The Rise of Heresy in the 2nd Century (Part 1)

By Kelly McDonald, Jr.

In the second century, Christianity was influenced by many outside influences, including other religions, Greek philosophy, and anti-Semitism. Heretical teachings were also mixed with the Bible. These influences stained much of Christianity in a way that has lasted until modern times. In this two-part series, we are going to discuss the rise of heresy in the second century.

The first apostles warned about a time when false teachers would come to deceive many in the faith. Consider the words of Paul and Peter:

“The Spirit clearly says that in later times* some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons. Such teachings come through hypocritical liars, whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron” (I Tim. 4:1-2).

*The underlying Greek in I Timothy 4:1-2 translated as ‘later times’ refers to the time after Paul. This detail will become more apparent over the course of this two-part series.

“But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them—bringing swift destruction on themselves” (2 Peter 2:1).

Notice that both Paul and Peter warned about a future time when deception would rise. People in the world are already deceived. The attacks described by them were designed to deceive those in the Christian faith. Paul said some will “abandon the faith” and Peter said false teachers will be “among you” – meaning among believers.

In the second century, their prophetic warnings started to come to pass.

Below, we have quotes below from two Christian writers in the second century who lived in these turbulent times. Hegesippus is the first one we will examine. He is considered the earliest Christian chronicler. The second quote is from Clement of Alexandria, who wrote in the late second century. Though he was tainted to a degree with these false teachings, he did not wholly subscribe to them and denounced some of their errors.

Hegesippus

“And, after profound peace had been established in every church, they remained down to the reign of Trajan Caesar [98-117 AD]…Symeon son of Clopas, was informed against [accused] by the various heresies, and subjected to an accusation like the rest…He was finally condemned to be crucified. Up to that period the Church had remained like a virgin pure and uncorrupted…But, when the sacred band of apostles had in various ways closed their lives, and that generation of men to whom it had been vouchsafed to listen to the Godlike Wisdom with their own ears had passed away, then did the confederacy of godless error take its rise…And the church of the Corinthians continued in the orthodox faith up to the time when Primus was bishop in Corinth. I had some intercourse with these brethren on my voyage to Rome…in every city, the state of affairs is in accordance with the teaching of the Law and of the Prophets and of the Lord…After James the Just had suffered martyrdom [62 AD], as had the Lord on the same account, again Symeon son of Clopas, descended from the Lord’s uncle, is made bishop [of Jerusalem]… Therefore was the Church called a virgin, for she was not as yet corrupted by worthless teaching. Thebulis it was who, displeased because he was not made bishop, first began to corrupt her by stealth. He too was connected with the seven sects which existed among the people…from these have come false Christs, false prophets, false apostles – men who have split up the one Church into parts through their corrupting doctrines, uttered in disparagement of God and of His Christ…” (fragments of Hegesippus)

Clement of Alexandria

“The Tradition of the Church Prior to that of the Heresies… For the teaching of our Lord at His advent, beginning with Augustus and Tiberius, was completed in the middle of the times of Tiberius. And that of the apostles, embracing the ministry of Paul, ends with Nero. It was later, in the times of Adrian [Hadrian] the king [117-138 AD], that those who invented the heresies arose…” (Stromata, 7.17)

Hegesippus noted that Christianity held to the true faith until the reign of the Roman Emperor Trajan (98-117 AD). What event or events might have caused him to say such a thing? Two significant details can be gleaned from his quote.

Firstly, Christians were persecuted during the reign of Trajan (see Pliny the Younger’s letter exchange with Trajan). They were put on trial and tortured unless they recanted the name of Christ. As these events transpired, strong Christian leaders were martyred. Hegesippus specifically mentioned how Simeon, the Bishop of Jerusalem, was falsely accused by the heretics.

A second factor noted by Hegesippus was the death of the first Apostles. The last of them, John, passed away in approximately 100-105 AD. This also happened during the reign of Trajan. Additionally, many of their followers had either passed away or were older by this time. Said another way, the individuals with the freshest memories of Christ’s life were no longer alive or they were sparsely found. These two factors played a significant role in the rise of heretics who would try to alter Christianity in the second century.

Clement of Alexandria, who lived a little later, said that heretics came to prominence during the reign of Hadrian (117-138 AD). What event contributed to his conclusion on this subject? During Hadrian’s reign, the Romans defeated the Jewish people in a war commonly known as the Bar-Kokhba rebellion. As a result, Hadrian banned all the Jewish people from Jerusalem. This included the Christian Bishop of the city who was Jewish by birth.

