The Orthodox Study Bible, New Testament and Psalms, (1993) Saint Athanasius Orthodox Academy,Thomas Nelson Publishers, Nashville, Tennessee.
Purchased from my employer, the Canadian Bible Society @ Cafe Logos, Vancouver.
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Definition
(Paraphrased)
The text defines heresy as following one's own choice or opinion instead of divine truth. (800). The truth is preserved by the Church. (800). Heresy causes division within the Christian Church. Heresy is a system of thought which contradicts true doctrine. (800). It is false teaching. (800).
I do not disagree with this definition...
Formally, heresy is doctrinal opposition to distinct Christian Church teaching.
But more loosely, by my Protestant, Reformed tradition and theology, I would state that theologically, heresy, also in a sense, is a denial of biblical doctrine which is indeed preserved within the Christian Church. It is preserved via biblical manuscripts and scholarship within the Christian Church which would include tradition.
From what could be considered a more liberal text, or at least as being from a more mainline Christianity perspective, as opposed to evangelical Christianity, which I purchased in England for my British, MPhil-PhD work:
S.W. Sykes explains that heresy was traditionally defined as a baptized person within the Christian Church then denying a key defined doctrine from the Church.(249). More formally, this is a continued adherence to such a denial of defined Church doctrine. (249).
M.R.W.Farrer writes within the Evangelical Dictionary of Theology, that heresy (in agreement with Sykes (249)) is from the Greek word 'hairesis', and means a choice (508). Heresy is a chosen position. (508).
Some New Testament parallels of this theological concept of heresy are ideas of false teaching, false prophecies, false doctrine, doctrines of demons, apostasy. Doctrines of antichrist and antichrists.
1 Timothy 4:1-3 New American Standard Bible (NASB)
4 But the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will [a]fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons, 2 by means of the hypocrisy of liars seared in their own conscience as with a branding iron, 3 men who forbid marriage and advocate abstaining from foods which God has created to be gratefully shared in by those who believe and know the truth.
Footnotes: 1 Timothy 4:1 I.e. apostacize
FARRER, M.R.W. (1996) ‘Baptism, Infant’, in Walter A. Elwell (ed.), Evangelical Dictionary of Theology, Grand Rapids, Baker Books.
SYKES, S.W. (1999) ‘Heresy’, in Alan Richardson and John Bowden (eds.), A New Dictionary of Christian Theology, Kent, SCM Press Ltd.
