Studying Christian Heresies

JGiddings · Mar 2, 2014

This subject has always fascinated me.
Not sure why though. Perhaps God is pushing me to learn more about the historic issues within various Christian groups/churches.

Christian heresies are many. Through studying such errors as arianism, gnosticism, modalism, and pelagianism, Christians can better understand their own faith. A heresy is a deviation from the truth.

"For there must also be factions among you, in order that those who are approved may have become evident among you," (1 Cor. 11:19).

http://carm.org/heresies
Adoptionism - God granted Jesus powers and then adopted him as a Son.
Albigenses - Reincarnation and two gods: one good and other evil.
Apollinarianism - Jesus divine will overshadowed and replaced the human.
Arianism - Jesus was a lesser, created being.
Docetism - Jesus was divine, but only seemed to be human.
Donatism - Validity of sacraments depends on character of the minister.
Gnosticism - Dualism of good and bad and special knowledge for salvation.
Kenosis - Jesus gave up some divine attributes while on earth.
Modalism - God is one person in three modes.
Monarchianism - God is one person.
Monophysitism - Jesus had only one nature: divine.
Nestorianism - Jesus was two persons.
Patripassionism - The Father suffered on the cross
Pelagianism - Man is unaffected by the fall and can keep all of God's laws.
Semi-Pelagianism - Man and God cooperate to achieve man's salvation.
Socinianism - Denial of the Trinity. Jesus is a deified man.
Subordinationism - The Son is lesser than the Father in essence and or attributes.
Tritheism - the Trinity is really three separate gods.

GoingByzantine · Mar 2, 2014

My school library has shelves of books on heresies of old, would be an interesting thing to do research on.

New Legacy · Mar 2, 2014

they are alive here on CF....

JGiddings · Mar 3, 2014

New Legacy said:
they are alive here on CF....

Don't even get me started!

Norah63 · Mar 3, 2014

What so ever things are pure, honest, good, think on these things.

We become what we behold.

Wearecommandedtojudge · Mar 3, 2014

GoingByzantine said:
of old

Like we don't have to confront the heresy of Gnosticism today.

My sister Beatrice told me "Some people believe Jesus married Mary Magdalene" when she was trying to justify committing adultery with her husband's best friend. How she thought that was supposed to justify it I don't know. Then again she is very very very ridiculous.

She has never read The Devinci Code, and may not have even watched the movie. I have read the so called gnostic "gospels". They don't even say Jesus married anyone.

My point is we still have to confront old heresies. There are many heresies that have been around awhile. Even though only God can forgive sins there are people who think their priests can forgive their sins for example.

Abenign1 · Mar 3, 2014

Wearecommandedtojudge said:
Like we don't have to confront the heresy of Gnosticism today.

My sister Beatrice told me "Some people believe Jesus married Mary Magdalene" when she was trying to justify committing adultery with her husband's best friend. How she thought that was supposed to justify it I don't know. Then again she is very very very ridiculous.

She has never read The Devinci Code, and may not have even watched the movie. I have read the so called gnostic "gospels". They don't even say Jesus married anyone.

My point is we still have to confront old heresies. There are many heresies that have been around awhile. Even though only God can forgive sins there are people who think their priests can forgive their sins for example.

So what was jesus telling his apostles in John ch. 20 & v. 23

clark thompson · Mar 3, 2014

The biggest lie has to be we can earn our salvation and don't need Christ, Christ is our salvation.

Sammy-San · Mar 3, 2014

clark thompson said:
The biggest lie has to be we can earn our salvation and don't need Christ, Christ is our salvation.

That's true. Good works are the product of salvation, but they are not the cause of it.

Wearecommandedtojudge · Mar 3, 2014

Abenign1 said:
So what was jesus telling his apostles in John ch. 20 & v. 23

What is the correct interpretation of John 20:23?

gotquestions.org1 said:
Question: "What is the correct interpretation of John 20:23?"

Answer: In John 20:23, Jesus tells His disciples, If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven." The very core of the gospel message is the truth that the way someone has their sins forgiven is by having faith in Jesus Christ as his or her Lord and Savior. In Acts 10:43-44, when Peter was sharing the gospel, he said, Everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name. First John 5:1-5 tells us only he who believes in Jesus will overcome the world. Luke 5:20 says, When Jesus saw their faith, He said Friend, your sins are forgiven. Colossians 2:13-14 says Jesus forgave all our sins. All these passages confirm that Jesus is the one who forgives sin, and He forgives all of our sins. If we have had genuine faith in Him, someone else cannot later decide we are not forgiven one sin or another. So, what exactly did Jesus mean in John 20:23?

