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There
are a number of "classic" heresies that have arisen in church
history. I have compiled a brief list below. Once you are
familiar with these, you will notice similarities with cult
teachings and other modern heresies as well. One "hot" topic is
Shepherdism, or conditional justification. I've included an article by
O. Palmer Robertson refuting it. It may be more
than you wanted to know.
Heresy is
anything which contradicts orthodoxy; and orthodoxy is the testimony of
a particular Church or denomination as to what the Bible teaches is
true. In our
day, orthodoxy has unfortunately been discarded. But heresy is not
avoided by abandoning the historic creeds and confessions -
it is encouraged by it. "Evangelicalism" largely abandoned creeds and confessions after a number of
19th and 20th century theolgians taught that they are not consistent
with the divine "doctrine of God." Finite man, these
theologians said, is incapable of knowing an infinite God, or
his truths. In other words, they were saying that God did not
adequately reveal himself to us in the bible. They rejected the
notion that the bible is a consistent series of propositional
truths which can be organized into a creed. Instead, they believed
that the bible is a series of disjointed truths that compete with
one another, creating paradoxes and contradictions. John Robbins attacks
this heresy popularized by Cornelius Van Til. Indeed, Robbins
doesn't just call such a view of Scripture heresy, but apostasy - a
damnable lie. Buckle your seat-belt. I included Robbins'
article on John Piper as well
for its clear statement of the Protestant doctrine
of Justification. If you can block out his diatribes and hyperbole,
Robbins does get to the heart of the matter. For a more balanced view,
try Chapell.
The next two articles may
be a bit controversial and even contentious, but you ought to consider
the issues they raise.
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