[Cruciform]

Five well-known Christological heresies related to the Person of Christ were propounded early on in the Church's history, primarily before the Council of Chalcedon (451 A.D.) authoritatively defined the orthodox Christian doctrine and settled the matter.

See how your own understanding of Jesus Christ compares with these five historical Christological heresies. How orthodox is your Christology?

• EBIONISM (Adoptionism). The earliest and most radical denial of the deity of Christ, Ebionism was taught by a small Jewish-Christian sect in the 1st century. They believed that the power of God came upon a man named Jesus to enable him to fulfill the Messianic role, but that Christ was not God.
• ARIANISM. A later (4th century) and more influential Christological heresy that denied the eternal, fully divine nature of Christ. Arius believed that Jesus was the "first and greatest of created beings." Arius's denial of Jesus' full deity was authoritatively rejected at the Council of Nicea in 325 A.D. At this council, Athanasius showed that according to the complete data of Scripture, Jesus is fully God, being of the same essence as the Father.
• DOCETISM. This 2nd-century heresy denied the true and full humanity of Christ. Docetism (from the Greek dokeo, "to seem, to appear to be") was based upon the presuppositions of Gnosticism, which held to a radical dichotomy between the physical and spiritual realms, and a very negative view of the physical order as worthless. These beliefs led to a denial of any real physical substance to Jesus' humanity. In this view, Jesus was divine, but only seemed to be human. Docetic Christology taught that Jesus' physical humanity was just an illusion. One of their statements was that "when Jesus walked on the beach, he left no footprints."
• APOLLINARIANISM. A 4th-century heresy taught by Apollinaris the Younger, who held that the Logos of God, which became the divine nature of Christ, took the place of the rational human soul of Jesus and that the body of Christ was a glorified form of human nature. In other words, though Jesus was a man, he did not have a human mind, but that the mind of Christ was solely divine. Apollinaris taught that the two natures of Christ (divine and human) could not coexist within one person. His heretical solution was to lessen the human nature of Christ. In short, Jesus' divine will overshadowed and replaced his human will.
• NESTORIANISM. The 5th-century error that Jesus is two distinct persons. Named after Nestorius, this heresy was authoritatively condemned by the Council of Ephesus in 431. It posits no real union of God and man in Chjrist, but simply an ontological juxtaposition, or at best an indwelling.

Here, by contrast, is the orthodox Christian doctrine of Christ:

THE CHALCEDONIAN DEFINITION

Following, then, the holy fathers, we unite in teaching all men to confess the one and only Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. This selfsame one is perfect both in deity and in humanness; this selfsame one is also actually God and actually man, with a rational soul {meaning human soul} and a body. He is of the same reality as God as far as his deity is concerned and of the same reality as we ourselves as far as his humanness is concerned; thus like us in all respects, sin only excepted. Before time began he was begotten of the Father, in respect of his deity, and now in these "last days," for us and behalf of our salvation, this selfsame one was born of Mary the virgin, who is God-bearer in respect of his humanness.

We also teach that we apprehend this one and only Christ---Son, Lord, only-begotten---in two natures; and we do this without confusing the two natures, without transmuting one nature into the other, without dividing them into two separate categories, without con- trasting them according to area or function. The distinctiveness of each nature is not nullified by the union. Instead, the "properties" of each nature are conserved and both natures concur in one "person" and in one reality {hypostasis}. They are not divided or cut into two persons, but are together the one and only and only-begotten Word {Logos} of God, the Lord Jesus Christ. Thus have the prophets of old testified; thus the Lord Jesus Christ himself taught us; thus the Symbol of the Fathers {the Nicene Creed} has handed down to us.

Gaudium de veritate,

Cruciform
+T+

[ttruscott]

Very excellent!

Peace, Ted

[genuineoriginal]

Originally Posted by Cruciform

Five well-known Christological heresies related to the Person of Christ were propounded early on in the Church's history, primarily before the Council of Chalcedon (451 A.D.) authoritatively defined the orthodox Christian doctrine and settled the matter.

You should read the article I linked which says that the Council of Chalcedon did not settle the matter.

