In Book 7 of his History of the Church, Eusebius discusses several figures whom he regarded as heretics, among them Paul of Samosata, Sabellius, and Novatian (whom he calls Novatus). Do you agree with Eusebius' evaluation of these men? Are they truly heretics? If so, is false doctrine the central problem, or does something else seem to be involved? What techniques does the church seem to be using in dealing with the divisions caused by such men? Does the "surgery" in each case seem successful or not?
Saturday, April 8, 2023
Eusebius Book VII (extra credit)
In Book 7 of his History of the Church, Eusebius discusses several figures whom he regarded as heretics, among them Paul of Samosata, Sabellius, and Novatian (whom he calls Novatus). Do you agree with Eusebius' evaluation of these men? Are they truly heretics? If so, is false doctrine the central problem, or does something else seem to be involved? What techniques does the church seem to be using in dealing with the divisions caused by such men? Does the "surgery" in each case seem successful or not?
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Honestly, I have to agree with Eusebius's evaluation of these men. They most definitely are heretics. False doctrine is most likely the primary problem because they all seemed to have a low view of Christ and they viewed him as an ordinary man, not the Messiah. The church was good about having patience with them, and waited until they were dead, or until they dismissed themselves because they were getting old and the church took over their position to direct people back on the right path. The "surgery" seems to be unsuccessful every time because the men seemed to have their own ideas and although they had the "surgery", they didn't really "recover" from their own thoughts.
ReplyDeleteI would agree with Eusebius, that these men are heretics. False doctrine is the main problem in my opinion. These men only see Jesus as an ordinary man instead of the son of God. The church had patience's with them and tried to help them get back on the right track. The church eventually helps everyone else get back on the right track after these men are dead. The surgery wasn't successful in any of the cases because the men didn't give up there false ideas and didn't accept the full truth about Christ.
ReplyDelete- Eathen Erck
Yes i agree with Eusebius, When you start to see Jesus as just a man or just a prophet aka as a view in Islam. In my Opionan it would've been bad if they just kicked them out. At the first sign of trouble. But the church gave them multiple chances and grace. But they turned it away. So i would saw they were justifed. -Austin Dreyer
ReplyDeleteYes, I agree with Eusebius. I do think that people who don't line up with your doctrine should be taken out of positions of power. Ok, if you're just a guy going to church, and you talk to the pastor about some stuff, that's completely fine. But if you're in a high prominent position, and you're starting to tell people that Jesus was just a guy, and completely discarding John's revelation. Then you have a problem. You can't have disunited people in charge of the church. These people were also given multiple chances to change their minds and they still refused to listen. Only when drastic measures were taken, were they finally removed. I think it's justified. But do I think that false doctrine is the problem? No, I don't. I think there's more to it than people pushing false doctrine. It's power-hungry people, who are seeing an opportunity to take advantage of an organization and taking it.
ReplyDelete-Walker Larson