Only God can forgive sins, and Christ, being God, has the power to do so as well, but He never communicated any such power to His disciples, nor did they ever assume any such power to themselves. The key to understanding the meaning of John 20:23 lies in the previous two verses: Again Jesus said, Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you. And with that he breathed on them and said, Receive the Holy Spirit. He sent them, as He is sending us, to bring the good news of the way to salvation and heaven to the whole world. Jesus was leaving the earth physically but promised God would be with them in the person of the Holy Spirit living in them. As they proclaimed the gospel, they could honestly tell people who believed in that message that their sins were forgiven, and they could honestly tell people that did not believe in the message that their sins were not forgiven and that they stand condemned in Gods eyes. Jesus said, Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for Gods wrath remains on him (John 3:36).

Believers today have the very same mission given to us! We are obligated to share the gospel message, the way to heaven, to others in the world, and we go about that mission with the Holy Spirit living inside us, guiding us as we share His truth. We are obligated to tell people the only way to be forgiven is through faith. Jesus said in John 8:24, If you do not believe that I am (God), you will indeed die in your sins. This is the very core of the gospel message and the very heart of what we are to explain to the world. It was Jesus last command to His followers before He physically left the earthcarry forward the message of hope and save as many as will believe in Him.

Jesus preached a crucial message about forgiving our brothers, as God forgave us. We stand in grace, and He expects us to keep our hearts pure toward others, not holding grudges or harboring a spirit of unforgiveness, especially after He gave us such undeserved love and forgiveness at such a high personal cost to Himself! Jesus said those who have been forgiven much, love much (Luke 7:47). He expects us to forgive others 70 times 7 times (Matthew 18:22). We are also told that if we are praying but hold something against anyone, we are to forgive that person so our relationship with God is right and righteous! Colossians 3:13 says, Forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. We know we are His if we love our brothers and dont hate them or have unforgiveness in our hearts (1 John 2:3-6; 3:14-19; 4:16-21). Forgiveness is a key to showing we indeed have eternal life inside us, according to these passages. If we say we love God but hate our brother, we are liars and no truth is in us. So, our forgiveness of others is a major indicator of true fellowship with God. God looks at the heart and actions, not mere words. Jesus stated while on earth, These people come near to me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. So, its important we have a living, genuine faith: We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love our brothers (1 John 3:14).

Read more: What is the correct interpretation of John 20:23?

1st Timothy 2:5, "For there is one God, and ONE MEDIATOR between God and men, the man CHRIST JESUS."

concretecamper · Mar 5, 2014

clark thompson said:
The biggest lie has to be we can earn our salvation and don't need Christ, Christ is our salvation.

Who believes this lie? I can't think of any Christian faith?

Spinnaker · Mar 8, 2014

JGiddings said:
This subject has always fascinated me.
Not sure why though. Perhaps God is pushing me to learn more about the historic issues within various Christian groups/churches.

Christian heresies are many. Through studying such errors as arianism, gnosticism, modalism, and pelagianism, Christians can better understand their own faith. A heresy is a deviation from the truth.

"For there must also be factions among you, in order that those who are approved may have become evident among you," (1 Cor. 11:19).

Heresies | Christian Apologetics and Research Ministry
Adoptionism - God granted Jesus powers and then adopted him as a Son.
Albigenses - Reincarnation and two gods: one good and other evil.
Apollinarianism - Jesus divine will overshadowed and replaced the human.
Arianism - Jesus was a lesser, created being.
Docetism - Jesus was divine, but only seemed to be human.
Donatism - Validity of sacraments depends on character of the minister.
Gnosticism - Dualism of good and bad and special knowledge for salvation.
Kenosis - Jesus gave up some divine attributes while on earth.
Modalism - God is one person in three modes.
Monarchianism - God is one person.
Monophysitism - Jesus had only one nature: divine.
Nestorianism - Jesus was two persons.
Patripassionism - The Father suffered on the cross
Pelagianism - Man is unaffected by the fall and can keep all of God's laws.
Semi-Pelagianism - Man and God cooperate to achieve man's salvation.
Socinianism - Denial of the Trinity. Jesus is a deified man.
Subordinationism - The Son is lesser than the Father in essence and or attributes.
Tritheism - the Trinity is really three separate gods.

