clement the 11th issued this papal bowl and
(30:47):
this condemned the 101 propositions taken from the
works of the Yontinus theologianPascier Quesnel, particularly
from his books known as Reflection, Moral, Moral
Reflections. Unagenitis was a direct attack
(31:09):
on Johnsonism, targeting its views on grace, free will, and
the role of the sacraments. This publication led to the
widespread resistance in France,especially among Jensen and his
sympathizers, creating a theological crisis.
Right. So at this point, all of these
(31:30):
people now are questioning the papacy and pulling back.
And this led to a growing papal authority known as ultra
monetism. The Vatican sought to
centralized and strengthen its authority over national
churches, a proposition opposed by Gallicanism.
In France, the suppression of Jansenism was part of the
(31:51):
broader ultra monetist effort toassert papal control over
doctrine and suppressed regionalvariations in theology.
Like I don't this is, this is really just like getting me
going. I just, I just, I wish this was
the kind of stuff they taught usin school, you know, And so as
(32:14):
you can imagine, like, I'm just kind of giving you this context
of what's happening at the time in France, because this is all
kind of setting the stage for not only the Enlightenment
movement, but also the French Revolution.
There's tension between the Vatican and the monarchy,
between the monarchy and the nationalized churches and
(32:35):
between the Vatican and the national churches.
And there's this movement of people questioning authority,
and this is powerful. Questioning authority is so
powerful. Never let us forget this.
OK, so let's talk about Galkanism a little bit because I
(32:55):
know I've mentioned it quite a bit.
And let's like get deep into that.
But before, let's take a little break.
Hello dear Peppers, Thank you somuch for listening to the
podcast. I would love to hear from you.
(33:16):
I would love to hear your ghost stories, the fairy tales you
heard growing up, the weird visions that you've had, lucid
dreams, nightmares, freaky deakystuff.
Please e-mail in at esotericaandnonsense@gmail.com
and if you're comfortable, I will read your story on the
(33:38):
podcast. If you are a fan, I would love
to invite you to check out my online store.
The link is in my show notes. I have merchandise for the
podcast. There's tumblers, there's
sweatshirts, there's T-shirts, as well as a whole bunch of
other original art of mine that I am selling.
(33:59):
Thank you so much. And if you are a Gold Star fan,
you can check me out on Patreon.Every monthly donation helps me
tremendously as I am doing this show solo.
Baby, stay hydrated, Love you. OK, So what is Gallicanism?
(34:23):
My friends? The key tenets of Gallicanism
were one, the autonomy of national churches.
And again, this smells a lot like Johnsonism, right?
The French Church should have significant independence from
the Pope in administrative, legal, and doctrinal matters,
right? Obviously the Vatican hated this
(34:45):
number 2. The royal authority in Church
affairs, Galkanism, believed that the King, not the Pope, had
supreme authority over the temporal aspects of the Church
within France. They also believe that bishops
and clergy were subject to royaloversight in many areas,
including appointments #3 Galkanism believed that there
(35:09):
was limits on papal infallibility, meaning that the
Pope's decision were not seen asabsolute.
They required the approval of the ecumenical councils or local
bishops to have full effect. Oh, and like, oh, you can just
feel it. The Pope obviously hated this.
(35:30):
Number 4, the Galkanists believethey had a belief in opposition
to ultra monetism, this idea which advocated for strong papal
authority. So they were not for this idea
of this like one leader of Christianity and that there
could be localized leaders. It's pretty, it is actually
(35:53):
pretty radical. So interestingly, there are
medieval roots of Gallicanism. Gallicanism traces its roots to
conflicts between the papacy andthe European monarchs during the
Middle Ages, such as the Investiture Controversy and the
avian papacy. Now I'm just kind of like I,
(36:17):
there's like so much to talk about.
And so like, I just, I don't want to like go, I don't want to
like make this a four hour podcast.
But in a nutshell, this movementof Galkanism started much
earlier. It started in the Middle Ages.
And again, this is kind of what's the word I'm looking for.
(36:37):
Like it's, it makes total sense,right?
The Pope in a lot of ways wants to be seen as king of
Christianity. And in a way like the Pope
wanted to have more power than kings, and kings hated that.
And that's like, it's really just a battle of egos of men,
right? And that's like, it's it.
(37:01):
What's the word? I'm looking for it.
