15 major heresies and the people who fought them...

[Michie]

#4
7-2-13

The history of the Catholic Church is full of all sorts of heresies that have assailed the truths of the faith. From the earliest days of the Gnostics and Docetists all the way down to the Jansenists and Quietists of later centuries, it seems there has never been a shortage of heretical thought.

But in each age, God has brought forth great members of the faithful to combat each one. Each one gave their life in service to Christ and His Church in their own way, either as martyrs, confessors, or simply as servants to others for the sake of the love of Jesus.

The following is a list of fifteen of the major heresies that the Church has faced, and the illustrious persons who stood against them.

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1. Pelagianism and St. Augustine of Hippo

"There is an opinion that calls for sharp and vehement resistance - I mean the belief that the power of the human will can of itself, without the help of God, either achieve perfect righteousness or advance steadily towards it."1

Pelagianism radically corrupted the Church's teachings on grace, sin, and the Fall. Its namesake, the British monk Pelagius (who was startled by some of the words of St. Augustine in his Confessions), taught that the sin of Adam had no bearing on subsequent generations; essentially, man was inherently good and unaffected by the Fall. In practice, this meant that a man could come to God by his own free will, no grace needed. Many saints fought against this doctrine - St. David of Wales stands out among them especially - but it was St. Augustine of Hippo, arguably the greatest of the Latin Doctors and "the Church's mightiest champion against heresy"2, who rose to fight against this inherently venomous strand of thought.

Against Pelagius, St. Augustine upheld the truth that God's grace is entirely necessary for any movement of ours towards God to occur at all. As he himself puts it, "We for our part assert that the human will is so divinely aided towards the doing of righteousness that, besides being created with the free choice of his will, and besides the teaching which instructs him how he ought to live, he receives also the Holy Spirit, through which there arises in his heart a delight in and love of that supreme and unchangeable Good which is God; and this arises even now, while he still walks by faith and not by sight."3

2. Gnosticism and St. Irenaeus of Lyons

15 major heresies and the people who fought them...

 

[Rhamiel]

cool monkrock pic
I love that website

 

[Gwendolyn]

Awesome thread. I love this kind of stuff.

 

[gurneyhalleck1]

The most serious modern heresy that someone needs to fight, and fight soon: Kardashianism!!

 

[MarkRohfrietsch]

Great thread Michie!

The most serious modern heresy that someone needs to fight, and fight soon: Kardashianism!!

 

[HereIStand]

Thank you for the article. Although I would consider Calvinism (and what I know of Jansenism) to be a contribution to Christianity rather than a heresy, I had not heard of St. Francis de Sales. At some point I'd like to read Calvin's Institutes, but it would also be good to read The Catholic Controversy as well.

 

[Michie]

The most serious modern heresy that someone needs to fight, and fight soon: Kardashianism!!

LOL! Ain't that the truth!

 

[MarkRohfrietsch]

I was always under the impression that Catholicism viewed all of what it refers to as Protestantism to be equally heretical; yet in this article I found it most interesting that the Catholic Church viewed Calvinism the same way as Confessional Lutherans do.

​

8. Calvinism and St. Francis de Sales

"In fact I thought that as you will receive no other law for your belief than that interpretation of the Scripture which seems to you the best, you would hear also the interpretation that I should bring, viz., that given by the Apostolic Roman Church, which hitherto you have not had except perverted and quite disfigured and adulterated by the enemy, who well knew that had you seen it in its purity, never would you have abandoned it."16

In the inital aftermath of the Reformation, the varying schools of Protestantism had begun to take root. But none had shown themselves to be as staunch in resisting the Catholic faith as the followers of John Calvin. Though he makes extensive use of the thought of St. Augustine, he does so with hardly any reference to the rest of the Fathers (even a cursory glance at an index in a copy of his magnum opus, the Institutes of the Christian Religion, shows this), ignoring "all that Catholic foundation on which the Doctor of Grace built."17

Enter St. Francis de Sales. Only 27 years old at the time, he was sent into one of the most anti-Catholic regions of all, the Chablais, wherein Calvinism had especially fortified itself. To do so was to invite being despised, rejected, misunderstood, threatened, and turned away. In many respects, St. Francis' missions to the Calvinists call to mind the words of St. Paul himself - "I have been on frequent journeys, in dangers from rivers, dangers from robbers, dangers from my countrymen, dangers from the Gentiles, dangers in the city, dangers in the wilderness, dangers on the sea, dangers among false brethren;I have been in labor and hardship, through many sleepless nights, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure.Apart from such external things, there is the daily pressure on me of concern for all the churches.Who is weak without my being weak? Who is led into sin without my intense concern?" (2 Cor. 11:26-29)

With the Calvinist population staunchly refusing to listen to his words, St. Francis began to write and distribute pamphlets on the truth of the Catholic faith. These writings were compiled later on into one work, probably the greatest apologetic work against Protestant objections ever penned - Les Controverses. Known as "the gentleman saint", St. Francis' untiring love for souls (especially seen in his other great work, Introduction to the Devout Life), his knowledge of the faith and history, and his incredible ability to adapt and endure all manner of obstacles and hardship sent against him make him arguably the greatest of the Doctors who went forth against the errors of Calvinism.