This incident caused confusion among Christians. Why is this the case? In the book of Acts, we learn that the Christian leadership established in Jerusalem made it the de-facto headquarters of the faith. For some examples of this, see the following verses: Acts 1:4-8, 11:1- 2, 11:19-22, 11:26-27, 12:24-25, 13:13, 15:2, 16:4, and Gal. 2:1- 2.

The bishop of Jerusalem was considered the bishop of all Christendom. Towards the end of Hadrian’s reign, the leadership of the faith was scattered. Christianity began to fragment and polarize around different cities such as Antioch, Alexandria, and Rome.

Passover was among the first subjects impacted by the removal of Jewish people from Jerusalem (see Epiphanius, Panarion, 70.9.1-2). To read more about this subject, see the article “The Quartodeciman Controversy (Part 1)” – Click here to read. Also read our free E-Book The Quartodeciman Controversy – CLICK HERE to download.

The information provided by Hegesippus and Clement help us understand that heresy began to rise from 98-138 AD. It started by stealth and then came out in the open. During this time, there was a precipitous rise of the false teachers foretold by Paul and Peter. They sought to blend some of the New Testament with other ideas. Some of them tried to edit the New Testament in a way that was convenient to their viewpoint.

There are at least five common beliefs shared among these false teachers. We have listed these below with a more detailed explanation for each.

1) Many were influenced by Gnosticism.

2) They were very anti-Semitic.

3) They devalued or disregarded the Old Testament as the chief background source for the New Testament.

4) They sought to replace and/or mix the Old Testament with Greek philosophy, cultural influences, Stoicism or Gnostic sources.

5) They tried to replace or edit the writings that we call the New Testament.

Gnosticism is a belief system which blended Greek and Middle Eastern influences. Many teachers who received this label believed that physical matter was evil and spiritual things were good. Pursuant to that view, they thought that an inferior, evil god made the material world, and that a superior, good god made the spiritual realm. They placed a strong emphasis on secret knowledge as essential to the salvation of one’s immortal soul.

The heretics of the second century also had a hatred for the Jewish people. This was partly motivated by an anti-Semitic trend in the Empire which existed at that time. This view was also influenced by the fact that the God of the Old Testament created everything. Some of them believed that Christ came to destroy the God of the Jews.

Lastly, they wanted to devalue or disregard the Old Testament, which was the source material for God’s covenant with Israel and Judah. This part of the Bible also required submission of the human body to a holy lifestyle abhorred by Gnostics. They wanted Greek philosophy or some other belief system to replace the Old Testament since they thought an evil god inspired it. This produced a twisted view of Christ’s life and the lives of the early disciples.

These false teachers wrote their own gospels and/or edited existing ones with their agenda. These actions added confusion within the Christian community and among the public. Those who sought the True God would be confused when comparing the original Christian teachings and the hybrid ones presented by these false teachers.

In the late second century, several Christian writers wrote extensive works refuting these heretics – including Irenaeus, Clement of Alexandria, Tertullian, and Hippolytus. Unfortunately, many of them were influenced to one degree or another by these heretical teachings, but they were not completely corrupted.

In part two of this series, we will look at quotes from second-century authors who described these Gnostic teachers and their false doctrine.

Stay tuned!

Bibliography

Catholic Encyclopedia: Hadrian, Publius Ælius; Trajan

Clement of Alexandria. Stromata, 7.17. Translated by William Wilson. Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 2. Edited by Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson. Buffalo, NY: Christian Literature Publishing Company, 1885, pp 554-555.

Epiphanius of Salamis, Panarion, 70.9.1-2,9, 10.4-5. Translated by Frank Williams. The Panarion of Epiphanius of Salamis. Books II and III, De Fide. 2nd ed. Boston: Brill Publishers, 2013. pp 420-422.

Eusebius of Caesarea. Church History, 4.5.2, 4.6.3-4. Translated by Arthur Cushman McGiffert. Nicene and Post Nicene Fathers, vol. 1. Edited by Philip Schaff and Henry Wace. New York: The Christian Literature Company, 1890. pp 176-177.

Hegesippus. Fragments. Translated by Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson. Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 8. Edited by Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson. Buffalo, NY: The Christian Literature Company, 1886. pp 762-764.

Jewish Encyclopedia: Hadrian

Pliny the Younger. Letter 97. Translated by Melmoth. Revised by Rev. F. C. T. Bosanquet, London: George Bell and Sons, 1905. pp 393-397