More than just being interesting, I think it's detrimental to the our faith to have a proper understanding of what Christ and Christianity isn't so that we can focus more on what he is.

It's funny how often I get in a discussion with someone who is unfamiliar with these ancient heresies and they end up confessing a belief in one of them, only it's been repackaged in a twenty-first century box.

Wearecommandedtojudge · Mar 9, 2014

concretecamper said:
Who believes this lie? I can't think of any Christian faith?

I think that Joel Osteen might believe that.

Joel Osteen Still Believes that People Can Go to Heaven Without Jesus Christ - Jewish Interview - Urban Christian News

JGiddings · Mar 9, 2014

Yeah Osteen is way out there in what he believes and teaches. He is beyond the prosperity thing.
Self help guru is more his style.

tremble · Mar 10, 2014

I'd like to add another to the list, if I may?

Mammonism - The belief that we must work for mammon in order to survive.

The biggest lie has to be we can earn our salvation and don't need Christ, Christ is our salvation.

Personally, I believe the biggEST lie is probably mammonism. It's something which works across every religion and walk of life and type of human being. It's one thing to speculate about laying our lives down for Jesus, but people seem to "know" with every fiber of their being that if they don't work for mammon they will definitely die.

Also, I'd suggest that "false grace" is a bigger problem than "earning salvation". Actually, it appears that a fear or "earning salvation" has so terrified people that it becomes a problem to talk about even trying to be good anymore. It's nearly impossible to mention obedience to the teachings of Jesus without a perfunctory reference to "earning salvation", as though the two have become synonymous, even when the context clearly shows no hint of attempting to "earn" salvation.

Instead, emphasis has shifted to "Jesus did it all on the cross" as though the cross has made obedience ( or at least any serious attempt to obey) optional.

As a result we appear to have a body of Christianity who can barely recite, by heart, even ten or twenty commands of Jesus for how we should live our lives as his followers, let alone actively seeking to apply those teachings as part of their every-day service to Jesus.

Semi-Pelagianism - Man and God cooperate to achieve man's salvation.

I think this could be a good example of "false grace" under another name (if I've understood the context properly).

Although I believe that God can give his salvation to anyone he wants,whenever he wants, just because he wants (it's his salvation, after all) I think it's unlikely that he will choose to give it to anyone who refuses to cooperate with him.

I think it becomes a kind of semantic technically to argue that our cooperation either earns or denies us salvation or does neither. Maybe there could be some merit in discussing the in's and out's of it if it can be done sincerely in a way that does not end up teaching that obedience to Jesus is somehow a bad thing.

Norah63 · Mar 10, 2014

Oh please, I have heard Osteen and he always gives a salvation message.
Twisting any of our words would sink us all. This is a common practice among those hunting for anothers faults more than their own.
Reminds me of baby chicks pecking each other to death.
Compitition among christians is a terrible thing.

JGiddings · Mar 10, 2014

Norah63 said:
Oh please, I have heard Osteen and he always gives a salvation message.
Twisting any of our words would sink us all. This is a common practice among those hunting for anothers faults more than their own.
Reminds me of baby chicks pecking each other to death.
Compitition among christians is a terrible thing.

No he doesn't.

JGiddings · Mar 10, 2014

Norah63 said:
Oh please, I have heard Osteen and he always gives a salvation message.
Twisting any of our words would sink us all. This is a common practice among those hunting for anothers faults more than their own.
Reminds me of baby chicks pecking each other to death.
Compitition among christians is a terrible thing.

No he doesn't.
IF he does it's not christian salvation.

Abenign1 · Mar 13, 2014

The text is plain and needs no interpretation. They are his apostles as the father sent him so bent sent them. He told them what to do, you can say it means something other than whag it says if you like. The first rule of understanding the book is to not apply interpretation when none is needed because that leads to other variables of interpreting like you mentioning someone having power say one is not forgiven. Peter said to Simon perish with thy money I guess this was a joke and didn't happen.

yeshuaslavejeff · Mar 13, 2014

concretecamper said:
Who believes this lie? I can't think of any Christian faith?

multitudes. (many people everywhere, in every country)
remember? "they call me Lord, Lord, but their heart is far from Me. "
"they worship Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me"
"I will tell them 'be gone from Me, I never knew you' .... " ... ... ...

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