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Heresy
Satan’s Invasion of the Church
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"For the time is
coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears
they
will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own likings, and
will
turn away from listening to the truth and wander into myths."
(2 Tim. 4:3-4)
In the history of the Church,
false teachings, or heresies, were always a part of the Enemy’s armamentarium.
Satanic Heresies exist in all ages with the aim of attempt bringing down Christianity---always
by attacking the Message and the Divinity of Jesus Christ. From the
Circumcisers of the time of the Apostles, to present-day Atheism under the
guises of Relativism, Positivism and Hedonism---all heresies substitute corrupt
theological formulas and philosophies for what God, the Holy Spirit, has
revealed to man in Sacred Scripture and Sacred Tradition.
Heresy:
1. Heresy is a false belief
pronounced by an authentic member of the Universal Christian Church of Jesus
Christ; Catholic or Protestant. Heresy is not supported by Sacred Scripture or
the Magisterium of the Roman Catholic Church. Heresy offends the Truth and all
authentic Christians. Heresy offends Jesus Christ and Mary, His Mother.
2. Heresy is also the utterance
of a false belief or cult philosophy that threatens the faith of Christian
believers. The modern media is saturated with heresies of all formulas.
Atheism:
Initially, it is proper to
present the ultimate and ever-present heresy: Atheism, which is refusal to
believe in God. Atheism has a first cousin by the name of Agnosticism. Following is the treatment of both of these
heresies by the Catechism of the Catholic Church:
No. 2126 Atheism is often based on a false conception of human
autonomy, exaggerated to the point of refusing any dependence on God. Yet,
"to acknowledge God is in no way to oppose the dignity of man, since such
dignity is grounded and brought to perfection
in God. ….. "For the Church knows full well that her message is in harmony
with the most secret desires of the human heart.”
No. 2127 Agnosticism assumes a number of forms. In certain cases the
agnostic refrains from denying God; instead he postulates the existence of a
transcendent being which is incapable of revealing itself, and about which
nothing can be said. In other cases, the agnostic makes no judgment about God's
existence, declaring it impossible to prove, or even to affirm or deny.
No. 2128 Agnosticism can sometimes include a certain search for God,
but it can equally express indifferentism, a flight from the ultimate question
of existence, and a sluggish moral conscience.
Agnosticism is all too often equivalent to practical atheism. (Catechism
of the Catholic Church)
~Modern heresies are
formulated from past heresies~
Past Heresies:
Hedonism (400 B.C.)
“The name given to the group of ethical systems that hold, with various
modifications, that feelings of pleasure or happiness are the highest and final
aim of conduct; that, consequently those actions which increase the sum of
pleasure are thereby constituted right, and, conversely, what increases pain is
wrong. The father of Hedonism was Aristippus of Cyrene (400 B.C.). He taught that pleasure is the universal
and ultimate object or endeavour.” (The
Catholic Encyclopedia)
Circumcision (1st Century)
The Circumcision heresy is
related from the pages of Sacred Scripture itself:
"But some men came down from
St. Peter’s discourse on the
worthiness of Gentiles as Christian converts sets the record straight:
“’Truly I perceive that God shows
no partiality, but in every nation any one who fears him and does what is right
is acceptable to him. You know the word
which he sent to Israel, preaching good news of peace by Jesus Christ (he is
Lord of all), the word which was proclaimed throughout all Judea, beginning
from Galilee after the baptism which John preached: how God anointed Jesus of
Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power; how he went about doing good and
healing all that were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him. And we are witnesses to all that he did both
in the country of the Jews and in
Gnosticism (1st and 2nd Centuries)
Gnostics were "people who
knew", and their knowledge at once constituted them a superior class of
beings, whose present and future status was essentially different from that of
those who, for whatever reason, did not know. Whereas Judaism and Christianity, and
almost all pagan systems, hold that the soul attains its
proper end by obedience of mind and will to the Supreme Power, i.e. by faith and
works, it is markedly peculiar to Gnosticism that it places the salvation of
the soul merely in the possession of a quasi-intuitive knowledge of the
mysteries of the universe and of magic formulae indicative of that knowledge.
