Heresy

The Departure of Organized Christianity from its Roots, Second through Sixth Centuries CE

Ian Johnson December 25, 2020 1 Comment

This is an outline of the second part of my attempt to link early errors of organized Christianity to the state of the modern world–specifically, in this part, by showing the origins and entrance of specific errors before Muhammad which profoundly affected subsequent history. Links will be added as future posts are written.

A God who Speaks, Adoption, Authority Contests, Background Information, Church History, Islamic History and Secular History Interaction, Church purpose versus church growth, Complex unity, Compulsory Christianity, Discipline or Correction, Disputes about words, Disrespecting poor believers, Divisions in the Church, Forgiveness and Unforgiveness, Free will, God Never Stopped Speaking, God Speaks to Us, God's Existence and Nature, God's purpose for us, God's sovereignty, God's Voice, Greed, Heresy, Historical Background, Index, Injustice and Lawsuits, Jesus the Son, Leaving Our First Love, Male and female, Marriage, Marriage and Reproduction, Merit, Other Gifts of the Holy Spirit, Peril of Seeking Numbers, Peril of Seeking Power, Peril of Seeking Respectability, Prophecy, Purpose of the Church, Quarrels, Regeneration, Religious violence and persecution, Replacing Relationship with Morality, Salvation, Sin, Sins versus sin, Site Index Page, Social control and statecraft, Son of Man, The Bible, Through the church, To be in his image, Trinity, Unity, Wars as consequences, What is God's Word, What is sin?

Christian Divisions, Fifth Century Christianity, Fourth Century Christianity, Hellenistic Phiolosophy, heresy, Heresy hunting, Index, Just War Theory, Monotheism, Roman Law, Roman Law and Jurisprudence, Roman Religion, Rome, Second Century Christianity, Sixth Century Christianity, Syncretism, Third Century Christianity

Conclusion–Mutual Submission to Each Other Under Christ, Not a Chain of Command

Ian Johnson December 10, 2020 1 Comment

For unity to be seen in the Church, there must be submission—first submission to Christ as Head of the Church, then mutual submission to each other. A part of this necessary submission is to submit to those God has placed in leadership in the Church. But submission to leadership must come after submission to Christ, and be an aspect of mutual submission to each other. Much division has been caused by leaders who have insisted that they, and other human leaders, should be “in command” of the church. Only Christ is rightfully in command.

A God who Speaks, Authority Contests, Divisions in the Church, God Speaks to Us, Heresy, In the Church, Meaning of Unity, Other Gifts of the Holy Spirit, Our Oneness in Christ book revision, Peril of Seeking Power, The universal Church and local churches, Through others, Through the church, Uncategorized

chain of command, church government, Church unity, leaders, leadership, mutual submission, submission, Unity, Unity of believers

The Scarecrow Fallacy

Ian Johnson December 7, 2020 5 Comments

To commit the “Scarecrow Fallacy,” which I have named after the Scarecrow character in the 1939 movie the Wizard of Oz, is to mistake a diploma for knowledge or a credential for God’s calling. God usually makes use of available formal education, and often acts through the organized Church’s mechanisms of licensure and ordination, but has never bound himself always to do so. It is possible to have a very powerful calling from God with no formal human recognition, and also, unfortunately too common to have excellent ministry credentials and no relationship with Jesus whatsoever.

A God who Speaks, God Speaks to Us, Heresy, Other Gifts of the Holy Spirit, Our Oneness in Christ book revision, Peril of Seeking Power, Prophecy, Social control and statecraft, The universal Church and local churches, Through others, Through the church, Uncategorized

been with Jesus, being with Jesus, Christian education, credential, credentialing, degree, diploma, education, fallacy, formal education, licensure, opinions of others, Scarecrow, Wizard of Oz

Conclusion: False Brethren Seek to Bring Us into Bondage

Ian Johnson November 3, 2020 0 Comments

The essence of heresy is division in the Body of Christ, and a “heretic” is one who stealthily introduces division into that Body in order to increase his or her own reputation, power or wealth. In that way, they seek to replace Christ as Head of the Body for their own profit.

Authority Contests, Denominationalism, Divisions in the Church, Greed, Heresy, Our Oneness in Christ book revision, Peril of Seeking Power, Personality cults

bondage, false christs, false messiahs, False prophets, heresy, submission

What About Church Discipline?

