RUaHeretic 3/3
Monatism, Mormonism and Revelation
Is God still speaking?

Our third and final session in our RUaHeretic Conversation Class at Fruitvale Presbyterian Church takes places this Wednesday, December 19th from 3-4:30pm.

This time we're talking about Monatism, Mormonism and God's Revelation.

Here's a few resources to help you discover what those words mean and discern where you are on the spectrum of faith:

1. Here's a tongue-in-cheek survey you can take on quizfarm.com entitled "Are you a Mormon?
" (HERE)

2. Monatism: It was judged to be a heresey in the early church, even though some of the big-wigs of orthodoxy embraced and supported it (showing the diversity present then and now in the discernement of the church body) In the mid-2nd-century Montanus traveled trough Asia Minor. He believed that he had received a series of revelations from the Holy Spirit, and even that he himself was the embodiment of the Paraclete on earth (John 14:16). He was followed and joined by two women, Prisca, sometimes called Priscilla, and Maximilla, who claimed the same special revelation and spiritual authority. Their militant belief in the continuing revelation of God split the church.

So what's the big deal you say? Here's a list of the major differences between Monatism and what came to be called "orthodox" Christianity:

The beliefs of Montanism contrasted with orthodox Christianity in the following ways:

• The belief that the prophecies of the Montanists superseded and fulfilled the doctrines proclaimed by the Apostles.

• The encouragement of ecstatic prophesying, contrasting with the more sober and disciplined approach to theology dominant in orthodox Christianity at the time and since.

• The view that Christians who fell from grace could not be redeemed, also in contrast to the orthodox Christian view that contrition could lead to a sinner's restoration to the church.

• The prophets of Montanism did not speak as messengers of God: "Thus saith the Lord," but rather described themselves as possessed by God, and spoke in his person. "I am the Father, the Word, and the Paraclete," said Montanus (Didymus, De Trinitate, III, xli); This possession by a spirit, which spoke while the prophet was incapable of resisting, is described by the spirit of Montanus: "Behold the man is like a lyre, and I dart like the plectrum. The man sleeps, and I am awake" (Epiphanius, "Panarion", xlviii, 4).

• A stronger emphasis on the avoidance of sin and church discipline than in orthodox Christianity. They emphasized chastity, including forbidding remarriage.

• Some of the Montanists were also "Quartodeciman" ("fourteeners"), preferring to celebrate Easter on the Hebrew calendar date of 14 Nisan, regardless of what day of the week it landed on. The orthodoxy held that Easter should be commemorated on the Sunday following 14 Nisan. (Trevett 1996:202)

Jerome and other church leaders claimed that the Montanists of their own day held the belief that the Trinity consisted of only a single person, similar to Sabellianism, as opposed to the orthodox view that the Trinity is one God of three persons which Tertullian also had held. There were some that were indeed modalistic monarchians (Sabellians) and some that were closer to the Trinitarian doctrine. It is reported that these modalists baptized mentioning the name of Jesus Christ as opposed to mentioning the Trinity. Most of the later Montanists were of the modalistic camp

3. Mormonism: the term used to describe the practice, doctrine and organization of the CLDS of the Church of the Latter Day Saints. Mormonism is commonly considered to be the fastest growing religion on our planet today. It's based upon the leading and teaching of Joseph Smith, Jr. who claimed to have discovered some ancient, long-lost, scriptures which revealed that Christ has also come and taught in the New World after his resurrection in Jerusalem.

Mormons teach that the Gospel of Christ has existed since the days of Adam and Eve, and that throughout history a series of apostasies have occurred, always followed by a restoration; meaning that the doctrine taught by the LDS Church was on the Earth throughout history, but at some points was lost and later restored again. Mormons teach that one such apostasy occurred after the death of Saint Peter and the other original twelve apostles, and that the calling of Joseph Smith, Jr. marked a new restoration continued to this day.^{[citation needed]}

The publication of the Book of Mormon in 1830, in Palmyra, New York, aroused great animosity among Protestants. Mormons believe that the Book of Mormon is holy scripture and, as another testament of Jesus Christ, a companion to the Bible. Some of the Mormons' practices and political clout in Ohio, Missouri and Illinois also contributed to early animosity. Mormonism's greatest conflict with other branches of Christianity has been over the issues of traditional views of Christ, additions to the scriptural canon and plural marriage (a form of polygamy, wherein a man can marry multiple wives, that was officially discontinued by the LDS Church in 1890).

4. Discussion Questions:
Some say that Mormons are not Christians because they believe in a new (although they consider it an old or original) revelation from God. The Monatists were judged as heretics because of many things, in particular their insistence upon new revelations from God and them being them.

The Methodists use a catching slogan these days, "God is still speaking" emphasizing that the revelation of the Bible ends with a comma and not a period. I'd agree. What is God saying about the debates and discussions characterizing the church today: sexuality, ordination, pluralism, how we read the Bible, and Christology. But how do we discern what is a revelation from God and what isn't? How do you do? How does the church do it?