Heretics in Christian history
Marcion, the theologian who wanted Christianity to abandon Israel
Posted at Ponderings / Along Life's Journey:
The word "heresy" is closely associated with the idea of "schism," breaking off from the church, and theologians have made a distinction between "formal" and "material" heresy. Formal heresy is a stubborn denial of vital Christian doctrine—those who have heard the truth and then rejected it. Material heresy is what happens when a person embraces a false doctrine out of ignorance. One of the ways we combat material heresy is through education, knowing the Scriptures and the history of Christian doctrine.Let's examine nine of the most notorious heretics in Christian history.
1. Simon Magus
In Acts chapter 8, Simon the Magician was the guy who wanted to purchase the power of the Holy Spirit from the apostles. He saw them performing miracles and essentially wanted to buy the ability to impart the Holy Spirit to whoever he laid his hands on. The early Christian apologist Irenaeus says that after Simon was rebuked by the apostles, he grew more and more full of himself and taught others that he was the loftiest of all powers. Irenaeus didn't just see Simon as a heretic but as the father of heretics. Many saw him also as the originator of Gnosticism, from the Greek word "gnosis," which was a second- and third-century aberration of Christian doctrine. Gnosticism was often characterized by a spirit-matter dualism—spirit is good, matter is bad—together with a focus on secret knowledge imparted only to a select few, the “spiritual ones.”
Many of the heretics in this list have Gnostic tendencies, and you can't talk about early Christian heresy without bringing up Gnosticism.
2. Marcion of Pontus
Marcion had been excommunicated by the church in Rome, and he founded his own sect around 144 AD, setting the law (i.e., the Old Testament) in full opposition to the gospel (i.e., the New Testament). Marcion subsequently rejected the Old Testament and was thus deemed a heretic. He is another one of those fountainheads of Gnosticism, adopting a radical duality between flesh and spirit. Marcion didn't like the physical body or sex or childbirth even, and these were all a part of the “lower” and “less spiritual” world that we're trying to break free from.
3. The Phrygian prophet Montanus
In the middle of the second century between 135 and 175 AD, Montanism was a charismatic, moralistic, and apocalyptic sect that broke from the Christian church, in part because its adherents didn't think the Christian church was rigorous or holy enough. Montanus claimed that Jesus's promise about the coming helper or the Paraclete referred to him. He had signs and wonders and visions. As time progressed, Montanism got more and more strange. There were reports of people being baptized in the name of the Father and of the Son and Lord Montanus, making it clear that as time went on, Montanism fell into Trinitarian heresy.
Editor's Note: This article is originally from Core Christianity and is taken from a transcript of episode Nine of the Most Notorious Ancient Heretics. by Adriel Sanchez.
Many thanks to the creator of Ponderings for sharing this important information with us. - AW