Ian Johnson November 1, 2020 4 Comments

The purpose of church discipline is restoration, a process that is to be initiated by a person injured or offended by a wrong behavior. The disciplinary process has no valid application to erroneous beliefs, as such. The New Testament never suggests that worldly penalties should be attached to the process.

A God who Speaks, Church purpose versus church growth, Compulsory Christianity, Divisions in the Church, God Speaks to Us, Greed, Heresy, Our Oneness in Christ book revision, Peril of Seeking Power, Religious violence and persecution, Replacing Relationship with Morality, Through the church

behavior, Christendom, church discipline, Church unity, criminal, offended, offense, penalties, restoration

On the Other Extreme—1 Timothy 4 and Colossians 2

Ian Johnson October 29, 2020 2 Comments

Divisions in the church have been started not only by leaders who taught license to attract followers, but also by leaders who taught extreme asceticism– that God is only pleased by those who keep the strict rules they prescribe.

Authority Contests, Divisions in the Church, Heresy, Leaving Our First Love, Peril of Seeking Power, Replacing Relationship with Morality, Social control and statecraft

asceticism, Divisions, extreme ascetic, heresy, heretic, morality, rules, strictness

The Traditional View of the First Timothy, Titus and Second Peter Passages

Ian Johnson October 27, 2020 1 Comment

The traditional view of the heresy passages in 1 Timothy 6, Titus 3 and 2 Peter 2 actually fosters division by requiring us to shun anyone who disagrees with our denomination’s formal doctrinal statements.

Authority Contests, Heresy, Our Oneness in Christ book revision, Peril of Seeking Power, Through the church

Christian unity, creed, doctrinal statement, heresy, heretic, traditional meaning of heresy

False Believers and Divisive Persons in Jude

Ian Johnson August 23, 2020 3 Comments

Jude’s description of divisive persons in the church points to false believers who try to look like us but have infiltrated the church for their own advantage, to serve their own greed and lusts. They are dead trees, and dead trees bear no fruit. In dealing with them, we need to contend for the truth and resist contending against them personally.

Authority Contests, Desire to have our own way, Desire to have our own way, Disrespecting poor believers, Divisions in the Church, Greed, Heresy, Our Oneness in Christ book revision, Peril of Seeking Power, Rejecting God, To live in unity

The Divisive, Argumentative Teachers in Chapter 6 of First Timothy

Ian Johnson August 15, 2020 1 Comment

1 Timothy 6 also warns about people who create arguments in order to exploit them for financial gain and to build their own authority. This warning is presented in the context of teaching about respect for human authority and authority in the Church.

Authority Contests, Church purpose versus church growth, Desire to have our own way, Disputes about words, Divisions in the Church, Greed, Heresy, Our Oneness in Christ book revision, Peril of Seeking Power, Quarrels

arguments, authority, authority in the Church, Divisions, Divisions in the Church, divisive people, divisiveness, heretics, quarrels, respect

The Real Issue with False Teachers is their Hidden Motivations

Ian Johnson August 12, 2020 4 Comments

Like Balaam, false teachers do their work stealthily motivated by greed. They do not openly deny the Lordship of Christ, but deceptively proclaim teachings that permit us to retain our own independence, greed or lust, to seek first our own pleasure, and still, they say, please God. They teach these things not necessarily because they believe them, but to obtain our following and our money.

Desire to have our own way, Disputes about words, Greed, Heresy, Our Oneness in Christ book revision, Peril of Seeking Power, Replacing Relationship with Morality, To live in unity

2 Peter 2, Divisions in the Church, divisive teachers, divisiveness, false teachers, false teachings, freedom, Heresies, Jesis is Lord, Lordship, slavery

The Departure of Organized Christianity from its Roots, Second through Sixth Centuries CE

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Conclusion–Mutual Submission to Each Other Under Christ, Not a Chain of Command

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The Scarecrow Fallacy

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Conclusion: False Brethren Seek to Bring Us into Bondage

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What About Church Discipline?

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On the Other Extreme—1 Timothy 4 and Colossians 2

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The Traditional View of the First Timothy, Titus and Second Peter Passages

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False Believers and Divisive Persons in Jude

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The Divisive, Argumentative Teachers in Chapter 6 of First Timothy

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The Real Issue with False Teachers is their Hidden Motivations

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Heresy

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