Early Christian Heresies, Gnosticism And Arianism Analysis

This essay will examine the effect of the early Christian heresies, Gnosticism and Arianism, on the construction of the orthodox Christian position on the nature of Jesus. Firstly, it will discuss the merits of each heresy, why they were popular in their respective time periods, and their weaknesses. Secondly, it will examine the similarities and differences between each heresy and the orthodox position. Lastly, it will evaluate how each heresy contributed to the development of the orthodox Christian position, that Jesus is both fully divine and fully human.

One of the most prevalent heresies to plague early Christianity is Gnosticism, a theology that focuses on obtaining a secret knowledge and wisdom, or gnosis, that allows one to achieve

A primary theme of Judaism was the search for ‘true knowledge’ of God and one’s self, practically aligning with the principle foundations of Gnosticism. Judaism’s “contribution to the development of Gnosticism was…direct, through the absorption of Jewish ideas into Gnostic thought,” and moreover, “provided a bridge…which separates the Graeco-Oriental and the Jewish-Christian worlds of thought.” Many Gnostic scriptures are based on the bible and support for their beliefs can be found chiefly in the Old Testament. The Old Testament has an underlying theme of pursuing true knowledge; God’s knowledge. For example, “the Lord gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding,” where the knowledge, or what was originally written, gnosis, is the knowledge about God’s nature and his plans for the world. Furthermore, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is

The Church maintains that the human element, the Jewish side of Jesus, contributes greatly to the origins of Christianity, and thus it cannot be ignored when analysing the words and acts of Christ. Like Gnosticism, the Bible is primarily used to support this view but more so the New Testament. Jesus’ Jewish background and humanity are revealed in the Old Testament and confirmed in the New Testament, with the majority of evidence found in the Gospels. In the Gospel of Matthew, we are given a complete genealogy of Jesus from Abraham to Mary of Nazareth, so we know all of his relatives are human. In the Gospel of Luke we are given a genealogy back to Adam of Genesis, thus connecting the Old and New Testament. Lastly, in the Gospel of John we are told, “In the beginning was the Word…and the Word became flesh and lived among us,” explicitly affirming Jesus’ humanity. Although Gnostics are able to use the Old Testament as evidence for their beliefs, it is difficult to reject Jesus’s humanity and his Jewish background since its theology is founded on Jewish