The Tapestry of Christian Heresies
A little Dogma grows a long Way
abridged by Scooper
Ignorance isn't what gets people in trouble, it's all the things they know that ain't so. — attributed variously to Mark Twain, Will Rogers, and Edwin Armstrong
Christianity became a religion of orthodoxy or "right belief," as the Church responded to various heresies. Many centuries after the events, we see a pattern of assertions and counter-assertions, by which the Church discovered, explored, and refined what she believed. That is to say, the great heretics helped Christianity define itself, in response to changing times and philosophic movements. Contrary to popular opinion, the Church did not just make up doctrine as she went along. Rather she responded to ideas that nobody had thought of until particular heretics did so. Thus, the development of Church doctrine is not an accretion of dross on top of the original teachings of Jesus and the Apostles — it is an elaboration of understanding in order to reconcile the needs of changing cultures to the unchanging Truth of the Gospel.
Well, at least that was and is the Church's mission and intention. The results have been mixed. Here we hang this tapestry that you may be informed and judge for yourself.
| The Times | The Heretics | Their Heresies | Their Ideas | Church Actions | Church Doctrines | Our Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2nd-4th centuries | Simon Magus, Valentinus, Carpocrates | Gnosticism | Only secret knowledge could bring salvation. | It's not what you know, it's Who loves ya, baby. | ||
| c. 144 | Marcion | Marcionism | Discarded Hebrew Bible, taught there are 2 gods, one good, one evil. | The mean things Jesus the Jew said to the Scribes and Pharisees don't come close to what he would have said to Marcion. | ||
| c.185-254 | Origen | Tried to reconcile Christianity with Greek philosophy - taught the pre-existence of souls. | ||||
| c. 325 | Arius | Arianism | Taught that Jesus was not Divine | Council of Nicea; Nicene Creed | ||
| c. 418 | Pelagius | Pelagianism | Rejected doctrine of Original Sin | |||
| c. 430 | Nestorius | Nestorianism | Two separate persons in Christ, one Divine, one Human | Council of Ephesus | ||
| 446-451 | Eutyches | Monophysitism | Jesus was Divine, not Human | Council of Chalcedon | ||
