James Meyers, III introduces the heresy called Gnosticism, coming from the Greek word for knowledge, “gnosis,” in this session. We consider a few men who pioneered this heresy in the second century. James then discusses a variety of general forms Gnosticism had as it was not monolithic. He concludes with a Christian perspective of knowledge.

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In this session of our series, “Against Heresies,” James Meyers III begins with discussing Simon Magus, found in Acts 8, who was traditionally claimed to have founded Gnosticism, before he considers the gnostic heresy called Docetism, which claimed Jesus only “appeared” to be human (coming from the Greek word, dokeō which means “to seem” or “to appear”), but was not truly “in the flesh.” The Apostle John spoke against this heresy. However, it is noteworthy that the initial controversy over the nature of Christ centered not on His deity, but His humanity. This was due to the philosophical worldview of the time and led into differing forms of Gnosticism which James will explore more fully in sessions to come, God willing.

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James Meyers, III begins today’s message with heresies which arose out of Judaism, namely that of the Judaizers and specifically, the two main heretical communities derived from them, the Nazarenes and the Ebionites. James considers the Nazarene heresy reflected in what was opposed at the Council of Jerusalem in Acts 15, but had its own forms which don’t immediately fall within what we would call heresy. The Ebionite heresy is another matter altogether. This heresy had ties to gnosticism and denied the Virgin Birth of Christ and the Deity of Christ. While these two Judaizer heresies differ, they both concern the main question, “What must I do to be saved?”

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