St. Francis de Sales lived from 1567-1622. Early in the 17th Cent. was the time that Confessional Lutherans were facing a Calvinist "invasion" following the conversion of Elector Johannes Sigismund in Brandenburg.

It's also worth noting that prior to 1580, the Confessional Church had already recognized the threat of Calvinism infiltrating the Churches. A sizable portion of the final documents in the Book of Concord deal specifically with what is known as "The Crypto-Calvinist Controversy".

It was also interesting that in the article there was little mention of us Lutherans.

 

[ZaidaBoBaida]

Someone on another board said the Catholic Church is Peleganist. I wanted to tell him he was a crack baby, but decided I didn't want to get in trouble for flaming.

 

[Michie]

Someone on another board said the Catholic Church is Peleganist. I wanted to tell him he was a crack baby, but decided I didn't want to get in trouble for flaming.

ROTFLOL!

 

[Rhamiel]

I was always under the impression that Catholicism viewed all of what it refers to as Protestantism to be equally heretical; yet in this article I found it most interesting that the Catholic Church viewed Calvinism the same way as Confessional Lutherans do.



St. Francis de Sales lived from 1567-1622. Early in the 17th Cent. was the time that Confessional Lutherans were facing a Calvinist "invasion" following the conversion of Elector Johannes Sigismund in Brandenburg.

It's also worth noting that prior to 1580, the Confessional Church had already recognized the threat of Calvinism infiltrating the Churches. A sizable portion of the final documents in the Book of Concord deal specifically with what is known as "The Crypto-Calvinist Controversy".

It was also interesting that in the article there was little mention of us Lutherans.

There have always been levels of heresy,
and the pre-VII language used to be a lot stronger

 

[Needing_Grace]

Someone on another board said the Catholic Church is Peleganist. I wanted to tell him he was a crack baby, but decided I didn't want to get in trouble for flaming.

There are some Catholics who seem to have at least a semi-pelagian view. The Church herself, of course, repudiates pelagianism and semi-pelagianism.

 

[MarkRohfrietsch]

Someone on another board said the Catholic Church is Peleganist. I wanted to tell him he was a crack baby, but decided I didn't want to get in trouble for flaming.

ROTFLOL!

 

[MarkRohfrietsch]

There have always been levels of heresy,
and the pre-VII language used to be a lot stronger

I do understand that, but I found it most interesting that historically, in that period of time, both of our Churches were fighting against Calvinism.

I'd have to go back and see who said it, but one Lutheran theologian in Brandenburg said of another Calvinist theologian that "he is ladling up the sewage of Calvinism and wishes to serve that soup to the Churches in Brandenburg". That pretty well summed up our opinion on that matter.

During that period in history, Catholics and Lutherans were enjoying a rather civil relationship within the "Holy Roman Empire", under the Emperor. From what I understand, once Calvinism started to take hold, and the old allegiances and treaties started to break down, relations got progressively less cordial.

For the last 100 or so years, the pendulum has been swing back.

 

[Rhamiel]

There are some Catholics who seem to have at least a semi-pelagian view. The Church herself, of course, repudiates pelagianism and semi-pelagianism.

good point

 

[ZaidaBoBaida]

There are some Catholics who seem to have at least a semi-pelagian view. The Church herself, of course, repudiates pelagianism and semi-pelagianism.

Probably more a case of Catholics not understanding the church's doctrine. But, I still say - why would anyone be concerned about works if they didn't already have faith?

 

[Needing_Grace]

Probably more a case of Catholics not understanding the church's doctrine. But, I still say - why would anyone be concerned about works if they didn't already have faith?

Look at it this way: if you think you're going to stand before God based on your works and not on Christ, you're in big trouble. Good works are an integral part of our salvation to be sure. I just don't trust in them to justify me before God.

Sent from my iPhone using CF

 

[Needing_Grace]

I do understand that, but I found it most interesting that historically, in that period of time, both of our Churches were fighting against Calvinism.

I'd have to go back and see who said it, but one Lutheran theologian in Brandenburg said of another Calvinist theologian that "he is ladling up the sewage of Calvinism and wishes to serve that soup to the Churches in Brandenburg". That pretty well summed up our opinion on that matter.

During that period in history, Catholics and Lutherans were enjoying a rather civil relationship within the "Holy Roman Empire", under the Emperor. From what I understand, once Calvinism started to take hold, and the old allegiances and treaties started to break down, relations got progressively less cordial.

For the last 100 or so years, the pendulum has been swing back.

I think the heresies of Calvinism, which lead to nothing but despair, are the most dangerous of all.

 

[MarkRohfrietsch]

I think the heresies of Calvinism, which lead to nothing but despair, are the most dangerous of all.

 

[Kurama]

I think the heresies of Calvinism, which lead to nothing but despair, are the most dangerous of all.

I pray for my fellow Calvinists...I mean predestination, quite a somber attitude to life.

A Calvinist could give one look at my life and say that I'm destined to go to hell.