Heresies Alive!

This weekend I was honored to teach seminarians about the Age of the "Ecumenical Councils" and help them understand the heresies which helped define orthodoxy in the Imperial Church. One of the persistent problems in teaching this material is the interconnected and confusing convergence of different groups in the early Church and the specialized terminology they used to explain themselves and condemn each other. 

So, to help students understand these issues and concepts, I find it helpful to discuss how we find these heresies alive and well in our churches today. We tend to think of heresies as something that happened "back then" which are only of academic interest today. But the fact is, the same heresies pop up over and over and affect people in profound ways. Thus, I created the chart above (and available in PDF HERE) which helps students connect these heresies with the contemporary world. 


I will put the text of the chart below. Note that each modern heresy includes: [1] Common symptoms by which you can identify it in modern usage. [2] A brief explanation of the historical origin, so that students can look up major terms and proponents. [3] A diagnosis of how this view distorts our relationship with the Triune God known in Christ Jesus. [4] A prescription of some steps toward treating and correcting the distortion.

Modern Arianism

• Symptoms: Sunday school answers that start with "God and Jesus..."
• Origin: Taught by Arius in the 300's CE. Rejected by the Councils of Nicaea (325 CE) and Constantinople (381 CE)
• Diagnosis: This assumes that Jesus is somehow less than God, or just a mere representative of God. Jesus is seen as a good man and a moral teacher, along the lines of Gandhi or Martin Luther King.
• Treatment: Help people realize: [1] It denies that Jesus is one with the Father, able to do things only proper for God, such as forgive, save, and resurrect. [2] It denies that it is proper to worship and pray to Jesus, and makes those who do idolators (since only God is worthy of worship). [3] It denies our salvation, if Jesus is not God. Only God can connect us with God. If Jesus is just a creature, he needs salvation too.

Modern Modalism

• Symptoms: Saying God was Father for Jews, Jesus for the Apostles, and the Spirit in the Church (cf. Water-Ice-Steam Trinity analogy).
• Origin: Taught by Sabellius in 200's CE (thus known as Sabellianism). It says the Father suffered on the cross as Jesus (thus known as Patripassianism). Rejected by Council of Constantinople (381 CE)
• Diagnosis: This assumes that God operates in different "modes" or uses different "masks" at different times in History. It can lead to the view that other divine figures are personifications of God also.
• Treatment: Help people realize: [1] It confuses the Biblical narrative when Jesus relates to the Father and Spirit. [2] It causes a fundamental doubt about God's Nature: Who is God beneath the masks? Will God's character change? [3] It can open up a route to deny the uniqueness of Christ by allowing other "Masks" of God. [4] It dissolves distinctions between Persons and denies God's Nature as Intercommunion of Love.

Modern Pelagianism

• Symptoms: "God helps those who help themselves"
• Origin: This view is attributed to Pelagius, a bishop in Britain in the 300's CE, and is strongly condemned by Augustine of Hippo and the Councils of Ephesus (431 CE) and Orange (529 CE). It is doubtful that Pelagius actually taught this, but popular theology often has.
• Diagnosis: This assumes that our salvation is to be found in the good deeds we do (i.e. "salvation by works"). If we just make ourselves "good enough", God will make us happy and fulfilled (cf. Prosperity Gospel).
• Treatment: Re-emphasize that we are only able to be good if we have God: It is God's grace which initiates salvation and empowers us to live into our salvation. There is no way to "earn" salvation. It is a gift of grace from a God who loves us more than we can ask or imagine. This same grace allows us to grow in Christlikeness in sanctification.

Modern Donatism

• Symptoms: People who think "real Christians" can only be members of one political party, or have to vote a certain way.
• Origin: Donatists in the 300's CE opposed the forgiveness and inclusion of Christians who had lapsed during Roman persecution, opting instead for a "pure Church" of perfect people. 
• Diagnosis: This assumes that our salvation is based on belonging to the right group or supporting the right issues. We are "good people" if we join the right political/religious group, or vote for the right issues.
• Treatment: Recognize that most cultural groups-- whether religious, political, or social-- are a mix of good and bad, healthy and toxic. God wants Christ-followers among "every tribe and tongue", and thus one may be a faithful Christian and be a part of most cultural groups as a "leavening influence" to spread Gospel values.

And if you are interested in a more expansive chart on early Church heresies, click on the image below, or download it in PDF here.