Heresy
The
Greek word hairesis means: (1) a choice e.g., Lev. 22:18, 21 (LXX), where
"gifts according to their choice" means free-will offering; (2) a
chosen opinion, the only NT example being in II Pet. 2:1, where
"destructive opinions" are caused by false teaching; (3) a sect or
party (holding certain opinions), used in the NT (a) of the Sadducees and
Pharisees (Acts 5:17; 15:5), (b) of the Christians (Acts 24:14; 28:22; in 24:14
Paul substitutes "way" for "heresy," possibly because he
himself had given the word the bad meaning), and a sect or faction within the
Christian body (being synonymous with "schism" in I Cor. 11:19; Gal.
5:20), and resulting not so much from false teaching as from the lack of love
and from self-assertiveness, which lead to divisions within the Christian
community. It is the meaning given to hairesis in II Peter which came to
predominate in Christian usage. Heresy is a deliberate denial of revealed truth
coupled with the acceptance of error. The creeds were considered to contain the
standard of truth and correct belief, and themselves formally contradicted
various false teachings, e.g., Arianism, Apollinarianism, Nestorianism, and Eutychianism.
The union of church and state after Nicaea led in time to legal penalties
against heretics. Paul's and Luke's usage (#3 above) survives in, e.g.,
Eusebius's History X. v. 21-22, See also SCHISM.