(The Catholic Encyclopedia)
Gnosticism is always just outside
the door of the Church. It has created heresies by the
bushel-basket-full---throughout Catholic history. It was the driving force
behind the “Age of Enlightenment” (c. 1675-1750). Anticlericalism was the
principal threat to the Catholic religion in the seventeen hundreds. Permanent,
institutionalized anticlericalism’ had existed before the Enlightenment, often
comparative in theme and popular in style, and it was by no means incompatible
with the false piety of displayed in the late sixteen hundreds, or, half a
century later, (1750)
Deists were few in number in the early seventeen hundreds in
England, but the range and depth of the anticlericalism challenge extended to
more than a century later. Gnosticism and Deism were utilized as popular,
clandestine philosophies by Freemasonry in the late seventeen and early
eighteen hundreds.
Gnosticism is the mark of man
superimposed over God. It can be said that it is the mark of the Beast: 666;---as 333 is the mark of the Holy Trinity. (Cf.
The most recent Gnostic work to
date is The Da Vinci Code, by Dan Brown.
Montanism (Late 2nd Century)
Montanus
was a recent convert when he first began to prophesy in the
Our response: The proponents of
the heresy are obviously demon-possessed; imitating God, Himself.
Arianism (4th Century)
Besides Atheism and Agnosticism,
the greatest heresy the Church has ever fought was Arianism.
(In its various forms, especially as the “Historical Jesus”, the Church is
still fighting Arianism today.) Arius was a monk in
the
After creating a major schism (a
division based on doctrine or authority) in the Church, Arianism
was solemnly condemned in 325 A.D. at the First Council of Nicaea.
(defined the divinity of Christ) In 381 A.D., at the First Council of
Constantinople (defined the divinity of the Holy Spirit), Arianism
was again condemned. These two councils gave us the Nicene Creed, the
Profession of Faith.
Nestorianism (5th Century)
Nestorian heretic theology: One
person, two hypostases (one-time evolutions), two persons: Christ evolved
separately as one divine person (the Eternal Word) and one human person (Jesus
Christ), thus possessing two natures in two persons.
Catholic Church theology: One
person, one hypostasis (one-time only evolution), two persons: Upon conception,
Christ was instantly fused into One Person by the Holy Spirit and the Eternal
Word of the Holy Trinity: instantly becoming Jesus Christ, the Eternal Word,
who possesses two natures; human and divine. All of the Eternal Word is Christ
and all of Christ is the Eternal Word.
Nestorius
was a Syrian monk who was consecrated bishop in 428 A.D. He was a popular
homilist who followed after the style of St. John Chrysostom. He won the favor of the emperor, Theodosius
II, who appointed him Archbishop of Constantinople. Nestorius
fought against the Arian heresy of the day and even convinced the Emperor to
seize apostate Churches. His popularity got the best of him and he considered
himself more intelligent than the sensus fidelium of the Church, which endorsed Mary, Mother of God
as “Theotokos” (Qeotokos), meaning
“God-bearer”. Nestorius was only willing to call
Mary, Mother of Christ---not Mother of God, which would mean that Mary did not
give birth to Christ as a divine Person; but only as a human person.
The truth about Christ’s
Incarnation is that, from the first moment of His conception by the Holy Spirit
(the Lk1:35 doctrine of the Virgin Conception/Birth of Jesus Christ), Jesus
only had God as Father, and was concurrently assumed into the Eternal Word, the
Second Person of the Most Holy Trinity.
This divine action of the Holy Spirit (Lk1:35) resulted in the One
Person, Jesus Christ, the Eternal Word of the Father.
The Church reacted to Nestorius in 431 A.D. with the Council of Ephesus, defining
that Mary can be properly referred to as the Mother of God; thus endorsing the
Greek term “Theotokos” (Qeotokos), meaning
“God-bearer”. (Cf. The Catholic Encyclopedia)
Pelagianism (5th Century)
Augustine, Orosius,
Prosper, and Marius Mercator, are quite explicit in
assigning
About the heresy of Pelagianism, the Catholic Encyclopedia says: R.(responses ours)
A. “Even if Adam had not sinned,
he would have died.”
R.
(The Church teaches that Adam’s physical death was caused by his original sin.)
B. “Adam's sin harmed only
himself, not the human race.”
R.
(The Church teaches, that, in the Plan of God, we inherit Adam’s sin at birth.)
C. “Children just born are in the
same state as Adam before his fall.”
R.
(The Church teaches that children are born with Original Sin; requiring
Baptism.)
D. “The whole human race neither
dies through Adam's sin or death, nor rises again through the resurrection of
Christ.”
R.
(The Church teaches that death came through the first Adam and resurrection and
life come through the Second Adam, Jesus Christ. (1Cor15:22)
E. “The (Mosaic Law is as good a
guide to heaven as the Gospel.”
