Question on Heresies

[FullyMT]

During my trig class I saw someone reading a book without a book cover. I asked what the book was by someone else sitting near me (the readers friend, who also happens to be my friend, lol), and she told me it was The Da Vinci Code. I did a little sigh and just looked up at the ceiling with a type of "WHY?" look on my face. She and another girl (who's Hindu...I think) asked me why I was upset and, since our whispering could be heard by the whole class I shortly explained that it had a few heretical idea. I was then asked what, and I explained Gnosticism. I think I gave the wrong heretical group though! I told them I'd do some research, and I think it may have been been some other gnostic-type group that I was thinking of.
Here's the general overview that I gave on Gnosticism:
Don't believe in hypostatic union
Believe Mary Magdeline married Jesus or that He had sexual relations with her
Something else I can't remember

I think I was incorrect on my information, if someone could just mention the group that in general held the DVC view on Mary Magdeline and Jesus, as well as which group held the 2 beliefs I gave these people, I'd really appreciate it.

 

[AMDG]

EXACTLY what are Gnostic beliefs is complicated and involved but I believe they contained some Pagan beliefs. I thought that there were many gnostic groups holding various beliefs, but paramount is that they have "special" knowledge. But I would GUESS that your definition isn't far off. (Actually I'd really like a list consisting of one or two sentences for each heresy. I think it'd make things easier--you know, "such and sucha belief--let's see what matches on the heresy list".)

I thought that Gnosticism died out, but I have met someone who claims to be Gnostic. I do know that Mormons do not believe in the Trinity (the Hypostatic Union) in the same way we do (of course neither do the Moslems and a bunch more). And I know that Mormons seem to think that Jesus was married to Mary Magdalene, but so do many New Agers and thanks to the book, many more people too.)

I guess I'm no help at all.

 

[FullyMT]

AMDG, the hypostatic union describes Christs Divine-Man nature, not the Trinity
You actually did sorta help! At least I was right on my basic definition I gave them. Lol.

 

[christiangirrl]

Why would people think that Mary Magdalene and Jesus were married? how bizarre is that?

 

[Carrye]

Why would people think that Mary Magdalene and Jesus were married? how bizarre is that?

People need something scandalous to talk about, CG.

 

[Axion]

Gnostic heresy is actually a broad stream of related heretical views. These included Docetism, Apollinarianism and Dualism.

Gnosis refers to secret knowledge that the Apostles were supposed to have received from Jesus but kept to themselves and a few initiates. That was the story anyway!

Gnostics are supposed to have descended from Simon Magus, and grew strong in the late 2nd century until about the 3rd or 4th. In reality Gnosticism was an attempt to bring a lot of Pagan ideas into Christianity. There are lots of surviving writings and Gnostic "gospels".

Basically they believed that Jesus did not really become man because flesh was impure. There were two Gods, one good, one evil. The world was made by the Evil Spirit the demiurge or devil, who was on a par with God. Therefore everything material is evil. Jesus came in the disguise of a human, although He didn't really have flesh. He taught a secret knowledge to help us battle the demiurge. This was to be released only to initiates. It involved knowledge about various heavenly spiritual beings, and becoming more God-like.

Among Gnostic scriptures (all of which are considered false by the experts) are a Gospel of Thomas, with many Gnostic-type "sayings" of Jesus. (God is within you, etc). There was also a book of Mary Magdalen, which said she was an Apostle who had been taught secret knowledge by Jesus, not shared with the other Apostles. This is the source of the many Mary Magdalene books.

Gnostic ideas spread through the medieval Bogumils of eastern Europe, and the Albigensian Cathars of France, who developed the story that Jesus and Magdalene had gone to France after He escaped the crucifxion, and they set up house there!

The Cathars were crushed in the 1300s, but a few legends remained, that were revived in the Book Holy Blood and Holy Grail and that has been re-gurgitated in the Da Vinci Code, along with a whole load of other anti-Christian and anti-Catholic rubbish.

 

[Carrye]

Gnostic heresy is actually a broad stream of related heretical views. These included Docetism, Apollinarianism and Dualism.

I just wrote about Apollinaris today in my Christology paper. Yes, I do feel special.

 

[Axion]

A few early heresies:

Adoptionism
This teaches that Christ did not become divine until his baptism. At that point, as the Holy Spirit decended upon Him, and He was adopted as a Son by God.

Apollinarianism
Apollinarianism teaches that Christ was not fully human, that he had no human spirit, but was a shell of flesh inhabited by the Divine

Arianism
Jesus was a created being. He was not one substance with the Father or Holy Spirit. This heresy denies that Christ was divine in the same way as the Father.

Docetism
Christ didn't have a human body. Therefore He only appeared to die on the cross.

Donatism
The validity of a sacrament is dependent on the character of the minister of the sacrament.

Dualism
Dualism believes that the forces of good and evil, God and the devil, sometimes spirit versus matter, are equally balanced. In this belief system there is evil not because God allows it to exist, but because God is not powerful enough to overcome it.

Eutychianism
Teaches that Christ's human nature was absorbed by His divine nature.

Gnosticism
Special knowledge is the way to salvation. Gnostics believed that the spirit is good and that all matter, including flesh, is evil. The incarnation of Christ is therefore denied as in Docetism and Apollinarianism.

God was not powerful enough to subdue the forces of evil, hence the dualistic belief emerged that there were two different gods, one that created matter and one that created spirit.

Manichaeism
A Gnostic heresy. It teaches Dualism and that the Christian requires special knowledge in order to be saved. Influenced by Zoroastrianism and other pagan religions.

Marcionism
God as seen in the Old Testament cannot be the same God as seen in the New Testament. Only a few books selected by Marcion were true scripture. This belief also denies the Incarnation.

Monothelitism
Monothelitism denies Jesus' full humanity, saying that he had no human will, only a divine will.

Montanism
Believers possess spiritual gifts and truths, and expect Christ's imminent return, practice estatic worship, live a puritan life style, and don't allow mercy for sinners.

Nestorianism
Jesus the man was a different personhood from the Son of God, although both shared the same body. God could not become truly human. Mary is not acknowledged as the mother of God.

Sebellianism
God is in one entity, not three. God can act as Father, Son, or Holy Spirit, depending on the circumstances.

 

[FullyMT]

Thank you for all that info Axion!!