Heresies
The word “heresy” transliterates the Greek word haireo which translates “I choose.” This is over against orthodoxy, etymologically from the Greek ortho (straight) and doxa (belief or opinion). Heresies typically fall into three categories: those having to do with trinity, with Christology, and with soteriology.
Heresy hurts individuals, the church, and the world God created because it encourages either flight (such as Gnosticism) or self-centeredness (such as Pelagianism). Heresies encourage some flaw in our fallen human nature and narrow our understanding of God and salvation with explanations of Christian faith that are often one-sided. They are usually the “easy” way out of what is otherwise the both/and or paradox required of orthodox teaching.
The candidate should be able to explain the heresy and why each is detrimental to our faith and life. These include: Gnosticism; Arianism; Pelagianism; modalism; docetism; adoptionism; Nestorianism; and deism. It would also be wise to explore what the Notre Dame longitudinal study characterized teen and young adult U.S. faith as “moralistic therapeutic deism.”
Contents
Recommended Reading
Ben Quash and Michael Ward. Heresies and How to Avoid Them . Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2007.
Alister McGrath. Heresy: A History of Defending the Truth . New York: HarperOne, 2009.
Irenaues of Lyons, Against Heresies 1.9-10.
Alexander of Alexandria. “Letter to Alexander of Thessalonica” in The Trinitarian Controversy . Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1980.
Resources for Further Study
C. FitzSimons Allison. The Cruelty of Heresy: An Affirmation of Christian Orthodoxy . New York: Morehouse Publishing, 1994.
Christian Smith. “On ‘Moralistic Therapeutic Deism’ as U.S. Teenagers’ Actual, Tacit, De Facto Religious Faith”. (available online).
David Wilhite. The Gospel according to Heretics: Discovering Orthodoxy through Early Christological Conflicts . Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2015.
John Behr. Irenaeus of Lyons: Identifying Christianity . Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press, 2015.
