Thursday, January 5, 2012

Other Heresies

Calvinism: The heresy that attempts to mar and malign the eternal nature of God's love. Its distinctives (that man is totally depraved, that we are saved solely by grace, that works play no role in our salvation, and that we cannot forfeit our salvation once we obtain it) were first taught by the Gnostics, who the apostle John labeled as "deceivers and antichrists," which were rejected as heresy by the early Christians (A.D. 90-300). This heresy misreads and misinterprets John 6, Romans 8-9, and Ephesians 1, among other passages..

Dispensationalism: The heresy that attempts to divide the body of Christ by making a distinction between Israel and the church, having church-age saints form one body and all other saints form another body. This heresy ignores John 10:11-18; Romans 2:28-29; 9:6-8; 11:17-24; Galatians 3:1-29; Ephesians 2:11-22; and all verses that speak of the "one body" of Christ.

Ecumenism: The heresy that attempts to unite all “believers” in Christ outside of the framework and foundation of biblical truth. Sadly, Billy Graham was associated as a proponent with this movement. This error is largely supported by the Charismatic Movement cult.

Liberalism: This heresy is also known as Modernism and emphasizes freedom from tradition and authority, trying to apply Christian content to man’s non-authoritative knowledge by non-authoritative methods such as reason, experience, and history. Like Satan in the garden, it basically asks, “Has God said?” followed by an outright denial of God’s Word.

Montanism: The heresy that claims the Holy Spirit continues to speak through prophecy, visions, and dreams, and that individuals should experience signs and wonders, see visions and dreams, and speak in tongues. This error was taught in the 2nd century by Montanus and continued well into the 8th century. He claimed to have received a series of direct revelations from the Holy Spirit. Montanists held to the beliefs of Sabellianism (Modalism). This belief finds itself in the modern day Charismatic Movement cult.

Open Theism: The heresy that denies God’s omniscience. It is an extreme Arminianism. This error also claims that the Bible is not inerrant or infallible, nor is it the Word of God. It argues that the Bible contains myth and legend.

Post-Modernism: This heresy is difficult to define. Essentially, it is an attitude of subjectivity and relativity that denies an objective truth. It claims that truth is relative and not absolute. In other words, what is true for you is true for you and what is true for me is true for me. But what if my truth says your truth is wrong? This error is filled with great skepticism, rebellion, and unbelief. Its skepticism rejects the concept of absolute certainty or objective truth, asking as Pilate did, “What is truth?” Its rebellion confines meaning to the individual, arguing, “That’s your interpretation!” Its unbelief declares there is no such thing as a universal, supreme, and final authority: Scripture. I enjoy using this illustration against Post-Modernists: “If I held a .357 Magnum to your head and I earnestly believe that it is a hair dryer, what will happen when I pull the trigger?” If Post-Modernists truly believe what they claim (which they use only when it suits them), then when someone shoots their child or blows up their child’s school with them inside, they would not get indignant because the other person is merely following their “truth.” Post-Modernism is deliberate stupidity—being dumb on purpose.

Theistic Evolutionism: The heresy that claims God used evolution in His creation of the world and man. It argues that God used evolution in order to derive man from a non-human form. This error came about due to individuals trying to merge Christianity with false “science.” Darwinism and Evolutionism are false and unfounded, lacking substantial facts and evidences to prove them. They require more faith than that of Christianity and are believed only because “the alternative is unthinkable.” Evolutionism is a philosophical religion—not true science.