What makes someone a Heretic?
The Quick Answer
Strictly speaking, in order for someone to be a heretic, there are two main conditions that need to be met. First, they must claim to be a member of a given religion, and secondly, they must profess beliefs that challenge or conflict with their religion's doctrines.
For example, if a Jewish person was to deny the divinity of Jesus Christ, they would not be a heretic, as Judaism doesn't really acknowledge Him at all, let alone consider Him to be equal with God. On the other hand, if some claims to be a Christian and still denies the divinity of Jesus, then they're rejecting a foundational belief of their own religion, and that is heretical.
For example, if a Jewish person was to deny the divinity of Jesus Christ, they would not be a heretic, as Judaism doesn't really acknowledge Him at all, let alone consider Him to be equal with God. On the other hand, if some claims to be a Christian and still denies the divinity of Jesus, then they're rejecting a foundational belief of their own religion, and that is heretical.
Christianity and Heresy
Sooner or later, every religion has had to deal with someone challenging its doctrines, and Christianity is certainly no exception to this. In fact, many of Christianity's core doctrines were developed by open and in some cases prolonged discussions that questioned the validity of existing doctrines.
Most of these discussions took place centuries ago, when the religion was still fairly new. These were known as church councils, and they often resulted in the publication of special documents known as creeds.
Perhaps the most famous of these councils was the Second Council of Nicaea, which was held in the late 4th century and resulted in the famous Nicaean Creed (among other things). This creed explicitly and officially declared the belief in the Trinity to be a core and defining Christian doctrine.
These days, with Christianity splintered into so many different denominations and groups, things are (generally speaking) a little more relaxed - the only heresies that most people care about about are the ones that are considered to be a threat to someone's Salvation.
So while we might disagree on things like when services should be held, which hymns should be sung on what days, and where the congregation's coffee pot should go, this doesn't make us heretics.
Most of these discussions took place centuries ago, when the religion was still fairly new. These were known as church councils, and they often resulted in the publication of special documents known as creeds.
Perhaps the most famous of these councils was the Second Council of Nicaea, which was held in the late 4th century and resulted in the famous Nicaean Creed (among other things). This creed explicitly and officially declared the belief in the Trinity to be a core and defining Christian doctrine.
These days, with Christianity splintered into so many different denominations and groups, things are (generally speaking) a little more relaxed - the only heresies that most people care about about are the ones that are considered to be a threat to someone's Salvation.
So while we might disagree on things like when services should be held, which hymns should be sung on what days, and where the congregation's coffee pot should go, this doesn't make us heretics.
Some Notable Heretics
A page on heresy wouldn't be complete without a short discussion on some of the more famous heretics in Christianity's history. Each of the people listed below are notable for introducing or teaching doctrine that was incompatible with mainstream Christian doctrine.
It's important to notice that each of their teachings either removed Jesus Christ from their version of Christianity or rendered Him redundant. We literally won't be called CHRISTians if it wasn't for Christ, so it's always a bad sign when Christians don't consider Christ to be a central part of their beliefs.
It's important to notice that each of their teachings either removed Jesus Christ from their version of Christianity or rendered Him redundant. We literally won't be called CHRISTians if it wasn't for Christ, so it's always a bad sign when Christians don't consider Christ to be a central part of their beliefs.
Arius
Arius denied that there is a Trinity. Instead, he taught that Jesus is one of God's creations. In turn, this means that Jesus could not be equal to God, nor is He worthy of being worshipped. Problems arising from Arius' teachings resulted in the First and Second Council of Nicaea, both of which rejected his claims as unbiblical.
The core problem with Arianism is a logical one: it tries to force conflicting doctrines to coexist. As an example, Arius has created a God who is both capable and incapable of changing His Nature - a God who was always a Father and yet only became a Father once He created Jesus. Depending on your point of view, Arianism's interpretation of several verses also results in Jesus committing a sin on at least one occasion. That's a significant problem, as it means Jesus' death on the Cross was worthless and did nothing to Save any of us.
Today, there are still groups who practice some form of Arianism, and they often try to fix these contradictions with new interpretations or doctrines. They may try turning Jesus into a "lesser god" under God the Father, or perhaps explain that the Father and Son are part of a council of gods. These tactics run into trouble also, as the Bible is very clear about there being only one God. Thus, any explanation that wanders into polytheism unravels at the first hurdle.
If you're interested in reading more information about this topic, I'd suggest reading Some Account of the Council of Nicaea by John Kaye, as this book goes into a lot of depth about the history of Arianism and the many problems with their doctrines. It also discusses the behavior of Arius' early followers, which makes it very clear that they weren't interested in actually following the God they preached about.
The core problem with Arianism is a logical one: it tries to force conflicting doctrines to coexist. As an example, Arius has created a God who is both capable and incapable of changing His Nature - a God who was always a Father and yet only became a Father once He created Jesus. Depending on your point of view, Arianism's interpretation of several verses also results in Jesus committing a sin on at least one occasion. That's a significant problem, as it means Jesus' death on the Cross was worthless and did nothing to Save any of us.
