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heretic4jesus homepage Upon Further Review Homepage
CHOICES
The Author
Rev 3:14-18
These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God's creation. 15I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! 16So, because you are lukewarm-neither hot nor cold-I am about to spit you out of my mouth. 17You say, `I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.'
But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. 18I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness;
and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see.
NIV
Overview of Christianity's
Great Heretics.
(*) Indicates page soon to be published.
Giordano Bruno
c. 1549 - |
If you think they were rough on Galileo,
study this guy who conceived of the infinity of space without losing his
view of its creator; then was burned at the stake for his pains. |
| Galileo
Quotes and full transcript of his heresy trial. |
on March 5, the
Congregation of the Index published the official position on
Copernican astronomy – namely, that it was "false and contrary to
Holy Scripture." The decree also suspended Copernicus’s
book until corrections were made I it, "So that this opinion may
not spread any further to the prejudice of Catholic truth." |
| Pelagius |
Grace is not an excuse for a sinful nature, but an
empowerment towards developing Christ-like behavior. |
| Martin Luther |
Martin Luther has had the greatest effect
of any heretic up on our faith. He has become a metaphor for what is
both right and wrong within Christianity. |
*Meister Ekhardt
c. 1260- 1328 |
"Since the deified man no longer
beholds himself as a poor sinner, he must take a new attitude toward the
world." |
| *Arnold of Brescia |
Against the power of the priests. |
| *John Hus |
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| *Hans Denck |
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| *Thomas Muntzer |
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My hero
Sebastian Frank
c 1500 - |
All outward preaching, ceremony, sacrament,
ban, and vocation shall be swept aside as needless as mankind moves
towards an invisible spiritual church in union of spirit and faith
assembled among all peoples and governed solely by the eternal invisible
word of God. |
*John Wycliffe
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Wycliffe was led to seek a new church.
Although he didn't find it, it sought the spirit of a new era, and that
in itself is important. |
| Blaise Pascal |
"God instills a new insight into the
soul He has truly touched -- an altogether extraordinary perception of
things and of one's own soul, as though one were seeing them for the
first time." |
| *Marcion |
Christ's invective against the righteous
Pharisees had been little understood until Marcion grasped its essence. |
| *Arius and Athanasius |
The conflict that gave Emperor Constantine
sleepless nights. |
| Origen |
Origen's attempt to redeem hell was one of
the most moving acts in the whole history of the church. "To
set up a hell in which God no longer has any say to all eternity, is to
abolish to entire gospel." |
| *Donatus |
By insisted Rome had lost God's blessing by
allowing discredited priests and bishops to return to power following
the Great Persecution during which they had denied Christ to save
themselves, the Donatists drove St. Augustine to the use of state power
in silencing "heresy." |
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*Irenaeus Self proclaimed warrior against heresy
provides, by default, much information about those heretics whose works were
destroyed.
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The Witches The evil was
of the accusers; not the accused whether witches or not.
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The Gnostics The first
Century Church was more diverse than can be imagined, even by today's standards.
The recent discovery of The Gospel of Thomas, the oldest gospel extant, lends
credence to the study of these seekers of truth.
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Julian the Apostate
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Gottschalk the Monk
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Johannes Scotus Erigena
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Peter Abelard: The first heretic to write an
autobiography, Abelard reveals what goes on within the heart of an heretic.
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Peter Waldo: In turning away from riches to give
himself over to preaching the Word of God, Peter Waldo ran afoul of the learned
Walter Map, appointed by the Pope to investigate the work of the Waldensians,
who considered the pilgrims of the Rhone Valley to be ignorant hillbillies,
easily snared by scholastic theology. His view that preaching the Word of God
should be the sole province of the priesthood is something I expect to run afoul
with, as well. Although no heretical doctrine could be discovered in their
preaching, they were commanded to cease. That they continued, was considered in
defiance of God's authority, however, and proof of heresy for which Waldo and
his followers were excommunicated -- A traditional "catch 22."
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Baruch Spinoza
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The Brethren of the Free Spirit: If ever a
slander needed correction, the lies told about this group cry out for redress.
Heaven and Hell, according to Amalric, were to be understood metaphorically.
those who had the proper knowledge of God carried heaven within themselves, but
those who had committed a mortal sin were already in hell. Jesus dwells within
all of us without need of outward props or ceremony. that which is done out of a
spirit of love is not sin.
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Simon Magus |
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William Tyndale: Burned for daring to translate the
Bible into English.
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The Inquisition and Torquemada: Despite Catholic
arguments to the contrary, The Inquisition was an ecclesiastical rather than
civil institution. It's genesis is found in papal orders for the bishops to take
more energetic measures against heresy. After the Popes realized that episcopal
zeal was insufficient, the transferred responsibility to the Dominican Order.
Once the Dominicans realized that they could reap great profits by appropriating
the riches of those condemned, their zeal for the Lord knew no boundaries. The
rest is history, despite a multicentury long ban on record keeping (I wonder
why).
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Feodor Dostoevsky
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