"Heretic" Sects ?

[Taffy_is_a_Taff]

Technicly, protestants are no longer "heretics" to the Catholic Church but "separated brothers in Christ". This was decided in a relatively recent council, don't remember wich one though.

damn hippies

[Samurai Waki]

I'm a Heretic.

[Meneldil]

Isn't christianism a sect of judaism in the first place ?

[Rodion Romanovich]

The definition of heretic can either be someone who doesn't follow the original belief of their religion, or someone who has another opinion than the most powerful leaders of the religion. In the latter case, the groups traditionally called heretics by the church are heretics while Catholics, Protestants, Sunnis and Shiites are not. With the former definition, at least 99% of all religious people are heretics. If one is to discuss which churches are closest to the original religion as it was formed by it's founder, many "heretical" sects such as Arianism, Coptic Church and Nestorianism, are/were much closer to the orginal teachings than Catholic and Orthodox faith, according to theological research suggesting that the trinity and even the thought that Jesus was divine and not just a prophet wasn't part of the earliest Christianity.

[kataphraktoi]

Heretical is subjective, but anyhoo

Christian Heretics are often commonly noted for their denial of the Nicene and Chalcedonian Creeds.

Note: Chalcedonian Creed emphasises that Christ has two distinct divine and human - not separate - natures united in one person)

I'm no Nestorian, but I can argue that Nestorianism is not heretical by any means. Closer examination reveals that its "heretical" tag is due more to personality clashes and jostling over which Patriarchal See was more prestigious which means that it really has nothing to do with religion. As for the whole thing about "Mother of God" (Theotokos), it was played up for the aforesaid reason.

In the medieval ages (Mongol Period), the Pope declared that the Nestorians had similar beliefs to the Catholic Church (Nestorians accept the Chalcedonian Creed), some Nestorians went as far as to become Uniate Churches (In Communion with Rome).

Monophysites (Christ's divine and human nature are united into one nature)
Under this umbrella belong the Coptic and Jacobite churches.
They veer from the Chalcedonian Creed because of their insistence on the single-natured Christ but I don't think that is a big deal.

Arianism (Emphasised more on the human nature of Christ than his divine nature)
Successful heretical sect that converted the Gothic tribes. Visigoths were last known adherents before subscribing to the Chalcedonian Creed.

Dualists (Believe that there is a good god and an evil god)
Under this umbrella belongs the Cathars and Bogomils who derived from the Paulicians who came from Armenia. They have influences from Manichaeism but have a particular attachment to the writings of Paul. They were finally defeated by Basil I and settled in THrace eventually starting a Bogomil Church popular in Bulgaria and Bosnia. Eventually, their teachings reached Southern France and hence the Cathars.

Jehovah's Witness deny the Trinity, believe that Jesus Christ is Archangel Michael (Mikha'ail) and Holy Spirit is impersonal active force.

Mormons are the Quasi-Christian version of Islam with the claim the Moroni (an angel) revealed to Joseph Smith the revelations of God (through Golden Plates) which formed the Book of Mormon. I'm not sayiing its the same as Islam, just noting the coincidental occurences of angels revealing messages to men who claimed they were prophets afterwards.

An alarming modern heretical movement is a Christian cult in China called Eastern Lightning which claims that the Messiah has come back in the form of a woman in Henan province. They are noted for using sex, kidnapping and brainwashing tactics to recruit new converts. The security bureau is trying to hunt them down and classify them as the same class as Fulan Gong. I can tell you they are not comparable to Fulan Gong because they are not militantly aggressive.

Is Christianity a sect of Judaism before it became a religion in its own right?
Depends.

At its roots, Christianity is seen not as "Christianity" the religion but Judaism itself in all aspects of continuation (not replacement). Basically, the belief is that Christianity is Judaism, albeit, a non-Jewish version which de-emphasises the Jewishness of its roots to adapt to various cultures it comes into contact while maintaining that it has not broken from Judaism. The Gospels were written by Jewish men who were very much part of the Synagogical life of Judaism until the rebellion of Bar Kochba when Jews who followed Jesus (Yeshua Mshika) could not accept Kochba as the Messiah and were thus forcibly expelled from the Jewish community. In modern times, Jews who follow Jesus are part of the Messianic Judaism scene which attempts to put Christianity back into its true Jewish setting. I have read their translation of the Gospels and found them quite profound through Jewish eyes than European eyes.

As for Islam, I think there are Muslims on the .org more qualified than I am to comment on them. The ones I recall are at best obscure and they are:

Hurramites
Druzes

Hope this helps.

[GoreBag]

The definition of heretic can either be someone who doesn't follow the original belief of their religion, or someone who has another opinion than the most powerful leaders of the religion. In the latter case, the groups traditionally called heretics by the church are heretics while Catholics, Protestants, Sunnis and Shiites are not.

Protestants are heretics by definition.

[Rodion Romanovich]

Protestants are heretics by definition.

I thought they changed that recently?

[kataphraktoi]

Heresy is defined as deviation from orthodoxy. This definition steers from bias towards any particular sect or denomination. Protestants can argue back that the Catholic church is heretical for perverting original teachings of the church. Vice - Versa.

In my opinion, some 'heretics' are harmless and inconsequential if viewed within the context of salvation. Eg. I disagree with Monophysitism, but by no means think that they;re goin to hell for their views or anything, its inconsequential.

[GoreBag]

I thought they changed that recently?

You got me there, actually. If there was some Papal decree that recognised the many groups under the Protestant mantle, I don't know, but I'm pretty sure it was a cold day in hell when it was decided.