Dogma, Heresy, and Modernity

[Clare73]

Respectfully, he didn’t, since this thread deals with the interpretation of Scripture,

I saw no reference to Scripture as the source in the OP. . .I hesitated to take it for granted, although "Christianity" would imply it.

But then there is the "salvation not by works" or "righteousness apart from works" which is "Christianity," but was not part of "Christianity" for quite a while, which left me uncertain regarding the place of Scripture.

for which multiple competing forms of logically consistent exegesis do exist, which is why I cannot prove or disprove Calvinism or Arianism from Scripture alone, and not its content.

 

[The Liturgist]

I saw no reference to Scripture as the source in the OP. . .I hesitated to take it for granted, although "Christianity" would imply it.

But then there is the "salvation not by works" or "righteousness apart from works" which is "Christianity," but was not part of "Christianity" for quite a while, which left me uncertain regarding the place of Scripture.

Whether or not someone believes in Sola Fide or not has no bearing on whether or not they are a Christian. I reject Sola Fide, for example, because I believe Scripture disproves it, and yet I am a Christian. But Protestant churches that embrace Sola Fide still have the concept of dogma, theologoumemna, which Lutherans tend to call Adiaphora, and on which John Wesley famously “agreed to disagree” and heresy. For example, its heresy in most Protestant churches to deny the Holy Trinity.

And likewise, in Protestant churches there are important actions, like attending, being baptized, receiving communion, hearing the reading of Scripture, optional actions, like attending additional Bible Studies or going to church picnics, and prohibited actions, like denying the Trinity, disrupting the service, and depending on the church, many take a very dim view of abortion, so working in an abortion clinic is a good way to get disfellowshipped or excommunicated from many Protestant churches, certainly from mine, although I am commonly accused of not being authentically Protestant and until last summer I would have taken that as a complement, but I am once again officially Protesting against the current Pope, because of his attempt to suppress the traditional Latin mass and his cruel treatment of Summorum Pontificum communities, which in my experience are more vibrant and spiritually healthier than Novus Ordo communities, and also the strange doctrines and practices espoused at the Amazonian Synod.

But fortunately I am doing this as a Protestant minister, which is ironic, but it provides the advantage that if the Pope doesn’t like it, he’s welcome to send a letter of complaint; I will sell the envelope on eBay to philatelists and donate the funds to the Coptic orphanages in Egypt (these are really worthy of support, because Egypt applies Shariah to Christians, meaning Christian orphans cannot be adopted because Mohammed, being possessed by a devil he stupidly believed was St. Gabriel the Archangel, as a result of dabbling in the occult, thought adoption was a great evil. In fact this year we will be increasing our donations to Middle Eastern churches and Christian charities as situations elsewhere are causing other sources to dry up.

 

[MarkRohfrietsch]

<snip> For example, its heresy in most Protestant churches to deny the Holy Trinity.

<snip>

Certainly considered heresy from the days of the early Church to present; Protestant and Catholic, at the council of Nicea (Arius), and it persists today in Islam, JWs, Mormons. Certainly mentioned in the Lutheran Confessions; Arians and Anti-trinitarians are mentioned separately in the Formula of Concord:
Error of the New Arians.
28] That Christ is not true, essential, natural God, of one eternal, divine essence with God the Father and the Holy Ghost, but is only adorned with divine majesty inferior to and alongside of God the Father [is so adorned with divine majesty, with the Father, that He is inferior to the Father].

Error of the Anti-Trinitarians.
29] This is an entirely new sect, not heard of before in Christendom, [composed of those] who believe, teach, and confess that there is not one only, eternal, divine essence of the Father Son, and Holy Ghost, but as God the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost are three distinct persons, so each person has its essence distinct and separate from the other persons of the Godhead; and that nevertheless they are either [some think] all three of equal power, wisdom, majesty, and glory, just as otherwise three men are distinct and separate from one another in their essence, or [others think that these three persons and essences are] unequal with one another in essence and properties, so that the Father alone is properly and truly God.

