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The Colossian Heresy Essay example

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The city of Colossae
Located on the South bank of the Lycus River in the province of Phrygia stood Colossae. Before the Christian era, Colossae was a principle city in the Lycus Valley . Part of a major trade route in Asia minor from Ephesus to Miletus, the city was most known for its production of textiles, especially its purple wool . With other large cities such as Laodicea and Hierapolis, this was a well-populated and high business area in the Lycus Valley. Yet, with changes in the road system, Laodicea became a more important trade city than Colossae. And though once a city of great prominence, by A.D. 61, Colossae had suffered a great deal. An earthquake shook the city that year, Eusebius writes, and had disappeared from the …show more content…

“ In fact, Baird goes on to question whether there was a heresy to even be considered at all ! While this might seem a reluctant view of the situation in Colossae, J.B Lightfoot offers an interesting proposal to the situation. While he does recognize the Judaizing and early Gnostic influences (which will soon be discussed), he believes there to be a single group or culprit responsible for the religious heresy that is taking place . Lightfoot goes on to defend his theory with the ideas that the epistle shows no traces of multiple opponents being faced, and that in historical criticism the multiplication of persons is needless and should be downplayed . While this theory would also seem to be solid, it would still seem that there is more than a single movement taking place in Colossae.
Inside the heresy
In an interesting synopsis, William Barclay gives a descriptive list of what the false teaching was like. He states that some of the traits were :
- A beguiling seduction
- To be considered philosophy rather than religion
- Based on human tradition
- Turned religion into human regulations
- Having a legalistic spirit
- Issued observances of holidays and festivals
And while this may not be an all inclusive list, it does lead into the next

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