It sounds about white. We all know how men can be in
positions of power and how they react and interact with each
other. So Galkanism was really born of
the conflicts of male egos of Pope, local clergy and monarchs.
(37:21):
So into the 17th and 18th century, Galkanism reached its
peak, influenced by the broader political and religious
developments. So really what was happening is
that as Louis the 14th became king, he was really trying to
create an absolute monarchy. Louis the 14th was known as the
(37:45):
Sun King, and Gallicanism becamea key part of his effort to
centralized power. He believed in the divine right
of kings and saw the Pope as a potential rival to his
authority. So of course, even though
Gallicanism, I was born in the Middle Ages, once a king started
backing it, you know, that's when it really grew popularity.
And so to be clear, Gallicanism was condemned by the Vatican, by
(38:12):
the Pope, as well as Johnsonism,right?
So Johnsonism and Gallicanism were both equally heretical
according to the papacy. However, according to the French
monarchy, Gallicanism was a OK right, because Gallicanism was
advocating for the king being incharge of church affairs,
(38:33):
whereas Johnsonism was not. And that's an important
distinction here, right? And like, this is like where
we're seeing the difference between the conflict between
local clergy and the Vatican versus local clergy and the
monarch, right? So that it's, it's almost like
this love triangle of a battle of egos, if you will.
(38:55):
OK, blah, blah, blah. There's like, there's all this
like stuff with Gallicanism. I want to like stay on track
because technically what I really want to get into isn't
the supernatural stories of Johnsonism.
But in a nutshell, I just want to mention the legacy that
Gallicanism had and it really influenced national churches.
It influenced similar movements in other Catholic countries,
(39:18):
such as Febronianism in Germany,which I've actually never heard
of. Maybe we should do an episode on
that. And of course, we all know about
how the English Church eventually seceded from the
Catholic Church and really this idea of stocking the interest of
(39:40):
kings to take autonomy from the papacy and really kind of owning
their own authority. But eventually, as time went on
into the 19th century, a Pope named Pope Pius the 9th marked
the decline of Gallicanism as hecreated the declaration of papal
(40:04):
infallibility. And really like basically this
man, Pope Pius the 9th really kind of brought this authority
back and reclaimed his authorityas the ultimate king of of
Catholicism. OK, so let's let's skip forward.
(40:25):
I actually took I kind of overdid it on my notes and I
feel like I feel like I really did too much.
So now I want to talk about Francois Dipelli.
And this was the man who he did not start, sorry, he did not
(40:46):
start Jansenism, but he became, he, he was a clergyman who
really wrote and expanded upon its beliefs and and got more
followers. So this man, Francois de Paris,
was born in Paris around the year 16901690 to a wealthy and
(41:11):
noble family. Despite his privileged
background, he showed early signs of rejecting wealth and
comfort in favor of a devout aesthetic lifestyle.
He studied theology at the Sorbonne, where he was
influenced by the ideas of Johnsonism and its emphasis on
(41:31):
divine grace, human sinfulness, and moral rigorism.
He was ordained as a Deacon, andhe chose not to advance in the
priesthood, believing himself unworthy, a decision consistent
with Johnson's humility and selfabasement.
Oh my God dude, a Catholic reformation is I just, it's a
(41:52):
lot if you know what I mean. It really is.
He really believed in living a life of poverty and charity.
He renounced his inheritance andwealth, choosing instead to live
among the poor in the Faubel Somercel, which was a working
class district of Paris. He gave away his possessions,
(42:12):
and he lived a life of extreme poverty, often relying on
donations and alms. He was deeply involved in acts
of charity, helping the sick andthe destitute while emphasizing
their spiritual welfare. And to his credit, this is more
in line with the teachings of Jesus.
Like, I have to give him some credit.
You know, it doesn't necessarilysound like fun.
(42:35):
I'm not getting like the vibe that he's like a fun time.
And I do get that vibe from Jesus.
I do get the vibe that Jesus AKAYeshua, Golden Boy, I get that
the vibe that he was like smoking weed, right?
I'm not getting this vibe from Francois, but I will give him
some credit that this seems morein line with what Jesus was
(42:56):
really talking about, which was like not worrying about material
wealth and truly being charitable.
