From Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Galileo Galilei convicted of heretic
Burning of
Jan Hus
at the
Council of Constance
, 1415. Historical drawing
Heresy
is a word used by different
religious
groups, used to describe someone who has
ideas
that are different from what the religion or law teaches. Such a person is known as
heretic
.
In the
Middle Ages
it was not uncommon to accuse someone of heresy. If the accusations could be proven, the culprit would go through a
ritual
. Since
torture
could be used, the accusations were often proven. The ritual was done to save the
soul
of the convicted criminal. It involved being burnt while tied to a post.
Still in the 21st century Muslims who
apostatize
are often treated very harshly and frequently killed.
Jesus Christ
himself was regarded as a
heretic
by the
Jewish
leaders at the time- see
Gospel of Matthew
26:57-67
The Roman Catholic Church in early times had great trouble with heretical christological doctrines, such as
Monophysitism
and
Arianism
. The Church sees several heresies in
Protestantism
:
- Protestants claim only
scripture
(the
Bible
) is relevant for the faith (
sola scriptura
); the Catholic Church says traditions are also important.
[1]
- Protestants say that belief is enough to be saved (
sola fide
). Catholics say that good deeds are necessary as well.
- Protestants say that
anyone can be a priest
; the only requirement is that the person is
baptised
. In the Catholic and Orthodox churches, priests are ordained. This means that some people are not priests, even though they have been baptised.
- According to Protestants, there is no
Transubstantiation
during
mass (liturgy)
.
- The
Roman Missal
contains heresies, according to Protestants
As a result of the
Protestant Reformation
, the
Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith
was created in the Roman Catholic Church which protects the Church against heresies. It is the last instance to decide what constitutes a heresy, and how to deal with it.
