The Great Heresies

The incisive analysis presented in The Great Heresies will transform the way you view religious orthodoxy. Written by renowned Catholic apologist and historian Hilaire Belloc, this new edition of a classic work examines the five most disparaging heresies that have shaped Christianity throughout history. Belloc dives deep into Arianism, Mohammedanism (Islam), Albigensianism, Protestantism, Modernism and expounds on how each of the contrasting viewpoints began, how they infiltrated various populations, and their continued influence today.

Moving beyond long past events, Belloc accurately predicts the resurgence of militant Islam and its aggressive nature in regards to Western civilization. Captivatingly informative, The Great Heresies delves into religious dogmas and discourses like no other work does before it. Open your mind to an invigorated perspective on religion with The Great Heresies from Hilaire Belloc!

 (abridged for clarity and brevity)

Vincent: You might be wondering what are the great heresies? They are: Arianism, mohammedanism, albigensianism, and then the two obvious ones, Protestantism and modernism. I’ve been wanting to read this book. I have one question, I heard this a long time ago and I thought it came forth from this book. Belloc saw the rise of Islam and he predicted it was going to grow more, and I heard that he predicted that the threat of Islam would galvanize Christians to revitalize Christendom. Did he say that and do you agree with it?

Charles: Yes and Yes! I think we’re already seeing the first signs of it in Europe. These people like in Hungary, who send our liberals into little paroxysms, those are precisely the type of leader who will arise in Europe’s last extremity.

Vincent: I would argue that it’s a logical reaction, but I have reservations because liberals are not logical. They’re as you say, children of the lie. So are liberals going to flip on this?

Charles: They won’t flip on this, but because they won’t be able to rule, they won’t be able to deliver the bacon. Let me explain something: when a rulership is no longer capable of dealing with reality because they’re crazy, and reality gets too tough for them to deal with, they generally lose their control and someone replaces them.

Vincent: I was talking about liberals in general, and not necessarily the leadership.

Charles: Well the leadership are what matter. The vast majority of people have no opinion on anything really.

Vincent: When you say the leadership is what matters, every nation gets the government it deserves, so it’s the chicken and the egg.

Charles: That’s absolutely true, but people are funny. When it’s a choice between adherence to moronic leadership or dying, the masses are generally wiser than their masters.

Vincent: So you’re saying the liberals are going to lose their constituency?

Charles: Yes. If people think their livelihoods are at stake, they will turn on a dime.

Vincent: I know you’ve applied that characteristic to Europe, but does it also apply to America?

Charles: That, my dear Vincent, is the $6 question. We are different. We do not turn quickly. Although that may not be entirely true. Where I was born, there was still a lot of people willing to defend segregation. Now it’s the second worse sin.

Vincent: But that’s fused with our national religion.

Charles: I know, but into it too, think of how the homo stuff has gone in your day. Back when you were a teenager, the idea of gay marriage was ridiculous, but now if you don’t accept it, you’re a hater and a bigot.

Vincent: Well the commonalities is it got fused to the national religion, so, all else equal, this handling of the Muslim threat would have to get fused into the national religion.

Charles: Our little rear ends would have to get smacked hard.

Vincent: I hope not as hard as it happened in Star-Spangled Crown. To give you guys an idea of what I’m talking about, one of my favorite lines in it is, “there were mass starvations all around. It was a rough winter.” It sounds like a cyclical thing.

Charles: My fictional writer was like a lot of writers who lived through World War II and how they approached the wreckage of it all.