So Francois became a staunch defender of Johnsonism and it's
theology particularly he challenged this publication, the
(43:16):
papal bowl of of Unigenitus. And obviously as we mentioned
earlier, this papal publication condemned the Johnson's movement
and all of their doctrines. Francois refused to accept the
papal bowl and openly opposed its supporters, including many
bishops and high ranked clergy in France.
(43:39):
His resistance made him a symbolof the Jansenist cause,
particularly after his death. Respect.
So Francois. The Bailey's spiritual life was
characterized by extreme aestheticism, which reflected
his deep commitment to Johnson'sprinciples.
Reminder that aestheticism really means like a monk
lifestyle. Renouncing worldly possessions,
(44:02):
living simplist, simplistically living in caves.
Like, that kind of shit, right? So this, this is like some
pretty intense stuff. But Lhasa subjected himself to
harsh physical penances, including wearing hair shirts.
I don't really know what they mean by that.
(44:22):
Like human hair shirts, horse hair shirts.
Like probably not like cashmere or mohair, right?
Like probably a hair that's scratchy.
But anyway, he would he would dosmall self torture by wearing
quote hair shirts, sleeping on bare boards or The Dirty floor
(44:42):
and he would fast frequently. These practices were meant to
atone for his sin and imitate the sufferings of Christ.
I just love like the hair shirt aspect, like I will need to wear
the hair shirt so that I can imitate the sufferings of
Christ. I just love that, I just love
(45:06):
that So. He also had a deep devotion to
prayer and contemplation. Francois spent long hours in
prayer, often meditating on the themes of divine grace, human
sinfulness, and the passion of Christ.
And I do want to mention honorable mention to Hinduism
right now. This does remind me of the story
I heard of Kali and my friend who told it to me kind of like
(45:30):
throughout this phrase where he was like in India, we all know
that if a person meditates for long enough, the gods will grant
them with a single boon or like a single wish.
And so I just kind of want to mention that because Flash Wall
was meditating quite a bit and you know, as we'll get to in a
second, after he died, he allegedly was like granting all
(45:53):
these miraculous miracles and ina way became this like religious
giant or spiritual giant. So anyway, Flaswa's prayer life
emphasized humility and total dependence on God's grace, and
he really believed in Sacramentorigidity.
(46:15):
He advocated for strict preparation before receiving the
sacraments, particularly the Eucharist, and he frequently
confessed his sins. Emphasizing personal
accountability before God and charity was the cornerstone of
his spirituality. And I do respect that because
that is really what Christianitypreaches.
(46:36):
He viewed acts of charity as both moral obligation and a way
to live out the gospel of Christ.
And I have to agree with him. That's what the gospel says,
baby. That is what the gospel says.
He integrated his care for the poor with his theological
convictions, often using his interactions as opportunity for
(47:00):
wait, wait, wait. Could take wait, I don't know
this word. Catechesis.
Wait. Oh my God, this is so
embarrassing. Damn it.
I I actually looked this word upearlier because I was like, I'm
going to act like I know this word.
I don't know this word. And this is a reminder that we
(47:20):
don't know every word. Even if we speak a language, we
don't necessarily know the word.OK, I don't even know how to say
this Catechesis cat catechesis. This is a a Christian religious
education that teaches the fundamentals of faith to
(47:41):
children and adults. OK, OK, so kind of like the what
do you call it like religious instruction, almost like Sunday
school catechesis. Oh, sorry, it was out loud.
Catechesis, catechesis. OK, I don't that doesn't sound
right, but anyway, sorry, sorry,sorry.
(48:02):
So we just learned a word together.
And anyway, really what I'm getting at is that Francois
believed that caring for the poor was, was his Sunday school,
if you will, but those were his,his ways to learn of the
Christian doctrine. So let's get to the interesting
(48:27):
part. Let's get to the part we all
signed up for. Good evening, my Peppers.
Do you ever sit and wonder how can I help the world?
Things sometimes feel like they're going to shit.
(48:48):
The world feels like it's on fire.
What can we do? Well, I have a small act of
kindness in mind. Our planet is a plant Kingdom
planet. The plants are the basis of all
life. Plants have allowed living
(49:10):
organisms to thrive. Why not plant some more plants
Now? Maybe you don't know very much.
You say, Annabelle, I don't knowvery much about plants.
That's totally OK. Perhaps start with a succulent.
Most succulents barely need water, maybe once a month, and
(49:31):
honestly they do best with little to no water.