R.
(The Church teaches that the Mosaic Law is valid only for Jews of the Old
Covenant. God the Father revealed His intentions for our salvation completely the New Covenant of the
Blood of His Son, Jesus Christ.)
F. “Even before the advent of
Christ there were men who were without sin.”
R.
(The Church teaches that only Jesus and His Mother, Mary, were born without
original sin after Adam and Eve. Adam and Eve were born without sin, but committed the Original Sin
with which all humans other than
Jesus and Mary are born with.)
Pelagius’ elemental orientation
was the “unlimited energy of nature” and he was thus probably the first “new
age” heretic. He also connected sin to social action, thus not connecting a
sinful act with the violation of one’s intimacy or conscience.
There was held on
Monophysitism (5th Century)
Monophysite
(Greek: mono = one; physis = nature) theology: One
person, one hypostasis, one nature. This says that God changed the divine
nature of the Eternal Word of the Holy Trinity and the human nature of Jesus
Christ and fused them into one person.
Catholic Church theology: One
person, one hypostasis, two natures: Upon conception, Christ was instantly
fused as One Person by the Holy Spirit and the Eternal Word of the Trinity:
instantly becoming Jesus Christ, the Eternal Word, who possesses two natures;
human and divine. All of the Eternal Word is Christ and all of Christ is the
Eternal Word. (Cf. The Catholic Encyclopedia)
In other words, God could not
change the divine nature of the Eternal Word because, as God, He cannot change
Himself. He did not change the human nature of Jesus Christ because He would
have created a new type of human being. God did not do both of these things
because He could not, and did not, change His nature and the way He created
humans. In the Incarnation, God made One Divine Person out of the Complete and
Divine Eternal Word Person (His Son by Perfect Image and Likeness) and the
complete and human Jesus Christ person. God did this in an instant by the Power
of the Holy Spirit and the Eternal Word.
He called the new Divine Person His Son: Jesus Christ, the Eternal Word.
The identity of the originator of
Monophysitism is not clarified, but off and on the
heresy had many followers in the Church. Many say Eutyches
was not the originator the Monophysite heresy, and he
was repudiated and condemned by many of the Monophysites.
Eutyches in 448 was seventy years of age, and had
been for thirty years archimandrite of a monastery outside the walls of
Iconoclasm (7th and 8th Centuries)
This heresy came from people
known as iconoclasts ("icon smashers"). They claimed that it was sinful to make any
image of Christ and the saints. However, in the Bible, God had commanded the
making of religious statues (Ex. 25:18-21; Ex26:31; 1 Chr.
28:18-19; 1Kings6:23-32; 1Ki8:7), including symbolic representations (cf. Num.
21:8-9 with John
Catharism (11th Century)
Usually referenced as having
preceded Albigensianism; embracing the same heresy.
Albigensianism (12th and 13th Centuries)
The Albigenses
asserted the co-existence of two mutually opposed principles, one good, the other evil. The former is the creator of the spiritual,
the latter of the material world. The bad principle is the source of all evil;
natural phenomena, either ordinary like the growth of plants, or extraordinary
as earthquakes, likewise moral disorders (war), must be attributed to him. (The
Catholic Encyclopedia)
The dualism of the Albigenses was also the basis of their moral teaching. Man,
they taught, is a living contradiction. Hence, the liberation of the soul from
its captivity in the body is the true end of our being. To attain this, suicide
is commendable; it was customary among them in the form of the endura (starvation). The extinction of bodily life on the
largest scale consistent with human existence is also a perfect aim. As
generation propagates the slavery of the soul to the body, perpetual chastity
should be practiced. Matrimonial intercourse is unlawful; concubinage,
being of a less permanent nature, is preferable to marriage. (The Catholic
Encyclopedia)
Our response: The heresy is pagan and defies elemental
reasoning. A good God cannot create a
bad universe. That a bad god created the universe apart from a good God would
say that there are two gods. No real God would permit two gods. God is the One omnipotent, infinite, merciful and just God of all
creation; He created the spiritual aspect of creation and the physical aspect
of creation---and they are both good. The heretics also completely ignored the
revelation of God, the Bible, in constructing their theology and morality.
