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	A '''heresy''' is a belief or system of theology which goes against the teachings of the [[Bible]].		A '''heresy''' is a belief or system of theology which goes against the teachings of the [[Bible]].

			Typically, heresies spread erroneous conceptions of [[God]], Scripture or the institution of the [[Church (Universal Body)\|Church]].

			== History ==
			'''<big>In the New Testament</big>'''

			Heresy within the Church has existed since the time of the [[Apostles]].

			The [[Acts of the Apostles\|Book of Acts]] speaks of a false convert named [[Simon Magus]], who was rebuked by the Apostles for attempting to bribe them into teaching him how to do [[Miracles of the Apostles\|miracles]]. From this comes the term "[[Simony]]," meaning the buying or selling of ecclesiastical privileges, offices, or sacred things, especially in a church context.

			The [[Apostle Paul]] especially had to battle heresy within the Churches of [[Church in Corinth (New Testament)\|Corinth]] and [[Church in Galatia (New Testament)\|Galatia]] in his [[Epistles of Paul\|Epistles]]. The [[Galatianism\|Galatian heresy]] was especially pernicious, and was rebuked by Paul in the harshest of terms in his [[Epistle to the Galatians]]. It was a [[Judaizing]] heresy, as it required [[Gentile]] converts to first become [[Jewish]] before they could become Christian.

			The [[Book of Revelation\|Book of the Revelation]] includes denouncements of "[[Nicolaitans\|the Nicolaitans]]," with God explicitly saying to the [[Church in Ephesus (New Testament)\|Church in Ephesus]], "thou hatest the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate." (Revelation 2:6). The Bible does not say much more about this group, but [[Clement of Alexandria\|Saint Clement of Alexandria]] connects them to [[antinomianism]].
			[[File:Codex Tchacos p33.jpg\|thumb\|235x235px\|The so-called "Gospel of Judas Iscariot", a Gnostic text]]
			<big>'''In the Pre-Nicene Church'''</big>

			The worst heresy of the very early Church was the various [[Gnosticism\|Gnostic]] sects, which emphasised [[Esotericism\|esoteric]] knowledge as the secret to salvation. [[Irenaeus of Lyon\|Saint Irenaeus of Lyon]] wrote an extensive work exposing and denouncing their beliefs and practices, called "[[Against Heresies]]". As a result of this work and expositions by other [[Church Fathers\|Church fathers]], they became largely irrelevant by the 5th century.

			The [[Manicheaism\|Manichean heresy]], beginning in Persia and influenced by [[Buddhism]] and [[Zoroastrianism]] gained a large following in the 2nd to 7th centuries, including convincing [[Augustine of Hippo\|Saint Augustine of Hippo]] prior to conversion to Christianity. Along with orthodox Christianity, it was widely persecuted in both the [[Persian Empire\|Persian]] and [[Roman Empire\|Roman Empires]]. It spread as far as [[Xinjiang]] in [[China]] and [[Great Britain]] in [[Europe]] before dying out, largely due to its community of travelling ascetics.

			'''<big>The Trinitarian controversies</big>'''

			The [[Arianism\|Arian heresy]], which taught that [[Jesus of Nazareth\|Jesus]] is not God and not co-equal with the [[God the Father\|Father]] originated in [[Alexandria]] with the teachings of the [[heresiarch]] [[Arius]]. Following Roman [[Constantine\|Emperor Constantine's]] conversion to Christianity, the [[Council of Nicaea]] was assembled to discuss the nature of Christ and the Trinity. At the end of the council, only two of the 318 attending Bishops agreed with Arius' conception of the Godhead.

			As such, Arianism was declared a heresy and the [[Nicene Creed]] was written to formalise the orthodox doctrine of the Trinity, declaring the [[Eternal Sonship]] of Jesus Christ and affirming the use of the word "[[homoousios]]" to refer to the relationship between the Father and the Son.

			Following the Council of Nicaea, more disputes about the Trinity emerged, including [[Macedonianism]] (rejected at the [[Council of Constantinople]]), [[Nestorianism]] (rejected at the [[Council of Ephesus]]) and [[Monophysitism]] (rejected at the [[Council of Chalcedon]]).

			'''<big>Following the Schism of 1054</big>'''

			Before and after the [[Great Schism of 1054]], the Church itself officially permitted and adopted many heretical ideas, including the equal [[Infallibility of the Church\|primacy of Church authority]] with the [[Sola Scriptura\|authority of Scripture]], the [[worship of Saints]] and the mass practice of [[monasticism]].