Also you can propagate more succulents from single leaves.
I highly recommend an agave. Agave is incredible.
It's easy, it's low maintenance,and you can use it for face
masks maybe. Perhaps you live in a house or
(49:53):
you have a property where you can plant a tree, even something
simple like a lemon tree. If every human being planted one
tree tomorrow, that would be almost 8 billion more trees on
planet Earth. With more trees, that is more
housing and food for animals. It is more oxygen for us to
(50:17):
breathe. We live symbiotically with
plants. So plant a little plant.
So let's talk about the death and legacy of Francois the
Belly. So as he lived, he did gain a
(50:38):
lot of traction and really kind of became the living figurehead
of the Johnson's movement. And he died fairly young, only
at the age 37 in the year 1727, likely due to the physical toll
of his aesthetic lifestyle and how little he ate and how hard
he was on his body. But his death was seen as the
(51:02):
culmination of a life lived in total devotion to God.
He left a legacy as a martyr of the Johnsonist movement, and
after his death, Johnsonist elevated Francois as a symbol of
their resistance to papal authority and the French
monarchy's control of the Church.
So he was buried in the cemeteryof Saint Medard, or I guess with
(51:28):
an American accent, St. Medard.
And I actually looked into it. Sadly, the cemetery is not like
an active cemetery to this day. A lot of it has kind of been
like dismantled and I think built over or like repurposed.
But at the time, this was a functioning cemetery.
(51:49):
And this cemetery became a Pilgrim pilgrimage site where
Johnson is would visit and reported miracles.
So this is it's just so interesting.
So the miracles were one thing and then there was also a group
(52:09):
of people like known as the Convulsionaries.
And like this is kind of like your classic, like speaking in
tongue situation. But people started visiting his
graves in huge numbers and they were claiming to have miraculous
healings or to start like convulsing, I guess, like almost
having epileptic fits. So during his life, Francois did
(52:32):
not claim to have miraculous powers.
However, after his death and thethings that were seen in his
tomb, this became evidence to Johnsonis the sanctity and God's
approval of Johnsonism. And this became a controversy.
And the controversy surrounding these miracles intensified the
divisions within the church and attracted scrutiny from both
(52:54):
religious and secular authorities.
So let's get into the miracles these and, and I did touch on
this in my last episode, but these were like huge news at the
time. People were talking about this
for like over 100 years. So there was numerous healings
(53:16):
that were recorded. Individuals claimed to have been
cured from chronic illnesses by visiting the tomb of Francois de
Pelli, including paralysis, blindness, cancer.
There are testimonies that were meticulously recorded, often
with medical details which supported the claims of these
(53:39):
individuals. There was also reports of a
static states of convulsion. Some pilgrims who came to the
tomb experience convulsive fits,trances or a static states at
the site. These individuals became known
as convulsionaries and they often displayed extraordinary
phenomenon such as speaking in tongues or prophesizing
(54:02):
surviving extreme physical trials without harm, such as
being struck or pierced. And these convulsionaries became
a hallmark of the miracle movement and were both
celebrated and ridiculed. And there also is an alleged
account of an entire St. of people outside the cemetery all
(54:25):
convulsing at the same time. There was also, pardon me, there
was also supernatural signs around the cemetery.
There was accounts of glowing lights and orbs, unusual weather
phenomenon, and other inexplicable occurrences near
the tomb. Oh my God, this is so cool.
(54:46):
Was Francois an alien? So let's get some details.
I'm going to give you receipts. One of the most famous healings
was the healing of a woman knownas Marian de Bazanvi.
Whatever. Sorry if I'm pronouncing your
name wrong. Marian.
This happened in 1727. She was suffering from a
(55:06):
debilitating illness that left her partially paralyzed and
bedridden. She visited the tomb and
reportedly experienced an instantaneous recovery.
Witnesses claimed she walked away unaided, praising God for
her healing. Another woman who was named
Mahalite Tibal in 1731, she was a young woman afflicted with
(55:32):
gangrene in her leg, meaning herleg was rotting away, and she
prayed fervently at Francois's tomb.
Allegedly, her leg reportedly healed overnight with no medical
explanation. The event was witnessed by a
crowd of pilgrims and documentedby observers and then a woman
named Catherine Vinal In 1732, she was suffering from severe
(55:57):
epilepsy. Catherine visited the tomb and
fell into an ecstatic state during a convulsive episode.
