| Heresy |
The Problem |
| Gnosticism |
The Gnostics believed that the material world is evil--the goal
is to set free the spirit that is entrapped in a physical existence.
They believed this was possible through the reception of secret
teachings. |
| Monarchianism |
Monarchians argued that Jesus was an ordinary human, to
whom came the power of God--usually understood at his
baptism or at the resurrection. He was not God, but God
worked in and through him. |
| Manicheism |
Mani, a Babylonian from the 200s CE, claimed to have secret knowledge that
would set the entrapped goodness of Spirit free. YHWH, Mani argued, was an evil spirit who
had entrapped that goodness in creation. |
| Modalism |
Another form of Monarchainism, Modalism is the argument that
God acts in three different modes, but one at a time--hence,
for a time God is Father, then Son, then Holy Spirit. |
| Arianism |
Arius argued that the Father alone was without beginning. The
Son, therefore, was created or made. |
| Montanism |
Montanus (ca. AD 156) asserted a direct relationship with the
Holy Spirit, which came upon him apart from the structure of
the Church and brought on speaking in tongues and other
charismatic behaviors. With this came a strong emphasis on
the immanence of Christ's second coming. |
| Apollinarianism |
Wanting to preserve the two natures of Christ as expressed in
the Nicene Creed, Apollinarius argued that Jesus was fully
human in body and soul, but his mind was the divine Logos
(Word). In essence, Jesus was God clothed in human flesh. |
| Nestorianism |
Trying to preserve the idea that Jesus Christ existed from the
beginning, Nestorius argued that Mary could not be called
"mother of God", as that implied she could give birth to one
older than she. He preferred the term "mother of Christ." |
| Eutychianism |
Attempting to protect against an over-emphasis on the
humanity of Christ, Eutyches argued that when the divine and
human natures were joined, the divine absorbed the
human--thus, he over-emphasized the divinity of Christ. |
| Pelagianism |
Pelagius argued that there is no point at which a person loses
free will--contrary to the doctrine of original sin, one can
always choose for God. |