Jansenism (17th Century)
“Cornelius Jansen, Bishop of Ypres, France, (Cornelius Jansenius
Yprensis), from whom Jansenism derives its origin and
name, must not be confounded with another writer and bishop of the same name
Cornelius Jansenius Gandavensis
(1510-1576), of whom we possess several books on Scripture and a valuable
‘Concordia Evangelica.’"
The heresy states: “As a result
of Adam's sin, our nature stripped of elements essential to its integrity, is
radically corrupt and depraved. Mastered by concupiscence, which in each of us
properly constitutes original sin, the will is powerless to resist; it has
become purely passive. It cannot escape the attraction of evil except it be
aided by a movement of grace superior to and triumphant over the force of
concupiscence. Our soul, henceforth obedient to no motive save that of
pleasure, is at the mercy of the delectation, earthly or heavenly, which for
the time being attracts it with the greatest strength. At once inevitable and
irresistible, this delectation, if it come from heaven
or from grace, leads man to virtue; if it come from nature or concupiscence, it
determines him to sin. In the one case as in the other, the will is fatally
swept on by the preponderant impulse.”
Our response to the statement
describing Jansenism: The heresy denies God’s gift of man’s free will. The
heresy denies that God gives grace to those who choose against sin. The heresy states that we are helpless in our moral life and therefore
predestined to heaven or to hell, depending upon what ‘heaven’ or ‘hell’ sends
to us.
In actuality, salvation is
achievable to man through love of God and neighbor. By incorporating the
revelation of God, Sacred Scripture, into his heart and participating in the
Universal Church of Jesus Christ (either directly or by desire in the
unknowing), salvation is achievable by man.
Jansenius
initiated this heresy with a paper he wrote on Augustine, which redefined the
doctrine of grace. Among other doctrines, his followers denied that Christ died
for all men, but claimed that he died only for those who will be finally saved
(the elect). This and other Jansenist errors were
officially condemned by Pope Innocent X in 1653.
Sola Fide (16th Century)
Some Protestant groups display a
wide variety of different doctrines, and some claim to believe in the principle
of sola fide ("by faith alone")— the idea that we achieve salvation by faith alone. In its
most extreme form, the heresy declares that works of charity are not necessary
for salvation.
Our response: “What good is it,
my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that
faith save him? If a brother or sister has nothing to wear and has no food for
the day, and one of you says to them, "Go in peace, keep warm, and eat
well," but you do not give them the necessities of the body, what good is
it? So also faith of itself, if it does
not have works, is dead.” (James 2:14-17)
“ For
just as a body without a spirit is dead, so also faith without works is
dead.” (James 2:26)
Sola Scriptura (16th Century)
The theological doctrine of sola scriptura ("by
scripture alone")—is the idea that we must use only the Bible when forming
our theology and morality.
Our response: The doctrine denies
Sacred Tradition, inspired by the Holy Spirit.
Elements of tradition exist in many Protestant
denominations---indeed---since the Reformation---over 400 years ago.
Sacred Tradition in the Catholic
Church goes back 2000 years, as
“I praise you because you
remember me in everything and hold fast to the traditions, just as I handed
them on to you.” (1Cor11:2)
“Therefore, brothers, stand firm
and hold fast to the traditions that you were taught, either by an oral
statement or by a letter of ours.”(2Thess2:15)
The diversity of Protestant
doctrine stems from their belief in private judgment of scripture; which really
doesn’t exclusively exist in all Protestant denominations. Try telling the pastor how to preach his
Sunday sermon because you believe it should be preached another way! The doctrine claims that each individual is
to interpret Sacred Scripture for himself. St. Peter has another perspective:
"First of all you must
understand this, that no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one's own
interpretation." (2 Peter 1:20)
A significant feature of this
doctrine denies that the Roman Catholic Magisterium has any authority to teach
and interpret Scripture. From
“But if I tarry long, that thou
mayest know how thou ought to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the
Church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth.” (1 Tim. 3:15)
From the Catechism of the Catholic Church:
"Sacred Scripture must be
read and interpreted in the light of the same Spirit by whom it was written. (
1. Be
especially attentive "to the content and unity of the whole
Scripture."
2. Read the Scripture within
"the living Tradition of the whole Church."
3. Be
attentive to the analogy of faith. By "analogy of faith" we mean the
coherence of the truths of faith among themselves and within the whole plan of
Revelation. According to an ancient
tradition, one can distinguish
between two senses of Scripture: the literal and the spiritual, the latter
being subdivided into the allegorical, moral, and anagogical senses. The
profound concordance of the four senses guarantees all its richness to the living reading of Scripture in the
Church.
