Tag Archive: Constantine

The Meanings and Occurrences of the Underlying Words for “Heresy”

The words “heretic” and “heresy” in English New Testament translations are actually transliterations of Greek words that primarily denote division or divisiveness. They are used with those primary meanings in Acts. They did not come to secondarily connote teaching,teachers or doctrines disapproved by a church organization until the late second century. Tha authors of the New Testament did not know of this later technical meaning.

From Early Christianity to Islam and Back–2. Negative Developments in Christianity Before Muhammad

Between the end of the First Century CE and the end of the Sixth Century, Christianity grew but also deteriorated in a number of ways. The deterioration arose mainly from the infiltration of Greek philosophy, a change in emphasis to mass evangelism and the politicization of Christianity, followed by the questionable conversion of Constantine. These changes set up many of the specific parts of Christianity that Islam either adopted, or reacted strongly against. They also set up mucj of later European history.