It might not be possible to answer that question definitively. But if we were to create a top-ten “most wanted” list, the name Arius would undoubtedly be near the top.
In ancient times, Arius’s teachings presented the foremost threat to
orthodox Christianity — which is why historians like Alexander Mackay
have labeled him “the greatest heretic of antiquity.” None other than
Martin Luther said this about Arius:
The heretic Arius [denied] that Christ is true God. He did much harm with his false doctrine throughout Christendom, and it took four hundred years after his death to combat its injurious influence, yea, it is not even yet fully eradicated. In the death of this man the Lord God exalted His honor in a marvelous manner.
In case his name doesn’t sound familiar, Arius was a famous
fourth-century false teacher who taught that the Son of God was a
created being. Consequently, Arius denied Christ’s equality with God the
Father, and along with it, the doctrine of the Trinity. Essentially, he
was the original Jehovah’s Witness. His views were very popular during
his lifetime and for many years afterward, even though they were
denounced at the Council of Nicaea in 325 (and again at the Council of
Constantinople in 381). Keep Reading...