Afterwards, she was free from her seizure seizures, which she
attributed to the intercession of Francois.
What? So what's so interesting
historically is the unique and controversial aspect of the
(56:21):
miracles. And this was the
convulsionaries, the people thatwere having convulsions and
trances. This phenomenon was so
widespread at the tomb of Francois that the individuals
became known as the convulsionaries.
And this like became a coined term in France and greater
Europe. They would have physical
(56:41):
convulsions. Like I said, it would basically
they were having violent contortions.
They would roll on the ground. They would even enter rigid
trans like states. They would often emerge unharmed
and they were known to go through these extreme physical
tests like being pierced by rodsor walking on hot coals or or
(57:03):
like being burnt. And this became like the most
famous aspect of the the tomb ofFrancois.
The people who were known as theConvulsionaries often claimed to
receive divine messages or prophetic insights during their
(57:23):
trances. They often spoke in tongues or
recited scripture with fervor, attracting large crowds to
witness these events. And like I mentioned, these
glowing orbs and lights became super popular and there was
alleged moments where people would talk about localized
storms over the tomb where the rest of the cemetery would have
(57:48):
no rain. There would be orb light
circling his tomb. And like there was also
anecdotal reports mentioning miraculous events involving
animals such as sick livestock being healed.
And as you can imagine, the papacy was pissed hearing about
(58:12):
this, as was the king of France.How cool, How cool is the story?
I think the story is so interesting.
Like even if even if this was like just like a culty thing
that like maybe wasn't true. But again, like the orbs of
light like this, this is pretty wild.
And even if it was a gag and they were just fucking around
like they ate with that because the papacy got so fucking angry.
(58:38):
And interestingly, this whole movement really created more
tension politically in France. The supporters of Johnsonism
recorded the details of these miracles.
They had names, they had dates. And these part of why they were
recorded so intentionally was because how many counter
(59:00):
accusations of fraud that they had.
And interestingly, the papacy did send out clergy members to
go to France and watch this. And they did confirm that they
saw it. But the papacy rebranded this as
the work of the devil. That's how they handled this.
That's how the PR team handled this.
They were like, this happened. This is real, but it's devil's
(59:22):
work. And I'm just saying if the
papacy said that it happened, like it fucking happened, I'm
sorry. This is wild.
So this did create more political tensions and it really
did create more skepticism and church opposition.
The Catholic Church, particularly under the papal and
royal pressure, dismissed the miracles out of nervousness
(59:44):
because they really didn't want people to start questioning the
papacy. And local bishops were
initiating investigations, really hoping to have the public
not believe in these phenomenon.And So what sort of happening is
the Johnsonists were kind of gaining steam, Like they saw
(01:00:07):
this as proof that their beliefswere true and that God favoured
them. But this also created resentment
within the Catholic hierarchy and really started leaning into
the idea that Johnsonists were actually.
Promoting and participating in demonic activity, and there was
(01:00:29):
even critics within the French society, including government
officials. Obviously, the King himself and
even some people who are still practicing Catholics found this
to be disruptive and delinquent for people to be visiting the
cemetery, especially at night. It eventually became illegal for
(01:00:51):
these people to visit the cemetery and so they would often
visit in secret during the nighttime.
And in the Enlightenment circlesof the philosophers of the time
in France, a big name being Voltaire, he mocked the
phenomena of the Johnsonists as irrational and emblematic of
religious superstition. And like I said, this really led
to a government suppression in 1732 because crowds at the
(01:01:15):
cemetery were growing so big that King Louis the 15th ordered
the cemetery to be closed, famously stating that by royal
decree, we forbid God from performing any more miracles in
this place. Meaning that Louis the 15th had
the audacity to forbid God from performing miracles.
(01:01:36):
That's wild. That's fucking wild.
And and granted, I just like want to bring up that Louis the
15th was the father of Louis the16th and Louis the 16th was the
king that was beheaded during the French Revolution with, of
course, our girl Marie Antoinette.
So like, I just really want to plant that seed that this is,
this is part of the social and political religious climate that
(01:02:00):
was leading up to the French Revolution, right?
Johnsonism. Who fucking knew?
