Religion & Theology Essay: How Has The Church Struggled With Heresies Over The Years?

How Has The Church Struggled With Heresies Over The Years?
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How has the Church struggled with heresies over the years?
Introduction
The Christian communities have been concerned by heresies since the early centuries of the early Church. The Bible had warned Christians about heresy; in 2 Tim. 4:3-4, Paul told Timothy that time would come when people will not hold on to the right teaching, but they will instead amass teachers for themselves to befit their interests. They will reject listening to the orthodoxy and deviate into myths. Heresy may be defined as any belief or doctrine strongly variant with the established orthodoxy in Church, accompanied by preaching the different views contrasting to the right gospel, as stated in Galatians 1:9 by Paul. However, for one to commit heresy, he/she has to be baptized and refuse to be corrected. Therefore, heresy is a stubborn post-baptismal rejection of the true beliefs established for the Church to believe. The denial or false belief involved in heresy should relate to something God has revealed and defined by the Church. Early church 'fathers' have been working hard to fight and correct several heretics (someone who denies doctrines of faith and preaches heresy) and heresies, with the help of Ecumenical councils preserve the right belief (Orthodoxy).
The following are some critical heresies of church history since the 1st Century A.D.:
The Circumcision Heresy
In the 1st Century, circumcision heresy became an essential topic in the Church. It is summed up in Acts 15:1: "But some men came down from Judea and were teaching the brethren, 'Unless you are circumcised according to the teachings of Moses, you cannot be saved.'" In the Early Church, several Christians were Jews who are entangled by their original practices. And because circumcision was a requirement for receiving God's covenant in the Old Testament, many early Christians thought the same would apply in the New Covenant by Christ. The implication of the heresy is, one had to convert to Jewish to become a true Christian. However, God revealed to Peter in Acts 10 that it is not a must for Gentiles to be circumcised before becoming Christians, and the same was applauded by Paul to the Romans and Galatians, in many areas where the circumcision heresy had widely spread ("The Great Heresies", n..).
Gnosticism Heresy in both 1st and 2nd Century
The Gnostic doctrine argued and taught that a lesser divinity created all things, and Jesus Christ is just like any other ordinary man. Since all physical matter was considered evil, then there is no way Jesus Christ is a true God because real Christ is not evil. While the teaching contradicts what the Bible upholds in Genesis 1:31, among other scriptures, it also denied the Incarnation. As some Gnostics acknowledge the God created matter as stipulated in the Old Testament, they also claimed that Jews' God was an evil deity different from God of Jesus Christ in the New Testament. Gnosticism also proposed belief in deific beings (Aeons) that exist and meditate between man and the true God. And the lowest aeon had contact with humans; he is Jesus Christ.  
Arianism in 4th Century
Arius (250-336 AD) was a presbyter (famous preacher) of Alexandria. He stubbornly became the subject of the Council of Nicaea (in 325 A.D.) by claiming and teaching that Jesus was not God. In his claims, which fell short of the Christian beliefs, Arius further contended that Jesus was the first God's creation (Frank Farrel, n.d.). The heresy clearly shows Arius denies the divinity of Christ; in 318 A.D., he wrote: "Jesus Christ is only a creature made from nothing like any other being. He may be called God but only by an extension language, as the first and greatest person chosen to be divine intermediary in the creation and redemption of the world" (Katina Michael, 2017). He further argued that Christ did not sin (which he might have), and he is a demiurge who is adopted by merit, thus being closely associated with the true God. Together with his followers, Arius acknowledged Christ as Messiah but denied he was "God's natural Son." Through his heresy, Arius managed to create confusion in the Church and achieved significant support from several priests, but others excommunicated him. The Council of Nicaea (318 bishops) voted against Arius's teachings, condemned Arius, and created the Nicene Creed, which teaches about Christ's divinity. Consequently, Arius was put into exile by Constantine.
Nestorianism
In the 5th Century, Nestorius (Constantinople bishop) denied that Mary is not Theotokos (Mother of God). He claimed that Mary only carried Christ as a human in her womb; thus, proposing Christotokos as an alternative title to mean "Mother of Christ." Theologians in the Orthodox Catholic discerned the theory would divide the Son into two separate identities (human and divine), and one of them was in Mary's womb (McDowell, 1911). The Council of Ephesus reacted in 431 A.D., proposing that Mary is appropriately called "Mother of God" because she carried Christ, an incarnate of God (but not older than the Father).
Monophysitism in the 5th Century
As a reaction to the Nestorianism, Monophysites (led by Eutyches) were too shocked by Nestorius's theory that Christ was two identities with different natures. In their attempt to correct Nestorius's belief, Monophysites claimed that Christ was one person of combined human and divine elements. Thus, the name Monophysites since they claim Christ had a single nature. However, because the theory denied Christ of either full humanity or full divinity, theologians of Orthodox-Catholic acknowledged tha...