The two senses with which Sacred
Scripture should be read:
1. The literal sense is the
meaning conveyed by the words of Scripture and discovered by exegesis,
following the rules of sound interpretation. "All other senses of Sacred
Scripture are based on the literal."
2. The spiritual sense. Thanks to
the unity of God's plan, not only the text of Scripture but also the realities
and events about which it speaks can be signs.
a. The allegorical sense. We can
acquire a more profound understanding of events by recognizing their
significance in Christ; thus the crossing of the
b. The moral sense. The events
reported in Scripture ought to lead us to act justly. As
c. The anagogical sense (Greek: anagoge, "leading"). We can view realities and
events in terms of their eternal significance, leading us toward our true
homeland: thus the Church
on earth is a sign of the heavenly
It is the task of exegetes to
work, according to these rules, toward a better understanding and explanation
of the meaning of Sacred Scripture in order that their research may help the
Church to form a firmer judgment. For, of course, all that has been said about
the manner of interpreting Scripture is ultimately subject to the judgment of
the Church which exercises the divinely conferred commission and ministry of
watching over and interpreting the Word of God."
“But I would not believe in the
Gospel, had not the authority of the Catholic Church already moved me.” (
(Cf. Catechism of the Catholic Church 109-119)
The doctrine of private judgment
has resulted in a large number of different Protestant denominations, with
hundreds in the
“Then after three years I went up
to Jerusalem to visit Cephas (Peter), "And when they perceived the grace
that was given to me, James and Cephas (Peter) and
John, who were reputed to be pillars, gave to me and Barnabas the right hand of
fellowship.” (Gal. 2:9)
*(
Protestantism, however, contains
many elements of salvation. They are
certain to be part of the Catholic or Universal Church of Jesus Christ.
Protestants are the brothers and sisters of other Christians. The Catechism of
the Catholic Church says:
"Many elements of
sanctification and of truth" are found outside the visible confines of the
Catholic Church: "the written Word of God; the life of grace; faith, hope,
and charity, with other interior gifts of the Holy Spirit, as well as visible
elements." (CCC:819; LG 8-2,Vatican II)
"All who have been justified
by faith in Baptism are incorporated into Christ; they therefore have a right
to be called Christians, and with good reason are accepted as brothers and
sisters in the Lord by the children of the Catholic Church." (CCC: 818;
UR3-1, Pope Paul VI)
Deism (17th Century)
Deism evolved in
Our response: God is a Personal
God and has revealed Himself completely in the Bible. As Pope John Paul said:
“Indeed, the deepest truth about
God is made clear to us in Christ.” (Redemptoris
Mater)
Positivism (19th Century)
“Positivism is a system of
philosophical and religious doctrines elaborated by Auguste
Comte. (around 1825)
As a philosophical system or method, Positivism denies the validity of
metaphysical speculations, and maintains that the data of sense experience are
the only object and the supreme criterion of human knowledge. As a religious system, it denies the
existence of a personal God and takes humanity, "the great being", as
the object of its veneration and cult.” (The Catholic Encyclopedia)
Our response: Positivism denies
the existence of the spiritual realm. Therefore it denies the existence of God.
Essentially, it is Atheistic.
Relavatism (19th Century)
“Any doctrine which denies,
universally or in regard to some restricted sphere of being, the existence of
absolute values, may be termed Relativism. Thus, one form of Relativism asserts
that we are conscious only of differences or changes. Another asserts that truth is relative,
because:
1. Judgments are held to have no meaning of themselves and are subject to indefinite modification before
they can become embodied in the one coherent system of ideal truth.
2. Because
truth is conceived as a peculiar property of ideas whereby they enable us to
deal with our environment more or less successfully (Pragmatists)”. (Cf.
The Catholic Encyclopedia)
Our response: “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today
and for ever.” (Heb13:8) All the
arguments for the establishment of traditional Christian morality apply.
Conclusion
Heresies have been with us from
the Church's beginning. They have even been started by Church leaders who were
then condemned by councils and popes. Fortunately, we have Christ's promise
that heresies will never prevail against the Church, for he told Peter:
"You are Peter, and on this
rock I will build my Church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against
it.” (Matt. 16:18)
The Church is truly, in
References :
http://www.catholic.com/library/Great_Heresies.asp (Catholic Answers)
www.newadvent.org (The Catholic
Encyclopedia)
http://www.history.ac.uk/reviews/paper/aston.html
(