What is Antinomianism?

Heretical Beliefs in the Early Church

Jun 22, 2009 Marilynn Hughes

The word heresy has been utilized to indicate sectarianism in the Acts of the Apostles.

Antinomianism was a form of heresy that emerged in the early days of the Catholic Church and although many of its beliefs were major doctrinal differences during the Protestant Reformation as well.

Antinomianism is a word which comes from a Greek term meaning "against law." But Antinomianism came to known as any belief system which held that faith alone was necessary for salvation.

Antinomianism and the Rejection of Law

Various groups such as the Apostles (Groups which emerged which held no ties to the original Apostles), the Brethren of the Free Spirit, the Luciferans and the Gnostics were all considered antinomian. The reason this was so was an unusual belief that the teachings of the church could be rendered null and void if someone simply claimed that they had been mystically "filled with the Holy Spirit."

Critics of the movement often accused them of sexual promiscuity, homosexuality, sacrilege and sometimes really bizarre accusations which history cannot prove to be either true or untrue, including cannablism and contracting with Satan.

Many Antinomians arrived at their beliefs through following another heretical view which is known as dualism. This belief involved the assumption that earthly bodies were actually created by Satan. Another belief in a force known as the Demiurge often led many antinomians to believe that morality was not only unimportant, but totally false.

In their view, only the spirit mattered. As a result, anything done in the body did not matter. This was a way that they were able to justify their sexual immoralities.

But as many dualists believed in early times, many antinomians had an almost phobic perception about having children and bringing more souls into the ‘prison’ of this world.

Heresy According to the Early Church Fathers

The Early Church Fathers encouraged the faithful to stay away from heresies. “Therefore, it is fitting that you should keep aloof from such persons [i.e. heretics] and not to speak of them either in private or in public.” according to Ignatius in A Dictionary of Early Christian Beliefs: A Reference Guide to More than 700 Topics Discussed by the Early Church Fathers.

Other interesting heretical groups would include the Anabaptists and Arianism.

Sources:

• Encyclopedia of Heresies and Heretics, by Charles S. Clifton.
• A Catholic Dictionary, by William E. Addis and Thomas Arnold, M.A.
• Fundamentals of Catholic Dogma, by Dr. Ludwig Ott.
• A Short History of Christian Doctrine: From the First Century to the Present, by Bernhard Lohse.
• The Church in Crisis: A History of the General Councils, 325 - 1870, by Philip Hughes.
• A Dictionary of Early Christian Beliefs: A Reference Guide to More than 700 Topics Discussed by the Early Church Fathers, edited by David W. Bercot.

The copyright of the article What is Antinomianism? in Catholicism is owned by Marilynn Hughes. Permission to republish What is Antinomianism? in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

Encyclopedia of Heresies and Heretics