CHHI 520 - History of the Christian Church I

1. Discuss Neoplatonism. One could not easily be a Legalist and a Gnostic. However, one could be a Neoplatonist, a Manicheanist, taken in by one of the Pagan corruptions, and have an inadequate view of the Trinity all at the same time. Being a Legalist and being a Gnostic were mutually exclusive events, but the others were not. Being a Neoplatonist and a Christian at the same time, though, was also very hard to do. Neoplatonism was very contradictory to Christianity. It was a metaphysical (beyond touch, feel, and know) mystical (can communicate with the beyond), and according to this group, man could and should try to communicate with the beyond. Neoplatonism was derived from Greek philosophy, and Plato's views were closer to Christianity than that of any other Greek philosopher.

There were three types of mysticism. Intuitive mysticism which meant having an inner light with the ability to know God. The Quakers were intuitive mystics, and this view is not entirely nonbiblical. Metaphysical mysticism was the belief that one can have mystical experiences now and in the future. The real goal with this belief was to escape this awful reality to go be with God. They were like the Buddhists, and they denied the present reality. Biblical (ethical) mysticism believed that our union with God in Christ is mystical, not physical. But this belief does not deny or attempt to flee reality.

Concerning the historical development, Plotinus (205-270AD) taught in Rome. He wanted to come up with a new kind of Plato system. Posphory (233-304AD) was a student of Plotinus, and he hated Christianity. He taught that men should seek being re-absorbed into the divine. Emperor Julian (361-363AD) came after Constantine, and he made Neoplatonism the religion of Rome. This decision was not popular, and he did not last long.

Neoplatonism's influence on Christianity was totally negative, a perversion, a great opponent of Christianity, a heresy, but there was not any permanent residue, either good or bad.

2. Discuss Manicheanism. This belief, started by a man named Mani, came from Persia and did have a lasting effect on Christianity. These people were eclectic (they combined the views of many beliefs to derive their own), and they were very sacramental. Sacramentalism said that people would be blessed for doing certain acts, whether they were sincere or not. Manicheanists were dualistic (kings of light and darkness). They were aesthetic and denied the physical. They claimed to be Christians, but they were more like a cult. Augustine, in the 5th and 6th centuries, was a well-known Manicheanist. He started out far from a religious life, but then came to this belief. Later, he forsook Manicheanism and embraced Christ. Later in his life, he turned back Pelagius who had taught that people could raise themselves up to God. Manicheanism lasted longer than most heresies, from the 3rd century to the 6th. Its main residue on Christianity was sacramentalism, and Catholics practice some of these sacraments even today.

3. Discuss the Pagan corruptions. When someone comes to Christ, they sometimes bring some wrong beliefs with them. Four of these Pagan corruptions were: (1) fetishism which pointed to some external object as a source of getting closer to God, such as the bones of a dead saint or the sign of the cross, (2) female deity which promoted the worship of a female god along with Jehovah God (many early converts had come from polytheistic roots), (3) sacramentalism which taught that all sacraments led a person closer to God whether they were sincere or not (baptism, communion, last rites, and so forth), and (4) sacerdotalism which means "priest" and teaches that an intercessor is needed, especially for performing the sacraments.

4. Discuss the inadequate views of the Trinity. The Jews had great difficulty trying to rationalize monotheism and the Trinity. Four types of inadequate Trinity views were: (1) alogoi which said that Jesus is not God, thus rejecting John 1:1-18, (2) adoptionism which said that Jesus was only God between His baptism and the cross, (3) modalism which said that God was one but went through several transformation from Spirit in the Old Testament, to Incarnate Son in the New Testament, to Holy Spirit after Calvary, and (4) subordinationism which said that Jesus was less than God. The correct view is that Jesus was the Second Person of the Trinity and that He was fully the triune God.