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List of Heresies & Errors

Systematic Theology


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  • Adamites - The belief that men could, through their practices, return to the state of innocence and purity that Adam and Eve enjoyed before the Fall.
  • Adoptionism - The belief Jesus is not eternally God but became God sometime after His birth
  • Annihilationism - the belief that, instead of suffering eternal punishment in hell, the wicked will ultimately be destroyed or cease to exist. A modified view of this teaching can be foud in a view called Conditional Immorty (CI) which is the belief that, instead of suffering forever in hell, the wicked will be destroyed both body and soul
  • Antinomianism The belief that Christians are not bound by God’s law and are free to sin as they please; That Jesus' rescues from the guilt of sin but not its power..
  • Anti-Paulism The belief that the Apostle Paul was a heretic and that the books he wrote are not a part of Biblical Canon
  • Apolonarianism – The belief that the Logos took that place of the rational human soul of Jesus. That though Jesus was a man, He did not have a human mind but that the mind of Christ was solely divine. Apollinaris taught that the two natures of Christ could not coexist within one person. His solution was to lessen the human nature of Christ.
  • Arianism The belief that Jesus and the Holy Spirit were lesser, created beings and  not persons of the Godhead .
  • Black Hebrew Israelites (BHI) - A movement that asserts that African Americans, and sometimes other minority groups, are the true descendants of the ancient Israelites.
  • Christian Deism The belief that God does not intervene in or interact with the world.
  • Christian Mysticism – Prioritizes direct, subjective spiritual experience as the source of truth
  • Critical Race Theory (CRT)  Introducing secular, materialistic frameworks into theological contexts, leading to gross distortions of the gospel
  • Docetism -  The belief that Jesus was divine but only seemed to be human.
  • Donatism -  The Belief that the efficacy of the sacraments depends on character of the minister.
  • Dual Covenant Theology The belief that Jews can still be saved without believing in Jesus
  • Ebionites - A Jewish-Christian group which believed that Jesus did not exist before his birth and that God adopted him at his baptism. 
  • Erastianism - Taking away from the church all discipline and government, and put it into the hands of the civil magistrate. 
  • Eutychianism - The belief that Jesus' finite human nature is swallowed up in His infinite divine nature.
  • Federal Vision - Distorts several key areas of theology, particularly those related to covenant theology, justification, sacraments, and the relationship between faith and works.
  • Final Justification - The belief that a person’s ultimate justification before God, at the final judgment, is based on their covenant faithfulness or works, rather than on Christ’s righteousness alone.
  • Finneyism - theological ideas and methods associated with Charles Grandison Finney
  • Gay Theology - The belief that homosexuality is not a sin. Consequently, the full gospel of rescue from sin's tyranny is witheld from those who self-identify as "gay"
  • Gnosticism - Holds to a radical dualism of good and evil and believes secret knowledge is necessary for salvation. This contrasts sharply with Christianity which affirms the good of creation. Gnostics think matter is evil. 
  • Hyper-Calviinism - a theological error that distorts the doctrines of Calvinism, particularly those concerning God's sovereignty, election, and human responsibility.
  • Hyper-Grace - Hyper-grace is a theological view that emphasizes God’s grace to the extent that it downplays or dismisses the need for ongoing repentance, confession, and sanctification in the Christian life.
  • Inclusivism The belief that faith is not necessary for salvation and that God’s mercy is so wide that it embraces all non-Christian peoples on the earth
  • Kenosis The belief that Jesus ceased to be divine while on Earth
  • Keswick Theology - or the Higher Life movement is a Protestant theological tradition within evangelical Christianity that espouses a distinct teaching on the doctrine of entire sanctification.
  • Kinism combines elements of Christian theology with racial separatism, advocating for the social and religious separation of races based on a supposed biblical mandate.
  • Legalism - Trusting in one's own righteousness (or anything) aside from Jesus to win acceptance with God
  • Liberalism The belief that Scripture is not inerrant or infallible (Not to be confused with the political system of the same name)
  • Liberation Theology - Blends Marxist social analysis with Christian theology.
  • Limited Theism The belief that God’s powers are or can be limited and He is not All-Powerful
  • Marcionism - The belief that the God of the O.T. is evil and the God of the N.T. is good. Affirms 11 books in the Canon
  • Marxist-Inspired Theologies - A set of theologies that incorporate Marxist ideas about class struggle and power dynamics, applying them to Christian concepts of liberation and justice.
  • Macedonianism The belief that God the Holy Spirit is not a member of the Godhead but merely a creation of God.
  • Manichaeism The belief that good and evil are both equally powerful in ability and/or authority.
