Know the Heretics by Justin Holcomb

Know the Heretics by Justin Holcomb ISBN-13: 9780310515074 Paperback: 176 pages Publisher: Zondervan Released: April 29, 2014

Source: Review copy from the publisher through BookLook.com.

Book Description, Modified from Back Cover:
Many believers have little to no familiarity with orthodox doctrine or the historic distortions of it. Know the Heretics provides an accessible “travel guide” to the most significant heresies throughout Christian history and the orthodox arguments against them.

As a part of the KNOW series, this book is designed for personal study or classroom use, but also for small groups and Sunday schools wanting to more deeply understand the foundations of the faith.


My Review:
Know the Heretics is a summary of the historical discussions about what Christians believe. This short book effectively communicates the information. A layman--even a teenager--can understand the issues being discussed and why they were and are important. The author did an excellent job at defining theological words and explaining complex theological issues in an understandable way. I think this would be a great study for high school- or college-age church groups.

The author didn't cover every heresy, but he picked important ones--some of which are still around in slightly different forms. He explained the historical and personal background of the founder of the heresy, what was being taught, the orthodox arguments against those teachings, and why this is relevant to us today. He also included discussion questions.

The heresies where mainly chosen from early church history. This book covered some of the same ground as Know the Creeds and Councils, but this book focused on the theological arguments while that book focused on the creeds developed in response to these heresies.

I'd recommend this book to those interested in knowing more about why Christians have historically believed certain core doctrines, especially those people intimidated by "theology" or "doctrine" books.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.


Excerpt: Read an excerpt using Google Preview.