preview

Sabellianism Research Paper

Better Essays

Christianity is a very unique religion. It, unlike many of the world's major religions, places a great emphasis on having the correct beliefs and interpretations of religious doctrines. Being a much more societal religion than many others, Christianity in its early years found that it was important to have every follower have the same understanding of the cardinal beliefs that it preaches. The story of the bible is a very complex one, as compared to other religions. The statement of beliefs of the other Abrahamic religions are all relatively short. They do not rely so heavily on scripture as Christianity does, and therefore there s no need for a comprehensive statement of belief that covers all major events and definitions (Johnson 9). …show more content…

One of the major heresies that was put to rest by the Council of Nicaea in 325 AD was Sebellianism, or more commonly known as Moadalism. The movement of Sebellianism was brought on by Sabellius, a theologian and priest from the third century. Sabellius most likely taught in Rome around the time he first started writing about Moadalism, and little did he know, his questioning of the true nature, or "mode," of God would be one of the most common forms of theological errors in the entire Christian faith. In a very basic sense, Moadalism is a denial of the Holy Trinity. Moadalism states that God is a single person, who has revealed himself in three different forms throughout early Christian history. During the time of the Old Testament, God revealed himself as the Father, and was the subject of most of the Old Testament stories. God revealed himself as the Son at the time of the incarnation, and as the Holy Spirit after the ascension of Jesus. The Moadalistic belief continues to state that none of these forms can exist at the same time. They occurred continuously and seamlessly without overlap (Lang 60). Moadalism denies a major pillar of Christianity by completely rejecting the Trinitarian belief that God is one being that is the Father, the Son, and the Holy

Get Access
Get Access