I didn't know. Another fun fact that I wanted
to mention is there was talk of alleged ghosts that were sighted
around the tomb of Francois. Specifically, there was a grave
(01:02:21):
known as the Weeping Grave, and legends hold that one of the
graves near Francois's tomb would mysteriously produce
tears, small droplets of water that people believed were
miraculous. The phenomenon was later
dismissed as natural condensation, but it added to
the cemetery's mystique. Also, sometimes locals reported
(01:02:45):
hearing wailing and chanting near the cemetery long after it
was abandoned. There was also a tombstone known
as the cursed Tombstone and there was a story that told of a
grainstone that supposedly causebad luck to anyone who touch it.
Some Johnsonis Johnsonis believethat this was a result of a
(01:03:05):
curse placed to protect FrancoisDipelli and other Johnsonists
who would visit the cemetery. Who knows?
So the legacy of these miracles did last and made a big impact
on Johnsonism, but also the political climate of France.
(01:03:26):
These miracles deepened divisions within the Catholic
Church and the Johnsonist movement and a mystical
dimension that further set it apart from mainstream
Catholicism. Right, Like Johnsonism is now
becoming more and more estrangedfrom Catholicism and really
diving back into the mysticism and like the magic and
(01:03:51):
ultimately the idea of the convulsionaries and the people
speaking in tongues and all of that is really what alienated
most modern Johnson is from continuing to practice it.
I think that's like, it's like kind of like the mega church
vibe. It really like I think pushed
people away, but it really LED during the Enlightenment period.
(01:04:12):
This led to debates on supernatural phenomenon.
The events around the tomb of Francois fueled debates and
philosophical conversations about the nature of miracles and
the role of God in everyday life.
They were cited by both sides inthe broader Enlightenment era
arguments about faith, science and superstition.
(01:04:36):
Some modern interpretations is that today some historians and
psychologists have studied this phenomenon of the
convulsionaries as a case of mass hysteria, religious fervor
and social rebellion. And that doesn't surprise me
because in our modern day, we really have put less and less
(01:04:57):
belief into things like mysticism and really like come
at everything from a perspectiveof like, it can be explained
with logical thinking. But who's to say?
Like, maybe there was really religious miracles happening,
spiritual miracles, I should say.
Who? I wasn't there, were you there?
(01:05:19):
So this is where it gets really interesting.
I mean, I think it's already pretty interesting, don't you?
But after these miracles startedhappening and becoming
widespread, the Vatican obviously intensified its
efforts to root out Jensen, his supporters, using the
(01:05:40):
Congregation of the Holy Office,AKA the Inquisition, to
investigate suspected heretics. Bishops who refused to enforce
Unigenitis faced censure or removal attempts to control the
narrative as well. The papal and boys and clergy in
(01:06:02):
France work to counter the Johnsonist narrative, portraying
the miracles as fantastical and undermining the credibility.
This is kind of where the Vatican and the King of France,
Louis the 15th, did align because they both wanted the
Johnsonist gone, and really the long term impact of the
(01:06:26):
Vatican's behaviour led to increase centralization because
of the suppression of the Johnson's movement.
This marked a significant step toward the centralization of
papal authority, culminating in the doctrine of papal
infallibility at the First Vatican Council.
(01:06:46):
And really, this led to a more strained relationship with
France. The Jensenist controversy left a
legacy of distrust between the Vatican and the French Church,
which persisted into the 19th century.
There was a polarization within Catholicism at this point.
The Vatican's rejection of Jensenism alienated many devout
(01:07:08):
Catholics, who desired greater moral and theological rigor.
This polarization laid the groundwork for later, later
reformist movements both within and outside the church, and
ultimately this led to religioustensions.
And this religious tension was deeply a part of the eventual
(01:07:30):
French Revolution. What?
Come on people, come on. This is your daily reminder that
you are pure magic and the worldaround you is magic.
Don't forget to enjoy, take advantage of it.
Did you know there have been studies that our thoughts and
(01:07:53):
words can change the molecules around us?
A Japanese scientist did a studywhere he spoke to water and
froze it. Some of the water he told I love
you, whereas other water he would say I hate you.
And after he froze these containers of water, he found
that the molecular structure hadchanged.
(01:08:17):
And essentially the water that he had said I love you too
became an incredible patchwork of sacred geometry, organized,
gorgeous, architecturally incredible.
