B. The Heresies  Remember, heresy = the denial of some truth taught by Church that Christ

1) Gnosticism—the proto-heresy  from the Greek word for Knowledge (gnosis or γνωσις...impress your friends again...)

a) When it occurred  Its roots predated Christianity  A man named Cerinthus linked these ideas with Christianity  Lasted from the Apostolic Age to early AD 200s

b) What it taught  Everything worldly and material is evil  Salvation only by a “secret knowledge” known only by a few  God can’t have anything to do with humans * God can’t be associated with man * Jesus could not have been human.  People can do anything they want (including sin) as long as they’re “thinking the right thing”

c) Church teachings contradicted  The Incarnation—that God became man  The Hypostatic Union—that Jesus is both God and man  Apostolic Succession—how can only the few have this special knowledge needed for salvation when the Apostles and their successors didn’t?

d) Opponents to Gnosticism  St. John the Apostle * Polycarp tells the story that John refused to be in the same building as Cerinthus * John’s opposition to the Gnostics can even be found in the Bible—2 Jn. 1: 7-11 likely refers to them  St. Irenaeus, Bishop of Lyons * before he was martyred in AD 202, he wrote Against the Heresies (Adversus Haereses), which systematically condemned Gnosticism e) Resolution  Normally, a Church council (like the Council of Jerusalem) went a long way to settle disputes like this  This time, 2 factors helped defuse Gnosticism: * the writings of St. Irenaeus * the persecutions of the Roman Empire, which hunted Christians whether they were Gnostic or not

Assignment 1) How did the teachings of Gnosticism contradict the teachings of the Church? 2) Read John’s 2nd Epistle in the Bible (2 Jn. 1: 7-11). Try to show how John here is attacking Gnosticism.