Heretics
The belief that matter and all things physical are bad. Salvation for your spirit trapped in this bad matter can only come from knowledge.
What is Gnosticism?
The belief that Jesus Christ wasn't really human. He only appeared human.
What is Docetism?
The primary purpose of the council was to resolve the controversy of Arianism. The council deemed Arianism a heresy and affirmed the divinity of Christ by invoking the term "homoousios" (Greek for "of one substance"). Arianism, however, continued to plague the church for another half century.
First Council of Nicaea. Extra 200pts if you remember the date!
God is just and destroys the evil nations to purify the world for the faithful remnant and they will rejoice.
Who is Zephaniah? (+200pts if you can remember the date)
He taught there was a time when the Son was not.
Who is Arius?
What did the party of the circumcision teach?
That you had to be circumcised and keep the law of Moses to be saved. (+100pts if you can remember which council dealt with this heresy)
The belief that the Holy Spirit continued to reveal new prophecies (canon not closed), that believers should live according to a strict moral code including fasting and celibacy, that the second comming was imminent and that the New Jerusalem would descend in Phrygia (modern day turkey)?
What is Montanism? (for an extra 300pts what were the names of the two female prophetess who work with Montanus)?
The council was primarily convened to address the Nestorian controversy, which revolved around the nature of Jesus Christ and the title of the Virgin Mary: "Christotokos" (Mother of Christ) vs "Theotokos" (Mother of God). The council condemned Nestorius' teachings as heretical and affirmed that Jesus Christ is one person with both divine and human natures, and that Mary is indeed "Theotokos," The council also condemned Pelagianism.
Council of Ephesus (third ecumenical council). + 200 points if you can remember the date!
Judgement and destruction of Jerusalem/nations with an evangelical hope of the messiah for the future. It includes the prophecies of the virgin birth and Jesus dying for sins.
They believed that baptisms administered by a man who later denied Christ were not real baptisms. Baptisms are only valid if administered by a pure man.
Who are the Donatists?
The belief that Christ has two natures. Jesus Christ consists of two separate persons—one divine (the Logos or Word) and one human (Jesus of Nazareth)—united in a moral union rather than a hypostatic union.Those who hold to this belief also emphasize Mary as "Christotokos" (Bearer of Christ) rather than "Theotokos" (Bearer of God), emphasizing that she gave birth to the human Jesus, not the divine Logos.
What is Nestorianism
What is iconoclasm?
The belief that the use icons for worship is idolatrus and icons should be smashed (+100pts if you can remember which council dealt with this. +100 more points if you can remember the conclusion they came to).
This council was convened by Empress Irene to address the issue of iconoclasm, which was the controversy over the veneration of icons. The council condemned iconoclasm and affirmed the veneration of icons as a legitimate practice within the Christian faith.
Second Council of Nicaea (Seventh Ecumenical Council) +300 if you can remember the date!
The Lord’s judgement on Edom for aiding the Babylonians and their slaughter of the Jews, the book ends with a prophecy of the new Jerusalem.
Who is Obadiah?
What did Pelagius teach?
Free Will: Pelagius emphasized the importance of human free will and believed that individuals have the inherent ability to choose between good and evil without the need for divine intervention.
Denial of Original Sin: He rejected the concept of original sin, arguing that humans are born innocent and that sin is a result of individual choices rather than an inherited condition.
Salvation through Good Works: Pelagius taught that humans could achieve salvation through their own efforts and good works, without the necessity of divine grace.
Moral Responsibility: He believed that individuals are fully responsible for their actions and that they have the capacity to live a sinless life by following Christ's teachings.
Grace is God's gift of will, the scriptures, and the good example of Jesus
This doctrine proposed that Jesus Christ had a human body and a human soul, but not a human mind. Instead, the Divine Logos (the second person of the Trinity) took the place of the human rational soul in Jesus.
What is Apollinarianism?
The belief that Jesus was a purely human prophet, rejecting the notion of his divinity and the virgin birth. Jesus is a messianic figure but not divine or pre-existent.
What is Ebionism?
The year when the First Council of Constantinople (the second ecumenical council) was convened by Emperor Theodosius I in Constantinople. Condemned Arianism for good, and dealt with Apollinarianism and the Spirit fighters.
What happened in 381 A.D.
What is Jeremiah about?
Judah doesn’t repent for being evil, Babylon destroys them, 70 exile and future messiah are prophesied, and God will judge Babylon.
What was Eutyches view of the nature of Jesus?
That Jesus has one nature which is a mixture God and Man... so neither fully God nor fully man.
Explain the two types of Monarchianism:
1. Modalistic Monarchianism (Modalism or Sabellianism)
Belief: Modalistic Monarchians, such as Sabellius, taught that God is one person who has manifested Himself in different modes or aspects at different times. According to this view, God revealed Himself as the Father in creation, as the Son in redemption, and as the Holy Spirit in sanctification. However, these are not distinct persons but rather different modes or manifestations of the same God.
2. Adoptionistic Monarchianism (Dynamic Monarchianism)
Belief: Adoptionistic Monarchians, such as Paul of Samosata and Theodotus of Byzantium, taught that Jesus was a mere man who was "adopted" as the Son of God at His baptism, resurrection, or ascension. According to this view, Jesus was endowed with divine power and authority by God but was not divine by nature.
Who were the Pneumatomachi?
a heretical sect that emerged in the regions around the Hellespont during the latter half of the fourth and the beginning of the fifth centuries. The name "Pneumatomachi" means "Combators against the Spirit" in Greek, as they denied the divinity of the Holy Spirit. (+200pts if you can remember which council condemned them)
They condemned the teachings of Eutyches, who claimed that Christ had only one mixed nature after the union of divine and human natures. Instead, the council affirmed the doctrine of the two natures of Christ, declaring that Jesus Christ is one person with two distinct natures, divine and human, united "unconfusedly, unchangeably, indivisibly, and inseparably." This doctrine is known as the Chalcedonian Definition (+ 200pts if you can remember the year!)
What was the 6th Ecumenical council about? (and you thought this was going to be a question about prophets... tricked!)
The primary purpose of the council was to address the heresy of Monothelitism, which claimed that Jesus Christ had only one will (divine) despite having two natures (divine and human). The council condemned Monothelitism as heretical and affirmed that Jesus Christ has two wills, divine and human, in accordance with his two natures. This decision was crucial in maintaining the orthodox understanding of the nature of Christ. (+300pts if you know the dates!)