Re: Heresy
Posted by ESC on November 13, 2001 In Reply to: Re: Origin or etymology posted
by sara on November 12, 2001
: : I am wanting to know the origin of the word Heresy
: : Help ... please.
HERESY - "In ancient Greek, the verb 'hairein,' meaning 'to take,'
gave rise to the adjective 'hairetos' 'able to choose' and the noun
'hairesis' 'the act of choosing.' In time the noun developed the
extended senses of 'a choice,' 'a course of action,' 'a school of
thought,' and 'a philosophical or religious sect.' Stoicism, for
example, was a 'hairesis.'
Within Judaism, a 'heresy' (our modern English equivalent and derivative
of 'hairesis') was a religious faction, part, or sect, such as the
Pharisees or Sadducees. Applied to such groups, 'hairesis' was used
in a neutral, nonpejorative manner. In fact, when this Greek noun
is used in the New Testament, it is usually translated as 'sect.'
When the prosecutor Tertullus charged St. Paul with being the ringleader
of 'the sect of the Nazarenes,' implying that Christianity was simply
another party within Judaism, Paul responded: 'But this I confess
to thee, that according to the way, which they call a heresy, so
do I serve the Father and my God.' (Acts 24:14, Douay)
When St. Paul used the term 'hairesis' in a Christian context,
its meaning was pejorative, designating a splinter group within
the Christian community that threatened the unity of the Church.
By the end of the second century, 'haeresis' (the Latin equivalent)
was being applied to an organized body holding a false or sacrilegious
doctrine. From this use it took on the sense of 'a body of doctrine
substantially differing in some aspect from the doctrine taught
by the Church.' In the early centuries of the Church such heresies
included Arianism, Donatism, Nestorianism, Manichaeism, Monophysitism,
and Pelagianism, among others. Their adherents were often punished
by excommunication.In Chaucer's time the noun began to take on nonecclesiastical
use, being applied to any dissenting opinion, belief, or doctrine
in any field.
"Merriam-Webster New Book of Word Histories" Merriam-Webster, Springfield,
Mass., 1991)
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