The Gospel According to Heretics: Discovering Orthodoxy through Early Christological Conflicts
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Overview
The Gospel according to Heretics covers the major christological heresies from the first eight centuries of Christianity. David Wilhite analyzes the concerns that led the ancient heretics to their conclusions. While some studies offer a revisionist take on various individual figures, this volume takes a more comprehensive approach, covering the whole era of the ecumenical councils. It also situates Christianity in relation to Judaism and Islam.
Drawing on up-to-date scholarship, this engaging introduction to the christological heresies helps readers understand teachings about Jesus that the early church rejected and shows how the history of theology is relevant for today’s church. This work is helpful for pastors, professors, and students in theology and church history courses.
Explore more christology with Pauline Christology: An Exegetical-Theological Study.
Key Features
- Covers the major christological heresies from the first eight centuries of Christianity
- Examines what the ancient heretics said about Jesus
- Helps readers understand teachings about Jesus that the early church rejected
Contents
- Marcion: Supersessionism
- Ebion: Adoptionism
- Gnostics: Docetism
- Sabellius: Modalism
- Arius: Subordinationism
- Apollinaris: Subhumanism
- Nestorius: Dyoprosopitism
- Eutyches: Monophysitism
- Iconoclasts: Antirepresentationalism
- Muslims: Reductionism
Praise for the Print Edition
Written with good humor, clarity, insightful, and sensitivity to various religious traditions, Wilhite’s volume presents ten heresies of early Christianity that introduce the nonspecialist reader to the problematic questions of just what these heretics, as later defined, believed and why those beliefs were later condemned. I know of no better introduction to the topic to put into the hands of students and scholars alike.
—Geoffrey D. Dunn, senior research fellow, Centre for Early Christian Studies, Australian Catholic University
This book does a number of things extremely well. It takes readers from the shallow end of the pool of early Christian theology into deep waters and enables them to float. It gives heresies their due while always keeping at least one eye on the positive message of Christian truth—that is, it is not transfixed by ‘the dark side.’ It is written with clarity both conceptually and in terms of expression, while being impressively learned. . . . It is quite a breathtaking achievement.
—Mark W. Elliott, head of the School of Divinity, University of St. Andrews
- Title: The Gospel according to Heretics: Discovering Orthodoxy through Early Christological Conflicts
- Author: David E. Wilhite
- Publisher: Baker Academic
- Print Publication Date: 2015
- Logos Release Date: 2017
- Pages: 302
- Language: English
- Resources: 1
- Format: Digital › Logos Research Edition
- Subjects: Christian heresies › History--Early church, ca. 30-600; Christian heretics
- ISBNs: 9781441223524, 9780801039768, 1441223525, 0801039762
- Resource ID: LLS:GSPLCCRDCNFLCTS
- Resource Type: Monograph
- Metadata Last Updated: 2022-09-30T00:24:27Z
Sample Pages from the Print Edition
Reviews
2 ratings
Thomas Binder
8/30/2018
Sean
7/25/2018
Writing an academic work in a popular style is always a perilous endeavor. It is all too easy to satisfy neither intended audience: the informality and pop culture digressions may cause academics to cringe while the work still goes over the heads of non-academics. This present work does fall into this trap, but not too deeply; a few cringe-worthy moments aside, it is a delightful and valuable study in heresiology. And make no mistake--this is an introductory to intermediate-level heresiography. As described, the work examines the major Christological controversies charitably and from all sides. While it starts off casually, it is moderately vigorous, exploring the subjects under consideration in greater detail than, say, what most systematic theologies do. I learned much from it and would recommend it to anyone going desiring to go further than just learning the basic questions and terminology debated during the controversies. While it would have been nice if it had discussed some of the modern manifestations of the ancient heresies, it must be commended for taking up the subjects of iconoclasm and Islam, which are frequently passed over in discussions of Christology. Doing so it earns itself a solid 5 stars.
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