			The doctrine which caused the Schism of 1054, however, was a controversy about the western Church's addition of the term "[[Filioque]]" (Latin: "And the Son") to the Nicene Creed. The original Nicene Creed read:

			''"I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord and Giver of Life; who proceeds from the Father; who with the Father and the Son together is worshiped and glorified;"''

			The western revision, however, amended the text to include and affirmation that the Holy Spirit ''"proceeds from the Father and the Son"''. The eastern Churches argued that this contradicted the original intention of the Bishops at Nicaea, however the west had the support of the Bishop of Rome, thus turning the dispute into a battle between independent Church sovereignty and Roman overreach. This, and previous events, laid the foundation for the [[Roman Catholicism\|Roman Catholic]] doctrine of [[Papal supremacy]].

			Eventually, the Church split between the west (who became the [[Roman Catholic Church]]) and the east (who became the [[Eastern Orthodox Churches]]). Both sides of the split, however, retained the heretical doctrines previously mentioned, despite attempts by certain factions in the Byzantine Church to abolish the [[Byzantine Iconodulia\|worship of Icons]] (See [[Byzantine Iconoclasm]]).

			<big>'''Following the Protestant Reformation'''</big>

			With the advent of the [[Protestant Reformation]], the practice of monasticism and the worship of Saints and icons were abolished in the [[Protestant]] Churches. Uncertainties about the extent to which [[Sola Scriptura]] should be applied, however, lead to various errors within early Protestantism and even the renouncement by some of both Protestantism and Roman Catholicism (see Restorationism).

			'''<big>Modern heresy</big>'''

			Much of the present heretical sects are caused by the over-emphasis on political discussion within theology. This has led to the heresies of both "[[Liberalism (theology)\|Theological Liberalism]]" and "[[Christian Nationalism\|Christian nationalism]]," both of which must be rejected.

			== See also ==
			'''<big>The following is a list of heretical groups</big>'''

			* [[Galatianism]] (The heresy of the Church in Galatia)
			* [[Corinthianism]] (The heresy of the Church in Corinth)
			* The [[Nicolaitans]] (A heresy rebuked in the Book of the Revelation)
			* [[Judaism]] (A distinct religion) and [[Judaizing]] (an effort to convert Christians to Judaism)
			** [[Ebionitism]] (A Judaizing sect)
			** The [[Elkasaites]] (A Judaizing sect)
			* The [[Adamites]] (A nudist sect)
			* [[Gnosticism]] (A wide array of heresies in the very early Church)
			** [[Simonianism]] (A Gnostic sect purportedly founded by Simon Magus)
			** [[Valentinianism]] (The most prominent of the Gnostic sects)
			** [[Sethianism]] (A Gnostic sect)
			** [[Cainitism]] (A Gnostic sect)
			** [[Carpocratianism]] (A libertine Gnostic sect)
			* [[Messalianism]] (A syncretic Christian pagan sect)
			* [[Manicheaism\|Manichaeism]] (A syncretic Jewish, Buddhist, Zoroastrian, Gnostic sect, later considered a distinct religion)
			* [[Donatism]] (A schismatic early anabaptist sect)
			* [[Nontrinitarianism]]
			** [[Arianism]] (A nontrinitarian sect)
			** [[Sabellianism]] (A nontrinitarian sect)
			* Unorthodox Trinitarianism
			** [[Macedonianism]] (A trinitarian heresy)
			** [[Monophysitism]] (A trinitarian heresy)
			** [[Miaphysitism]] (A trinitarian heresy)
			** [[Nestorianism]] (A trinitarian heresy)
			* [[Islam]] (A distinct religion heavily influenced by Christian heresy)
			* [[Restorationism]] (The idea that the Church died out and must be revived)
			** [[Anabaptism]] (A restorationist sect)
			*** The [[Amish]] (An Anabaptist sect)
			*** The [[Mennonites]] (An Anabaptist sect)
			** [[Swedenborgianism]] (A mystic restorationist sect)
			** [[Primitive Baptism]] (A Baptist restorationist sect)
			** [[Mormonism]] (A restorationist sect)
			** [[Seventh-Day Adventists\|Seventh-day Adventism]] (A restoration sect)
			** [[Armstrongism]] (A restorationist sect)

ComingAgain at 23:53, 30 August 2024

2024-08-30T23:53:23Z

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