OT: heresy

James Wynn · 18 Dec 2009, 18:41 · from 2009-December.txt.gz

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From: crushtv at gmail.com (James Wynn)
Date: Fri, 18 Dec 2009 12:41:09 -0600
Subject: (urth) OT: heresy
In-Reply-To: <4946.72.171.0.141.1261159661.squirrel at brunians.org>
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	<4946.72.171.0.141.1261159661.squirrel at brunians.org>
Message-ID: <0088027CF8894B0B93ABEC4D2672836E@eMachinePC>

> The original group is the orthodox group: there was no one before them,
> they get to say what is orthodox. Any deviation from what that original
> group says is therefore, by definition, heterodox.

And here we go...

Well, then we have to ask who is saying it? For quite a long time the 
Eastern Orthodox and the Roman Catholic churches considered each other 
heretics, excommunicated, and damned. (Same with the Church of England)

IIRC the terms "orthodox" (right-thinking) and "heterodox" (other-thinking) 
were coined by Irenaeus in the 2nd century. He openly criticized the Pope 
for excommunicating churches who persisted in celebrating Easter on the 14th 
of Nisan (Quartodeciman system) rather than on the Sunday *following* the 
14th of Nisan. That he was free to do so without being at odds with the 
Church implies that the system at that time was not the Roman system at the 
time of the Reformation. So you are labeling a group "original group" 
without establishing that it is *in fact* the original group. And the 
argument of Calvin and (eventually) Luther is that they were not. You cannot 
move forward without establishing that point one way or the other.

(Q.E.D. stricken)

J.

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