The Council of Chalcedon with its dogmatic definition did not put an end to the controversy concerning the natures of Christ and their relation to each other. Many people in the East disliked the term person used by the council to signify the union of, or the means of uniting, the two natures in Christ. They believed that Nestorianism was thereby renewed; or at least they thought the definition less satisfactory than St. Cyril's concept of the union of the two natures in Christ (Bardenhewer, Patrologie, 2nd ed., 321-22). In Palestine, Syria, Armenia, Egypt, and other countries, many monks and ecclesiastics refused to accept the definition of Chalcedon; and Monophysites are found there to this day.

[Cruciform]

Originally Posted by genuineoriginal

You should read the article I linked which says that the Council of Chalcedon did not settle the matter.

The Council of Chalcedon definitively settled the matter with respect to the Church's formal doctrine. It defined the bounds of Christological orthodoxy for all believers. While certain individuals subsequently continued to question and debate the Chalcedonian Definition for a time, this in no way changed or nullified the Church's established authoritative teaching.



Gaudium de veritate,

Cruciform
+T+

[Stuu]

Originally Posted by ttruscott

Very excellent!

Peace, Ted

How can something be "very excellent"?

Stuart

[Stuu]

Originally Posted by Cruciform

Five well-known Christological heresies related to the Person of Christ were propounded early on in the Church's history, primarily before the Council of Chalcedon (451 A.D.) authoritatively defined the orthodox Christian doctrine and settled the matter.

451CE is getting on a bit, isn't it? Wouldn't "early on in the church's history" be the period before 33CE? That period when Jesus could have said what he reckoned, rather than other self-aggrandised religious politicians deciding they knew precisely, beyond any doubt what Jesus reckoned?

Your use of the word "authoritative" is hilarious.

Stuart

[oatmeal]

Originally Posted by Stuu

451CE is getting on a bit, isn't it? Wouldn't "early on in the church's history" be the period before 33CE? That period when Jesus could have said what he reckoned, rather than other self-aggrandised religious politicians deciding they knew precisely, beyond any doubt what Jesus reckoned?

Your use of the word "authoritative" is hilarious.

Stuart

Good call

[kmoney]

Originally Posted by Cruciform

Five well-known Christological heresies related to the Person of Christ were propounded early on in the Church's history, primarily before the Council of Chalcedon (451 A.D.) authoritatively defined the orthodox Christian doctrine and settled the matter.

See how your own understanding of Jesus Christ compares with these five historical Christological heresies. How orthodox is your Christology?

• EBIONISM (Adoptionism). The earliest and most radical denial of the deity of Christ, Ebionism was taught by a small Jewish-Christian sect in the 1st century. They believed that the power of God came upon a man named Jesus to enable him to fulfill the Messianic role, but that Christ was not God.
• ARIANISM. A later (4th century) and more influential Christological heresy that denied the eternal, fully divine nature of Christ. Arius believed that Jesus was the "first and greatest of created beings." Arius's denial of Jesus' full deity was authoritatively rejected at the Council of Nicea in 325 A.D. At this council, Athanasius showed that according to the complete data of Scripture, Jesus is fully God, being of the same essence as the Father.
• DOCETISM. This 2nd-century heresy denied the true and full humanity of Christ. Docetism (from the Greek dokeo, "to seem, to appear to be") was based upon the presuppositions of Gnosticism, which held to a radical dichotomy between the physical and spiritual realms, and a very negative view of the physical order as worthless. These beliefs led to a denial of any real physical substance to Jesus' humanity. In this view, Jesus was divine, but only seemed to be human. Docetic Christology taught that Jesus' physical humanity was just an illusion. One of their statements was that "when Jesus walked on the beach, he left no footprints."
• APOLLINARIANISM. A 4th-century heresy taught by Apollinaris the Younger, who held that the Logos of God, which became the divine nature of Christ, took the place of the rational human soul of Jesus and that the body of Christ was a glorified form of human nature. In other words, though Jesus was a man, he did not have a human mind, but that the mind of Christ was solely divine. Apollinaris taught that the two natures of Christ (divine and human) could not coexist within one person. His heretical solution was to lessen the human nature of Christ. In short, Jesus' divine will overshadowed and replaced his human will.
• NESTORIANISM. The 5th-century error that Jesus is two distinct persons. Named after Nestorius, this heresy was authoritatively condemned by the Council of Ephesus in 431. It posits no real union of God and man in Chjrist, but simply an ontological juxtaposition, or at best an indwelling.

