The Colossian Heresy Essay example - 2864 Words

The city of Colossae Located on the South bank of the Lycus River in the province of Phrygia stood Colossae. Before the Christian era, Colossae was a principle city in the Lycus Valley . Part of a major trade route in Asia minor from Ephesus to Miletus, the city was most known for its production of textiles, especially its purple wool . With other large cities such as Laodicea and Hierapolis, this was a well-populated and high business area in the Lycus Valley. Yet, with changes in the road system, Laodicea became a more important trade city than Colossae. And though once a city of great prominence, by A.D. 61, Colossae had suffered a great deal. An earthquake shook the city that year, Eusebius writes, and had disappeared from the†¦show more content†¦Ã¢â‚¬Å" In fact, Baird goes on to question whether there was a heresy to even be considered at all ! While this might seem a reluctant view of the situation in Colossae, J.B Lightfoot offers an interesting proposal to the situation. While he does r ecognize the Judaizing and early Gnostic influences (which will soon be discussed), he believes there to be a single group or culprit responsible for the religious heresy that is taking place . Lightfoot goes on to defend his theory with the ideas that the epistle shows no traces of multiple opponents being faced, and that in historical criticism the multiplication of persons is needless and should be downplayed . While this theory would also seem to be solid, it would still seem that there is more than a single movement taking place in Colossae. Inside the heresy In an interesting synopsis, William Barclay gives a descriptive list of what the false teaching was like. He states that some of the traits were : -nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;A beguiling seduction -nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;To be considered philosophy rather than religion -nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Based on human tradition -nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Turned religion into human regulations -nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Having a legalistic spirit -nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Issued observances of holidays and festivals And while this may not be an all inclusive list, it does lead into the nextShow MoreRelatedColossians Essay1083 Words   |  5 PagesThe Colossians Essay By: Kenneth Bernard Ridgell Instructor: Dr. Matthew Clifton Essay on Colossians Topic Heresy Date: November 7, 2011 Ridgell 2 The city of Colosse was located in the province of Phrygia; before the Christian era the city of Colosse was a principle city the Lycus Valley. Being part of a major trade route in Asia Minor from Ephesus to Miletus, the city was known for its production of textiles, especially in its purple wool. Larger cities such as Laodicea and HierapolisRead MoreA Research Study On Liberty University School Of Divinity Essay1646 Words   |  7 PagesLIBERTY UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF DIVINITY Research Paper on Colossians 1:9-14 Submitted to Dr. C. Fred Smith In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the completion of RTCH 500 – B06 Research, Writing and Ministry Preparation by Laurie Pelosi September 11, 2016 Contents: Introduction†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦1 Context†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦..............3 Authorship†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.†¦.4 Recipient†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.5 Conclusion†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Read MoreThe Council Of Nicae The Authority Of The Roman Empire Essay1122 Words   |  5 Pagesin Asia Minor, east of Constantinople now Ä °znik, Turkey. Constantine hoped the council would help solve the problem of Arianism, a â€Å"heresy† and schism first promulgated by Arius of Alexandria. POLITICAL IMPACT OF THE COUNCIL OF NICAEA The Arian â€Å"heresy† had penetrated parts of the Church all the way from Alexandria to Palestine, Syria, Asia Minor and Greece. Heresy was the term used to describe what former bishops had been teaching: God is One, without partners† which happens to be the themeRead MoreSimilarities And Differences Between Gnosticism And Christianity1254 Words   |  6 Pagespractices of Christianity. Gnosticism had several key leaders during its early years, few of whom we will discuss at further length later in this paper. There were also several key leaders of the early Christian church who denounced Gnosticism for heresy and claimed that it was pseudo way to Christianity. Up until the 1900’s, very little was known about the precise beliefs of Gnosticism, then this changed with the discovery of the Nag Hammadi works which may have been written by Valentinus. GnosticismRead More NO Spiritual Reward for Depriving the Physical Body2276 Words   |  10 Pagesgospel to the peo ple of every nation. This follows from Gods love that knows no boundaries or borders. This reflection of Gods boundless love in the lives of believers is proclaimed by Paul to be the fulfillment of the law (Romans 13:10). II. The Heresy It is by this understanding of the message of Christ that this writer proceeds, in order to unearth the truth about the falsehood mentioned in the first words above. The church today, understood by this author to include the whole body of believersRead MoreThe New Testament Canon.1295 Words   |  6 Pagestheir claim to the renewed gift of prophecy; it was necessary to submit prophetic utterances to the judgment of the Holy Scripture, and this made it of practical importance to know what was Holy Scripture and what was not. Furthermore, the Gnostic heresy rather soon began to multiply unauthentic writings and this made people cautious. It took time to convince everybody of every book. The history of the collection of the books follows this process. Although there were early monastics throughoutRead MoreEssay about Prison Epistles of Paul3240 Words   |  13 Pagesassurance they would need, believing in the word of God. The structure, message, purpose, and contribution, would reach people from generation to generation, seeking and saving the lost! 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ButRead MoreThe Arguments Of Athanasius And Arius At The Council Of Nicaea1830 Words   |  8 Pageshow the establishment of the creed at the Council of Nicaea, which was greatly influenced by Athanasius (McGrath 2001, p,12), was a failed attempt to expel all aspects of Arian heresy but a success in uniting Christians. Firstly, the definition of heresy will be explained as to not discredit Arius’ Christian belief: Heresy is the acceptance of basic Christian principle but interpreting it in terms that are not consistent with orthodoxy (McGrath, 2001, p.153). Arius, as a Christian, accepted the supremeRead MoreThe Canon of the New Testament1517 Words   |  7 Pagesheretical teachings such as Gnosticism began to spread the early apologists began to realize that an authoritative canon was necessary in order to turn back the tide of heresy. One of the top apologists of the time was Irenaeus. He declared that there could only be four gospels and to add or subtract from that number would be heresy. He also countered Marcion who that the â€Å"Old Testament God had been evil, different from the New Testament God.† Marcion wanted to remove all ties to Judaism from