Today, there are still groups who practice some form of Arianism, and they often try to fix these contradictions with new interpretations or doctrines. They may try turning Jesus into a "lesser god" under God the Father, or perhaps explain that the Father and Son are part of a council of gods. These tactics run into trouble also, as the Bible is very clear about there being only one God. Thus, any explanation that wanders into polytheism unravels at the first hurdle.
If you're interested in reading more information about this topic, I'd suggest reading Some Account of the Council of Nicaea by John Kaye, as this book goes into a lot of depth about the history of Arianism and the many problems with their doctrines. It also discusses the behavior of Arius' early followers, which makes it very clear that they weren't interested in actually following the God they preached about.
Pelagius
Pelagius was a monk who struggled with some of the same doctrines that modern Christians do - perhaps most famously, he had trouble accepting the doctrine of Original Sin. Unlike most of us, his solution was to take Christianity apart and rebuild it from the ground up. In his new version of Christianity, commonly known as Pelagianism, Adam's sin only affected Adam himself. The rest of us are all capable of living sinless lives if we really wanted.
In order to make this work, he needed to either rework or discard many existing doctrines - verses like Romans 3:23 and Romans 5:8 don't make much sense if anyone could just choose to live a sinless life. For that matter, if it was really possible for us to be without sin, then why would we need a Savior?
In order to make this work, he needed to either rework or discard many existing doctrines - verses like Romans 3:23 and Romans 5:8 don't make much sense if anyone could just choose to live a sinless life. For that matter, if it was really possible for us to be without sin, then why would we need a Savior?
Marcion
Marcion believed that he was a Christian who followed the traditions handed down by the Apostle Paul, but since he's on this page, you can probably guess that he left the beaten path at some point.
He had trouble with the way God is depicted in the Old and New Testaments. In the Old Testament, God is often shown issuing harsh punishments and destroying civilizations that offended Him. This is in stark contrast to how He appears in the New Testament, where He seems very approachable and comforting.
Marcion is hardly the only person to notice this trend, but his method of resolving it was certainly unique. He concluded that the God of the Old Testament and the God of the New Testament were entirely different deities - one was an evil and destructive god who had created the universe, and the other was a benevolent and loving god who had arrived later on and wanted to save it.
Taking things further, he also rejected the idea that Jesus was the Messiah or even a person at all. Instead, he believed that Jesus was some sort of magical spirit sent among mankind to teach us about the truth.
He had trouble with the way God is depicted in the Old and New Testaments. In the Old Testament, God is often shown issuing harsh punishments and destroying civilizations that offended Him. This is in stark contrast to how He appears in the New Testament, where He seems very approachable and comforting.
Marcion is hardly the only person to notice this trend, but his method of resolving it was certainly unique. He concluded that the God of the Old Testament and the God of the New Testament were entirely different deities - one was an evil and destructive god who had created the universe, and the other was a benevolent and loving god who had arrived later on and wanted to save it.
Taking things further, he also rejected the idea that Jesus was the Messiah or even a person at all. Instead, he believed that Jesus was some sort of magical spirit sent among mankind to teach us about the truth.
The Prosperity Gospel
While this particular heresy doesn't seem to have a single spokesman like the previous entries, I'd be remiss if I didn't include it in this list, as it's one of the most widespread heresies in the world today.
In a nutshell, preachers of the Prosperity Gospel teach that it's God Will that His Children live an easy and luxurious life on Earth. In other words, Christians will be rich, successful, healthy, and live a comfortable life simply because Jesus loves them. However, if a Christian is poor, becomes sick, or encounters problems in their life, then it's their own fault. Troubles in life are a sign that someone just don't have enough faith in Jesus or His promises.
So how are Christians supposed to demonstrate their love for Jesus?
Often, the answer is to "tithe" as much as possible, and by that they mean you're supposed to give a lot of your time and money to the church, the church's leadership, or the church's preferred charities (which are likely to be owned or run by the church's leadership). Naturally, if you can't afford to tithe enough, then it's only more proof that you don't really love Jesus that much.
Unlike the other heresies on this page, this one is actively cruel and has led to a lot of suffering over the years. It's also the least biblical of the bunch, as the Bible is filled with verses about how everyone has problems, being a Christian won't be easy, and so on. I mean, look at what ended up happening to Jesus - if the literal Son of God couldn't escape the problems of the world, why would you?
In a nutshell, preachers of the Prosperity Gospel teach that it's God Will that His Children live an easy and luxurious life on Earth. In other words, Christians will be rich, successful, healthy, and live a comfortable life simply because Jesus loves them. However, if a Christian is poor, becomes sick, or encounters problems in their life, then it's their own fault. Troubles in life are a sign that someone just don't have enough faith in Jesus or His promises.
So how are Christians supposed to demonstrate their love for Jesus?
Often, the answer is to "tithe" as much as possible, and by that they mean you're supposed to give a lot of your time and money to the church, the church's leadership, or the church's preferred charities (which are likely to be owned or run by the church's leadership). Naturally, if you can't afford to tithe enough, then it's only more proof that you don't really love Jesus that much.
Unlike the other heresies on this page, this one is actively cruel and has led to a lot of suffering over the years. It's also the least biblical of the bunch, as the Bible is filled with verses about how everyone has problems, being a Christian won't be easy, and so on. I mean, look at what ended up happening to Jesus - if the literal Son of God couldn't escape the problems of the world, why would you?