Here, by contrast, is the orthodox Christian doctrine of Christ:

THE CHALCEDONIAN DEFINITION

Following, then, the holy fathers, we unite in teaching all men to confess the one and only Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. This selfsame one is perfect both in deity and in humanness; this selfsame one is also actually God and actually man, with a rational soul {meaning human soul} and a body. He is of the same reality as God as far as his deity is concerned and of the same reality as we ourselves as far as his humanness is concerned; thus like us in all respects, sin only excepted. Before time began he was begotten of the Father, in respect of his deity, and now in these "last days," for us and behalf of our salvation, this selfsame one was born of Mary the virgin, who is God-bearer in respect of his humanness.

We also teach that we apprehend this one and only Christ---Son, Lord, only-begotten---in two natures; and we do this without confusing the two natures, without transmuting one nature into the other, without dividing them into two separate categories, without con- trasting them according to area or function. The distinctiveness of each nature is not nullified by the union. Instead, the "properties" of each nature are conserved and both natures concur in one "person" and in one reality {hypostasis}. They are not divided or cut into two persons, but are together the one and only and only-begotten Word {Logos} of God, the Lord Jesus Christ. Thus have the prophets of old testified; thus the Lord Jesus Christ himself taught us; thus the Symbol of the Fathers {the Nicene Creed} has handed down to us.

Gaudium de veritate,

Cruciform
+T+

Out of those, I vote for Ebionism. Do I pass the test?

[Cruciform]

Originally Posted by Stuu

451CE is getting on a bit, isn't it?

Not historically speaking, no.

Your use of the word "authoritative" is hilarious.

Your declaring your opinion as though it were somehow authoritative is hilarious.



Gaudium de veritate,

Cruciform
+T+

[Cruciform]

Originally Posted by kmoney

Out of those, I vote for Ebionism. Do I pass the test?

For being an Adoptionist, yes; for being a Christian, no.



Gaudium de veritate,

Cruciform
+T+

[Clete]

Originally Posted by Cruciform

Five well-known Christological heresies related to the Person of Christ were propounded early on in the Church's history, primarily before the Council of Chalcedon (451 A.D.) authoritatively defined the orthodox Christian doctrine and settled the matter.

See how your own understanding of Jesus Christ compares with these five historical Christological heresies. How orthodox is your Christology?

• EBIONISM (Adoptionism). The earliest and most radical denial of the deity of Christ, Ebionism was taught by a small Jewish-Christian sect in the 1st century. They believed that the power of God came upon a man named Jesus to enable him to fulfill the Messianic role, but that Christ was not God.
• ARIANISM. A later (4th century) and more influential Christological heresy that denied the eternal, fully divine nature of Christ. Arius believed that Jesus was the "first and greatest of created beings." Arius's denial of Jesus' full deity was authoritatively rejected at the Council of Nicea in 325 A.D. At this council, Athanasius showed that according to the complete data of Scripture, Jesus is fully God, being of the same essence as the Father.
• DOCETISM. This 2nd-century heresy denied the true and full humanity of Christ. Docetism (from the Greek dokeo, "to seem, to appear to be") was based upon the presuppositions of Gnosticism, which held to a radical dichotomy between the physical and spiritual realms, and a very negative view of the physical order as worthless. These beliefs led to a denial of any real physical substance to Jesus' humanity. In this view, Jesus was divine, but only seemed to be human. Docetic Christology taught that Jesus' physical humanity was just an illusion. One of their statements was that "when Jesus walked on the beach, he left no footprints."
• APOLLINARIANISM. A 4th-century heresy taught by Apollinaris the Younger, who held that the Logos of God, which became the divine nature of Christ, took the place of the rational human soul of Jesus and that the body of Christ was a glorified form of human nature. In other words, though Jesus was a man, he did not have a human mind, but that the mind of Christ was solely divine. Apollinaris taught that the two natures of Christ (divine and human) could not coexist within one person. His heretical solution was to lessen the human nature of Christ. In short, Jesus' divine will overshadowed and replaced his human will.
• NESTORIANISM. The 5th-century error that Jesus is two distinct persons. Named after Nestorius, this heresy was authoritatively condemned by the Council of Ephesus in 431. It posits no real union of God and man in Chjrist, but simply an ontological juxtaposition, or at best an indwelling.

