Heresy Throughout the Ages

We usually think of heresy as something opposed to orthodoxy. Heresy, however, comes from the Greek hairesis, which means choice. Originally it was not used in a derogatory sense, but as a technical term for a philosophical school or the doctrines of a religion. In current usage heresy is a belief or opinion contrary to what is generally accepted, especially in religion, and more particularly in opposition to the orthodoxy of the Christian Church. Orthodoxy is derived from two Greek words: orthos (right or true) and doxa (opinion), so that orthodoxy means right opinion, usually in a religious sense.

Who decides what is the right opinion and what is not? For many centuries the Church in the West decided what was right in human affairs. Its claims for having the right opinion were based on its interpretation of the Bible and the Church's own traditions. These interpretations have promoted the view that Church history, Church doctrine, and the Church hierarchy are all based on an uninterrupted tradition stemming from Jesus Christ. The existence of numerous heresies, however, indicates that there are many alternative views.

The problem with tracing traditions back to Jesus is that the accounts of his life and teachings were written many years after his death. The earliest writings in the New Testament are letters by Paul, dated between 50 and 60 A.D., and Paul never met Jesus. The earliest Gospel is dated around 70 A.D. In fact, there were many other accounts of the life of Jesus than the few that were finally retained in the New Testament, for example the so-called apocryphal writings, including other gospels and epistles, which were accepted in the first four centuries but were later rejected. Discoveries such as those from Nag Hammadi have given us a wealth of material which throws a different light on the life and teachings of Jesus.

The decisions about which writings to include in the New Testament and which to exclude were made by the council of bishops. Certain aspects of Church doctrines and traditions were introduced by these early Church Fathers:

-- Cyprian developed the idea that the Church is the mediator of salvation;

-- Ignatius of Antioch declared the office of bishop a divine institution;

-- Eusebius wrote the history of the Church;

-- Origen tried to reconcile classical philosophy with the Christian religion, and

-- Augustine helped to define certain doctrines about the trinity, the nature of Christ, and predestination.

The decisions of these and other bishops on history, hierarchy, and textual authenticity were made centuries after the death of Jesus and his disciples, and are the result of heated debates and often long-standing disputes. It is important to realize that those who decided were human beings, well-intentioned perhaps, but not infallible or entirely free from the corruption of power. Disputes took place between bishops, religious leaders, and others with opposing opinions -- within and outside the Church. Most of its history has come to us through the eyes of the winning party -- the losers were called heretics, the winners calling themselves orthodox. It is definitely in the interest of the winner to represent these conflicts as insignificant and to maintain that there has always been one main line of undisputed orthodoxy from the beginning. Eusebius did this in his History of the Church, even though there was very little proof to support his views.

Before the first half of the 3rd century it is inaccurate to speak of a dominant strain of Christianity. Only in the 4th century did concepts about the trinity and certain other dogmas develop, while disputes over acceptable biblical texts lasted until the 5th century. It was not until 451 at the Council of Chalcedon that the apostolic creed was adopted. There was no written history of the Church until Eusebius wrote his in the 4th century. But even then many other matters of doctrine, points of faith, and Christian philosophy were still not decided. Christianity in the first few centuries was more heterogeneous than it is now, with many flagrantly different viewpoints competing with each other -- in those days there was neither orthodoxy nor heresy.

These conflicts revolved around essential questions, and the solutions of the Church did not satisfy everyone. Often these controversies took place between two bishops who passionately refuted each other's point of view -- each of them with his ardent supporters. There were many factions of disagreeing bishops using their own interpretations of certain scriptures. Only when one group gained the support of worldly powers did the phenomenon of anathematizing have any consequence, because worldly powers encouraged and helped enforce it. The winning faction, calling itself orthodox, branded people with other opinions heretics, and many a sincere bishop found himself cast out of the Church. After support of worldly power came in the 4th century with the Emperor Constantine, emperors often called Church Councils to decide on matters of faith because they were pressured by one or both contending factions. The losing party, usually led by a charismatic person, often founded his own church or sect.

The controversies were manifold, but tracing certain major trends can be very enlightening. One of the most important concerns the nature of Christ. Should the focus be on Christ as a physical being who was born, lived, and was crucified, and who rose in the flesh, all for the purpose of redeeming the sins of man? Or should the Christ story be seen as an allegory of the spiritual awakening of every man, as many of the Gnostic groups claimed? According to this line of thought everyone is able -- through knowledge (gnosis) and conscious effort -- to develop his higher self or Christ nature. Jesus was considered a teacher, who set the example and led the way to this goal. In any case, his actual physical existence was much less important and was even denied by some groups. Others held the view that Christ's body was a phantom, that he only seemed to be human and that the crucifixion and suffering were only an outward appearance. This is called Docetism from the Greek dokein -- to seem or to appear. One result of this view of Christ is that the idea of Mary as the mother of God loses its validity. If Christ is not really physical, Mary was not his mother and was an ordinary woman, so followers of this view rejected the worship of Mary.

Another aspect of gnostic thought is that man should be his own redeemer, that he has a spark of divinity within him that gives him the power of his own redemption. This results