  • Modalism The belief that the members of the Trinity are not three distinct persons but three different aspects of the same person.
  • Molinism - A theological framework developed by Roman Catholic Luis de Molina in the late 16th century to reconcile divine sovereignty and human free will.
  • Monarchianism - The belief that God is one person.
  • Monophysitism - The belief that Jesus had only one nature: divine.
  • Monothelitism: The belief that Jesus Christ had only one will (divine), rather than two wills (divine and human). 
  • Montanism The belief that the Bible is either insufficient or incomplete, and that new revelation from God is being regularly given.
  • Moralistic Therapeutic Deism - the new American Religion.
  • Neo-Orthodoxy The belief that the Bible is not the Inspired Word of God unless it is being read by a believer.
  • Neoplatonism The belief that all existence consists of emanations from the One with whom the soul may be reunited
  • Nestorianism - The belief that Jesus was two persons.
  • New Perspective on Paul (NPP) - a modern theological movement that reinterprets the writings of the Apostle Paul, particularly his teachings on justification, the law.
  • Open Theism The belief that God is not omniscient and doesn’t know the future.
  • Papal Primacy The belief that the Pope is the head of the Church while it is on Earth as well as the vicar of Christ.
  • Partialism The belief that each member of the Trinity is 1/3 of God rather than being fully God.
  • Pelagianism The belief that human nature is untainted by the Fall of Man and is not corrupted with Original Sin.
  • PerfectionismThe belief that teaches that Christians can achieve sinless perfection in this life.
  • Pluralism The belief that two or more religions can be true at one time.
  • Positive Thinking The belief that your thoughts have the God-like ability to create your reality.
  • Prosperity Gospel The belief that the promises of the Gospel include good physical health and Earthly wealth.
  • Progressive Christianity - a post-modern theological approach, a revisionist view of the Scriptures, with a strong focus on social justice and an over-emphasis on politics. Rooted in Liberal Christianity of the modern-era.
  • Provisionism - A modern theological system within Southern Baptist circles that shares theological similarities with semi-Pelagianism, notably in its denial of the necessity for the Holy Spirit to work any inner grace—whether regenerative or prevenient—to enable faith. Provisionism teaches, rather, that the Holy Spirit operates solely through an external influence, illuminating the truth of the gospel, convicting of sin, and drawing all people who hear, making the gospel clearly understood without altering the individual’s inner nature or will, thereby leaving the response entirely to unregenerate human volition.
  • Quakers - a Christian movement founded in the 17th century that emphasizes inner spiritual experience. Emphasized pacifism and social justice, while rejecting traditional sacraments, ordained clergy, and formal church structures.
  • Quietism - The belief that human efforts in spiritual growth and sanctification are unnecessary, and that believers should passively yield to God's will, waiting for divine grace to work in them apart from any personal action.
  • Rauschenbuschism (the social gospel) The belief that the main purpose of the Gospel is to be the cure for social issues rather than the forgiveness of sins and reconciliation with God.
  • Relativism The belief that multiple religions can lead to God or that no single religion holds the exclusive truth
  • Roman Catholicism - Roman Catholicism violates scripture in its doctrine of salvation, its claims about its authority, its apostolic succession, its priesthood, and its claim to have the sole right to interpret Scripture. 
  • Sacralism - Sacralism is the belief in the fusion of religious and political authority, where the state enforces religious conformity and the church holds sway over civil governance.
  • Semi-Pelagianism - The belief that man and God cooperate to achieve man's salvation.(with man initiating)
  • Social Justice and Critical Race Theory (CRT)  introducing secular, materialistic frameworks into theological contexts, leading to gross distortions of the gospel
  • Socinianism - A Denial of the Trinity. The belief that Jesus is a deified man
  • Spiritual but Not Religious (SBNR) – Values personal spirituality without adhering to organized religion, often blending elements from various traditions.
  • Subordinationism - The belief that the Son is lesser than the Father in essence and or attributes.
  • Theistic Evolution - Theistic evolution is a view that attempts to reconcile evolutionary science with belief in the God of the Bible
  • Trinitarian Heresies Here is list of major heresies which deny the biblical teaching on the Trinity
  • Tritheism The belief that the Godhead is actually three separate gods
  • Universalism The belief that everyone will go to Heaven
  • Word of Faith The belief that human words have the God-like power to create or destroy.
  • Self- Righteousness The belief that we are saved by works or a combination of faith and works rather than by faith alone

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Related: Bad Theology - Cults and Heresy - List of Modern Day False Teachers

The Distinction Between Error, Heresy, and Damnable Heresy @Monergism

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