Christian Heresies: Arianism

Heresy in Christian usage is when a person or church denies or distorts scriptural doctrines which are essential for a proper understanding of Christianity. Heresy is not just acceptance of odd ideas or even aberrant beliefs. Heresy involves changing the nature of the Christian message. We can argue among ourselves about some things, but we can NEVER accept heresy into the church if we wish to remain authentically Christian. 

We have to be careful about throwing around the “heresy label” and to do so, we have to be sure what is the authentically Christian message. A good discussion of this is here. There are a few doctrines on which there can be absolutely no compromise. They are false and it is important to know that they are false.

All of the classical heresies presented a different gospel from orthodox Christianity and should be rejected because they are inconsistent with revealed scripture. What may surprise many is that most, or even all, of the classical heresies are still in evidence in the modern world among professed Christians.

One of the most dangerous and powerful of the classical Christian heresies and one which is very evident today in the teachings of many “progressive” Christians is Arianism. This doctrine for a while threatened to gain ascendancy in the Roman Catholic Church but was condemned by the First Council of Nicaea in 324 and again at the First Council of Constantinople (Istanbul, Turkey) in 381. Protestants would say Arianism was rightly condemned because it is at total variance with scripture and changes the essential nature of the gospel. It is a totally different gospel. (2 Corinthians 11:4, Galatians 1:6-9)

Arius (born about 250 in Libya - died 336 in Constantinople) was a priest in Alexandria (al-Iskaderiyah), Egypt. He taught that Jesus was not pre-existent but was the first created being.  Arius held to a monotheism which insisted that the godhead was unitary and could not be shared. The doctrine of the Trinity was rejected and Jesus, while still worthy of worship, was not God.

The teachings of Arius were rejected in 325 at the Council of Nicea (Iznik, Turkey) but were accepted in 357 at the Council of Sirmium (Sremska Mitrovica, Serbia). The issue went  back and forth, sometimes violently. Constans, the Emperor of the West, was Nicene, while Constantius, the Emperor of the East, was an Arian. Emperor Valens (364-378) persecuted non-Arians in the East but under the teachings of the Cappadocian Fathers (Basil the Great, Gregory of Nyssa, and Gregory of Nazianzus) the Nicene definition began to gain ascendancy. Emperors Gratian (367-383) and Theodosiuis (379-395) were both Nicene and finally in 381, the Council  of Constantinople denounced Arianism. The doctrine survived into the seventh century among several Germanic tribes such as the Vandals under Genseric.

Variations of Arianism survive among the Jehovah's Witnesses, the Mormons, the Unitarians, the Church of God (7th day) Salem Conference, and in some Branhamite sects (followers of the Pentecostal leader William M. Branham, 1909-1965). 

Postmodern Progressive Christianity can be viewed as a modified form of Arianism. Man is the true measure of all things and Jesus's humanity is stressed to the near exclusion of his divinity. He is viewed as a brilliant moral teacher and a beautiful example of humanity at its highest. He was a human so full of God that He became "divine." He shows us the divinity within ourselves. This is just one baby step away from the neo-Hinduism of the modern New Age movement. It is certainly not orthodox Christianity.

Christian Sailing Ministry

A Christian sailing ministry? Why not? We are called to exhibit our Christian values and witness in whatever situation we find ourselves. Sailing is a sport strongly associated with the Bible as the way Paul and his associates went from place to place on their missionary journeys.

Sailing fosters teamwork, closeness to God's natural order, and is a venue for Christian sailors to exhibit that their faith is compatible with yet another human endeavor. We don't all need to be professional ministers; we can be witnesses where we are, doing whatever it is that we do. (1 Corinthians 7: 17-24)

Led by sailing manager Steve Thompson, the Morning Star Trust is a Christian sailing charity based in Chatham, Kent, in England. They take bookings from individuals and groups for their tall ship, the Morning Star of Revelation, and their training yacht, the Dayspring.

http://www.morningstar.org.uk

What do you get when ...?

What do you get when you cross a Jehovah's Witness with a Unitarian-Universalist?
Someone who goes around knocking on doors but really doesn't think it matters whether or not you answer.

Other Sheep

There are multiple suggestions floating around as to the identity of the "other sheep" mentioned in John 10:16.

"And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd"John 10:16

1. The other sheep are the Gentiles who will be grafted into the Vine.
2. Some, who deny the exclusivity of Christianity, say that the other sheep are righteous followers of other religions.
3. Reverend Jeremiah Wright of Chicago has implied that the "other sheep" are Muslims.
4. The possibility exists that the reference is to extraterrestrial life forms.
5. The Mormons say that the "other sheep" are the descendants of the Lost Tribes of Israel, ie: polynesians, Native Americans, etc,)
6. The Jehovah's Witnesses declare the "other sheep" to be an earthly class of Christians numbering 144,000.
7. Other Sheep is an ecumenical organization which advocates for the inclusion in the Church of LGBT people (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transsexual).

Answer number 1 is the traditional and most likely meaning of the reference.

"Wherefore remember, that ye [being] in time past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called Uncircumcision by that which is called the Circumcision in the flesh made by hands; That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world: But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ. For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition [between us]; Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, [even] the law of commandments [contained] in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, [so] making peace; And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby: And came and preached peace to you which were afar off, and to them that were nigh. For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father." Ephesians 2: 11-18.

Abram to Abraham; Sarai to Sarah, Part One

     (The next few posts will be about the names of Abraham, Isaac, and Sarah.)  

     The ancient Israelites (Abram's family and people were not yet Israelites but were their ancestors) believed that a name was not merely a designation of a person but that the name itself carried meaning, and in the case of God, extreme power.  That is why they never said God's name ("Yahweh," HWHY read right to left) out loud, instead referring to Him as "Adonai," "the Lord." (I'll explain in a later post how this led to the "modern" error of referring to God as "Jehovah.")

      The power and meaning of names was believed to extend down to the level of the individual letters.   The mystical Hebrew tradition said that God created the universe by manipulating the letters used to create the Torah, the first five books of the Bible, and that He dictated the Torah to Moses letter by letter.  (This is the basic underlying idea developed in the book, Cracking the Bible Code, which I will discuss in a later post.)

     The name "Abram" in Hebrew means "exalted father" and was changed by God to "Abraham," meaning "father of many."  The ending "-im" is a plural form.

"Neither shall thy name anymore be called Abram, but thy name sall be Abraham: for a father of many nations have I made thee." Genesis 17:5.

     The name of Abram's wife "Sarai" in Hebrew means "princess"and was changed by God to "Sarah," also meaning "princess," or perhaps "Princess." (There is no capitalization in Biblical Hebrew but my meaning will become clear in the second part of this article.)

"And God said unto Abraham, As for Sarai thy wife, thou shalt not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall her name be." Genesis 17:15

     What could have been the reason for the name changes?  More tomorrow.

A Jehovah-Agnostarian

What do you get when you cross an Agnostic with a Jehovah's Witness?

I don't know, but when he knocks on a door he's not really sure he believes in doing it.