Here, by contrast, is the orthodox Christian doctrine of Christ:

THE CHALCEDONIAN DEFINITION

Following, then, the holy fathers, we unite in teaching all men to confess the one and only Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. This selfsame one is perfect both in deity and in humanness; this selfsame one is also actually God and actually man, with a rational soul {meaning human soul} and a body. He is of the same reality as God as far as his deity is concerned and of the same reality as we ourselves as far as his humanness is concerned; thus like us in all respects, sin only excepted. Before time began he was begotten of the Father, in respect of his deity, and now in these "last days," for us and behalf of our salvation, this selfsame one was born of Mary the virgin, who is God-bearer in respect of his humanness.

We also teach that we apprehend this one and only Christ---Son, Lord, only-begotten---in two natures; and we do this without confusing the two natures, without transmuting one nature into the other, without dividing them into two separate categories, without con- trasting them according to area or function. The distinctiveness of each nature is not nullified by the union. Instead, the "properties" of each nature are conserved and both natures concur in one "person" and in one reality {hypostasis}. They are not divided or cut into two persons, but are together the one and only and only-begotten Word {Logos} of God, the Lord Jesus Christ. Thus have the prophets of old testified; thus the Lord Jesus Christ himself taught us; thus the Symbol of the Fathers {the Nicene Creed} has handed down to us.

Gaudium de veritate,

Cruciform
+T+

I'd say that I fully agree with the Chalcedonian Definition with the singular exception of the phrase "before time began" a concept which is not only irrational but unbiblical as well.

Clete

[Cruciform]

Originally Posted by Clete

I'd say that I fully agree with the Chalcedonian Definition with the singular exception of the phrase "before time began" a concept which is not only irrational but unbiblical as well.

Given that time began with material creation, the phrase "before time began" simply means "before the creation of the world."



Gaudium de veritate,

Cruciform
+T+

[Clete]

Originally Posted by Cruciform

Given that time began with material creation, the phrase "before time began" simply means "before the creation of the world."



Gaudium de veritate,

Cruciform
+T+

That is a given that is not given in Scripture and more importantly than that, "before the creation of the world" is NOT what is typically meant by "before time began". Augustine, the quintessential catholic and the by far most influential theologian in the whole history of the Christian church believed and taught the God exists outside of time and that He, in fact, created time, which is complete self-contradictory, non-biblical, neo-platonic silliness.

If, however, the definition had in fact said, "before the creation of the world", I'd agree with it entirely.

Clete

P.S. Interesting thread, by the way.

[OMEGA]

Cruciform, Shades of Heresy.

Are you trying to make Catholics out of us Christians ?

Mt 4:4 But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone,
but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.

Lu 4:4 And Jesus answered him, saying, It is written,
That man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.

[Cruciform]

Originally Posted by Clete

That is a given that is not given in Scripture and more importantly than that, "before the creation of the world" is NOT what is typically meant by "before time began". Augustine, the quintessential catholic and the by far most influential theologian in the whole history of the Christian church believed and taught the God exists outside of time and that He, in fact, created time, which is complete self-contradictory, non-biblical, neo-platonic silliness.

Your rejection of historic Christian orthodoxy is noted.

If, however, the definition had in fact said, "before the creation of the world", I'd agree with it entirely.

Good, since this is what it signifies in the Chalcedonian Definition.



Gaudium de veritate,

Cruciform
+T+