Archetypal Heresy: Arianism through the Centuries [Hardcover]

Maurice Wiles (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0198269277 | ISBN-13: 978-0198269274 | Publication Date: September 26, 1996

Arians in the third century AD maintained that Jesus was less divine than God. Regarded as the archetypal Christian heresy, Arianism was condemned in the Nicene Creed and apparently squashed by the early church. Less well known is the fact that fifteen centuries later, Arianism was alive and well, championed by Isaac Newton and other scientists of the eighteenth-century Enlightenment. This book asks how and why Arianism endured.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"This helpful book frees discussion of Arianism from the often burdensome shackles that have been imposed by other interpretations."--Choice

"Maurice Wiles, internationally recognized authority of Arianism, achieves a tour de force in this study of the "prince of heresies."...The book is a treasure as much for the questions it raises as for those it answers."--Theology Today

About the Author

Maurice Wiles, Emeritus Regius Professor of Divinity, University of Oxford.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 216 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA (September 26, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0198269277
• ISBN-13: 978-0198269274
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.8 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.3 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,194,628 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars The Once and Future Arians, July 14, 2003

By 

Kevin Freeman (Pacifica, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Archetypal Heresy: Arianism through the Centuries (Paperback)

This book is laudable in its coverage of the "original" 4th century Arianism, as well as its revival among British intellectuals in the 18th century, the most well-known being Isaac Newton. Readers interested in a thorough summary of the same substance/similar substance debate, as well as the subtle differences between an "Arian" and a "Socinian" will not be disappointed.

The work bears a strong signature of Oxfordian "ivory tower" isolation, pronouncing Arianism dead and gone, when the impetus for publication of the book probably came from the immense interest in a resurgent Arian viewpoint. Arianism simply refuses to go away.

The actual doctrine of the Trinity is a thorn in the side of modern Christianity because it is A)rather hard to grasp for those who spend their lives outside a seminary, B)not obviously supported by the New Testament narrative, C)smacks of Platonic philosophy and the "trinities" of pagan gods,and D)seems to have popped up during the Nicene period and is thus associated with many of the "errors of Constantine" and his interference in the early Christian church.

With the "bloody bishops" gone, and the political pressure of adhering to a Trinitarian creed no longer as intense as it once was, a belief gap between clergy and laity may be widening. A number of "ordinary" Christians, quizzed on their beliefs vs. various articles defining and Arian dogma might say, of course Jesus Christ is a "secondary" divine being, created by the Father for the purpose of salvation, and of course the Holy Spirit is only the active force of the Father in the world and has no personality in and of itself.

One might ask at this late date if an Arian or Trinitarian confession really matters to the continuance of the Christian community. It will be exciting to see if the "gatekeepers" one day simply scrap the Trinity concept due to lack of interest and Biblical support.

Remember, just as our ancestors fought over the "one iota" of difference between the words "homoousia" and "homioousia", without the Trinity, a Trinitarian becomes an Arian!