Whereas the ones that he said I hate you too had a chaotic
structure. This is your reminder to be kind
(01:08:38):
to yourself. Your body is something like
7080% water. So the things that you say to
yourself, the things that you say out loud truly change
reality. You are incredible.
Forget not. So ultimately, we kind of
(01:09:01):
already can see where this is going because of the Jensenness
movement. It created discord between the
Papacy and Jansenism, but also Jansenism created discord
between the monarchy. And while this was all
happening, there was also Gallicanism, which the monarchy
(01:09:22):
was supporting but the Vatican wasn't, as well as philosophers
and Enlightenment thinkers. And because all of these
movements were in direct contrast with each other, it
really started to debase where people left their allegiance of
beliefs. And usually what the papacy
would do was put out doctrine and information to counteract
(01:09:47):
things like Enlightenment movement and to really keep
people loyal to the beliefs of the papacy.
But really what was happening inFrance is all these
counterculture movements were creating a more diverse soup and
ultimately creating a culture ofquestioning authority.
I think it's really important toremember like this is like 102
(01:10:08):
hundred year period where it became more normal for people to
question authority. Obviously, religious people were
questioning the authority of thechurch or the king, but also
people, intellectuals and philosophers were questioning
the beliefs of the king and the papacy.
And I think that this is such animportant concept and a thing
(01:10:31):
that we need to contextualize about this time period and how
it eventually led to the French Revolution.
Because leading up to the FrenchRevolution, there was almost 200
years of people beginning to question, just question things.
And I really, I really do think that it's such a powerful
sentiment. And so all of these movements
(01:10:53):
really created more schisms within French culture.
There was the Gallicanism movement that was kind of toying
between nationalism and religion.
There was the Jansenist movementthat was kind of understanding
the difference between like localized spirituality versus
ultra monetism, the idea of having like one supreme ruler of
(01:11:16):
religion. And there was also the Jesuits
that were kind of toying betweenthe idea of quietism and
mysticism, the difference between the emphasis on
passiveness or the emphasis on the mystical union with God.
And while this is all happening,philosophers and artists are
going through the Enlightenment period period.
And this Enlightenment period really was about a criticism of
(01:11:40):
the Church. Enlightenment thinkers such as
Voltaire, Rousseau, Diderot. They criticized the Catholic
Church for its perceived corruption, dogmatism, and
alliance with absolutist monarchies.
The Church's role in suppressingmovements like Johnsonism and
Quietism made a target for thoseadvocating reason, liberty, and
(01:12:01):
individualism. This led to the reason versus
faith debate. The Enlightenment period
elevated reason and scientific inquiry over religious doctrine,
which challenged the traditionalChristian beliefs.
The philosopher Voltaire mocked the miracles of the Jansenists
(01:12:21):
at the tomb of Francois, but he also was mocking Catholicism.
A lot of the time. There was a huge anti clergical
sentiment that was beginning to grow in France.
The church's wealth privilege and perceived oppression of
dissent fueled resentment among the middle and lower class.
And I think this is so importantbecause as they started
(01:12:44):
questioning the privilege of thepapacy, they also began to
question the privilege of the monarchy.
This is huge. Ultimately, the religious
tensions in France weakened the authority of the Church.
This left the the social structure of France to be quite
(01:13:05):
fragmented and vulnerable. By the time of the French
Revolution, the Church had lost much of its moral and spiritual
authority in the eyes of the French people.
There began to also be anti clergical legislation.
The revolution targeted the church as a symbol of privilege
and oppression. There was a civil constitution
of the clergy in 1790. This stated that the
(01:13:29):
nationalized church property andplaced the clergy under state
control. Clergy were required to swear
loyalty to the revolutionary government, further dividing the
church into constitutional clergy, those who compelled and
refractory clergy, which were those who resisted.
And this is really interesting because this is not necessarily
(01:13:53):
a separation of church and state, but this is a separation
of church with the old mega church being the papacy, right?
And so the, during the revolution, they really took
that into account. They were asking clergy to be
loyal to the localized government and the local
culture. I I really do think this is so
(01:14:13):
interesting and a really big aspect of the French Revolution
was a revolution, a revolutionary movement of
dechristianization. There were radical people who
sought to erase Catholic influence by and by the cult of
Reason, and later the cult of the Supreme Being replaced
(01:14:34):
Catholic rituals with secular ceremonies.
