Episode 252: Heresy

Your Greek Word On A Sunday

(Intro & piano music)
Plato wrote 'Our salvation depends on the correct choice between pleasure and sadness, that is the choice between more, or less.' The ancient Greek verb Αιρώ (aero) has been completely claimed by Christianity and turned on its head with regards to the original meaning and perception of the word. In 380 AD, the Roman emperor Theodosius the 1st , legally tied the word to anyone not Christian (at the time the division between the Catholic and the Orthodox church didn't exist. In fact, Theodosius was the last emperor before the split.) So he drafted 'The Edict Of Thessalonica' which he fought tooth and nail throughout his life trying to enforce in the empire . And he succeeded. The original word means 'the right to choose/the right to a different belief' and it was commonly used up until that point. 'We order the followers of this law to embrace the name of Catholic Christians; but as for the others, since, in our judgment they are foolish madmen, we decree that they shall be branded with the ignominious name of heretics...' The word was written down and passed on in all religious texts and that's how it arrived in England . The word also became a crime in 1401 and was decriminalised in 1677 putting a stop to the punishment which was death by burning at the stake and giving people back the freedom to choose (well, sort of) ΑΙΡΕΣΗ/HERESY

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