The Cainites would be one of the reasons why this may have come to pass. A bizarre group, the Cainites have been compared to a similar group of modern day rebels, she modern day Satanists.
The Worship of Cain, Esau and Judas
Epiphanius is the one to whom we go to learn the most about the strange and mysterious Cainites. They believed in what they called the ‘Stronger Power,’ which in reality ended up being a belief in the dark side. Epiphanius speaks about the Cainites in his writings which date around 370 A.D.
In their views, Cain, Esau and Judas represented the stronger powers – in some ways they were perceived as being selfishly wise. This ‘getting what they wanted’ was deemed as similar to containing the ‘highest knowledge.’
It was Cain who slew his brother Abel, both sons of Adam and Eve in the biblical book of Genesis. Esau was the protagonist in the biblical story of two sons – Jacob and Esau – both trying to win the favor of their aged father and his kingdom. And Judas, of course, betrayed Jesus Christ thereby leading Him to His death.
The Gospel of Judas
Interestingly, it was the Cainites who originally spoke about and considered among their most important scriptures the now famous Gospel of Judas. In the Gospel of Judas, Judas is portrayed as a secret confidante of Jesus Christ, the only one among the twelve apostles who can really understand Christ and His mission.
As a result, this gospel claims that Jesus asked His most favored friend to betray Him because only Judas could understand that He ‘must be given up to his enemies’ in order that the will of God be fulfilled.
In the Gospel of Judas, Judas becomes the courageous disciple who had to do the hard work, knowing it would be completely misunderstood, not only by his fellow disciples, but to history. Therefore, the Cainites viewed Judas as a hero, someone to be emulated.
But another interesting facet of these Cainites was their tendency to follow the darker characters in biblical history. It was very similar to Satanism in that they turned everything backwards, all that was holy to Christendom was turned inside out and its opposite was worshipped by the Cainites.
Heresy According to the Early Church Fathers
One can only imagine the horror of the Early Church Fathers in being faced with such a contrary teaching to their beloved Christ. “The church was called a virgin, for she had not as yet been corrupted by worthless teaching. Thebulis it was who, displeased because he was not made a bishop, first began to corrupt the church by stealth . . . From these men have come false Christs, false prophets, false apostles – men who have split up the one church into parts through their corrupting doctrines.” (Hegesippus) 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
Other heretical sects of interest include the Bogomils and the Collyridians.
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.
 |
