Since the fall of man, humanity has struggled its way through many millennium, searching for truth. Many believe to have found truth in different religions, while others take pieces of religions and form another. The Catholic Church has had many different people take pieces of their faith and turn it into something it is not. These new beliefs are often referred to as heresies. Around 400 AD Pelagius started teaching his heretical views. Pelagius was a monk and a highly respected spiritual director to both religious and lay people, and had a great amount of religious power. In three different church councils, Pelagius’ teachings were rejected and refuted. However, because of this heresy, the church was able to build itself stronger and learn …show more content…
Both where he lived and the country of his birth are disputed because of the lack of written record. However it is known that he was called a “saintly man” by Saint Augustine and spoke frequently to many prominent bishops and future saints. Saint Augustine is one of the most beloved saints in the Catholic church today, so it leaves one curious how someone could be called a saintly man by him, and end up creating one of the heresies that the church had to then disagree with and condemn. Pelagius’ line of thought is thought to have come from the ancient pagan philosophy of the stoics, which would later influenced his opinion of the Catholic …show more content…
Eight new corrections were entered into the church, each directly addressing a point that Pelagius taught. Some of these are foundational beliefs of the church that now, Catholics take somewhat for granted. For example the fact that Jesus, when he came to earth, he not only set an example for us, but saved our souls in his sacrifice. Another example is original sin. It is commonly accepted that we are born with original sin, which is why we are baptized as babies. But perhaps, if Pelagius had not refuted these church teachings, they would not have been