30] These and similar articles, one and all, with whatever other errors depend upon and follow from them, we reject and condemn as wrong, false, heretical, contrary to the Word of God, the three Creeds, the Augsburg Confession and Apology, the Smalcald Articles, and Luther's Catechisms, against which all godly Christians of both high and low station are to be on their guard as they love the welfare and salvation of their souls.

31] That this is the doctrine, faith, and confession of us all, for which we will answer at the last day before the just Judge, our Lord Jesus Christ, and will neither secretly nor publicly speak or write anything against it, but that we intend by the grace of God to persevere therein, we have after mature deliberation testified, in the true fear of God and invocation of His name, by signing with our own hands [this Epitome].

 

[The Liturgist]

Certainly considered heresy from the days of the early Church to present; Protestant and Catholic, at the council of Nicea (Arius), and it persists today in Islam, JWs, Mormons. Certainly mentioned in the Lutheran Confessions; Arians and Anti-trinitarians are mentioned separately in the Formula of Concord:
Error of the New Arians.
28] That Christ is not true, essential, natural God, of one eternal, divine essence with God the Father and the Holy Ghost, but is only adorned with divine majesty inferior to and alongside of God the Father [is so adorned with divine majesty, with the Father, that He is inferior to the Father].

Error of the Anti-Trinitarians.
29] This is an entirely new sect, not heard of before in Christendom, [composed of those] who believe, teach, and confess that there is not one only, eternal, divine essence of the Father Son, and Holy Ghost, but as God the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost are three distinct persons, so each person has its essence distinct and separate from the other persons of the Godhead; and that nevertheless they are either [some think] all three of equal power, wisdom, majesty, and glory, just as otherwise three men are distinct and separate from one another in their essence, or [others think that these three persons and essences are] unequal with one another in essence and properties, so that the Father alone is properly and truly God.

30] These and similar articles, one and all, with whatever other errors depend upon and follow from them, we reject and condemn as wrong, false, heretical, contrary to the Word of God, the three Creeds, the Augsburg Confession and Apology, the Smalcald Articles, and Luther's Catechisms, against which all godly Christians of both high and low station are to be on their guard as they love the welfare and salvation of their souls.

31] That this is the doctrine, faith, and confession of us all, for which we will answer at the last day before the just Judge, our Lord Jesus Christ, and will neither secretly nor publicly speak or write anything against it, but that we intend by the grace of God to persevere therein, we have after mature deliberation testified, in the true fear of God and invocation of His name, by signing with our own hands [this Epitome].

Weird, a tritheists. The author was wrong they were unheard of before the reformation, but then he probably didn’t have access to The Fount of Knowledge of St. John of Damascus, which contains the Exact Exposition of the Orthodox Faith, which is like the Summa Theologica only brief, compact and devoid of Scholastic departures from Patristic beliefs. I think some early Lutherans probably had it, but not enough, and not as many, and this also applies to the Greek and Syriac Fathers. Basically the real Monophysites, not the Oriental Orthodox or the Lutherans (for some of the Swiss Reformers accused Luther of it because of his correct stress on hypostatic union and communicatio idiomatum, in order to deflect criticism of their own crypto-Nestorianism), to wit, as Luther would write, the followers of Eutyches, having poisoned their faith in the Trinity by differentiating our Lord from the Father and the Spirit in divine essence by confusing divinity and humanity, soon found that faith had died, and realized themselves to be Tritheists.* Their last scholar of note was an Alexandrian or Coptic Greek, John Philoponus.

*I was in virtue of that sentence consciously trying to emulate the less, shall we say, spicy, polemics of Luther; alas I believe the rules of the forum would restrain me from doing a full-on Luther impersonation, although that would be greatly enjoyable, moreso than seems proper for Lent, even though Lent is supposed to be a joyous fast...

 

[zippy2006]

interesting but as you no doubt know you are going to have disagreement with your statements and conclusions.

I don't know that anyone really disagreed with the OP, but maybe I missed something.