Churches were desecrated and clergy were persecuted and
executed during the Reign of Terror in 1793 through 1794.
Like what? I didn't even know about any of
the religious prosecution that was happening during the French
Revolution. This is monumental.
(01:14:56):
The Johnsonist emphasis on moralrigor, individual
accountability, and resistance to unjust authority resonated
with revolutionary ideals, so even people who weren't
necessarily Johnsonist were veryimpacted by the culture that
Johnsonism created. Many revolutionaries admire the
Johnsonist opposition to absolutism and saw their
(01:15:19):
struggle as a precursor to the fight for political liberty.
Fuck yes dude, the legacy and tensions of the post
revolutionary France really created a society based around
secularization. The revolution laid the
foundation for secular French republics.
(01:15:41):
Sorry, a secular French Republicwith the separation of church
and state formalized in the 19thcentury.
Or at least an attempted separation of church and state,
right? The religious tensions continued
on, especially under the reign of Napoleon and during the
restoration of France. Obviously, like I mentioned, as
(01:16:02):
time went on, Johnsonism began to decline, especially because
through the movement of the Enlightenment, people became
more and more skeptical of things such as like speaking in
tongues and and suit things thatwere like seem too mystical.
Obviously like alchemy was superpopular at the time and
Hermeticism, but this was kind of based more on mysticism
(01:16:23):
through the lens of logic and less through the lens of
spirituality. And through the French
Revolution, it also led to a bigshift in papal authority.
The Vatican lost a lot of influence over the French period
over sorry, over the French people during this period
period. And it contributed to the
(01:16:44):
eventual retreat from direct political involvement in
national affairs. And that is that is something I
really want you to leave with today.
The Vatican has a fierce PR department and the French
Revolution did really change theglobal environment because due
(01:17:09):
to the French Revolution and I think in my opinion, the
succession of the English Church, I think the papacy
learned an important lesson to be very strategic on how they
involve themselves politically and to basically do it with more
stealth. They can't appoint themselves as
(01:17:31):
king, but they have to do it in a little bit more subtle and
manipulative way. Because now we have reached a
point in history where people are not fucking having it.
Kings aren't having it and localpeople are not having it.
And that is why I'm so excited to learn about the Johnson S
movement and it. I do think it's not a
coincidence that I have never heard of it and I think most
(01:17:53):
people have never heard of it because our beliefs, whether you
are religious or not, whether you are spiritual or not, our
beliefs shape our reality. And when people started to
believe that they shouldn't be reporting to the papacy, that
they shouldn't be reporting to the king, it did change the
(01:18:15):
culture of their nation. It did take 150 years, almost
200 years to gain momentum. But even people who weren't even
practicing Johnson's were influenced by the sphere of
these beliefs that they should question authority.
And that is a very powerful sentiment.
And that is something that I think we should all leave with
(01:18:37):
today. We really nothing has control
over us except the things that we allow to have control over
us. Even if even if we think that we
have no autonomy within our own minds and within our within our
own body. Nothing can actually change your
inner world and your beliefs. They can totally have power over
(01:19:00):
you physically, but no one can actually change your beliefs
unless you let them. And I, I just, I am really
inspired by this concept and this movement of Johnsonism
because it really is radical forits time period.
And it really did set in motion the French Revolution.
I, that is just so interesting. And, and the fact that within,
(01:19:24):
let's see, the French Revolutionhappened in like 1793 or
something, right? 17-9 in the 1790s, like Francois
the pal, he died in 1727. So literally just like 63 years
after this man died, the French Revolution happened.
And I, I, that's really not thatmuch time that, that is, that is
(01:19:47):
really interesting to me. And the legacy, the legacy that
we have on each other is really a butterfly effect.
Even even if you don't become famous, even if no one knows
your name, the actions that you have as a person can shape.
The world around you and that can catch fire.
(01:20:07):
Ideas can grow and that is powerful.
Anyway, I feel like I could talkabout this forever.
I had so much fun doing a deep dive.
I hope you had just as much fun as me.
Your thoughts, opinions and beliefs are powerful.
Never forget that. Let's create a beautiful world
together. I love that.
(01:20:27):
I want that. I'm doing it with or without
you, so you can do it or not, but I'm going to do it.
Get with it, we're going to plant trees and eat fruit with
our titties out. I love you so much.
Over and out baby. Happy 2025.
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