Guibert blames the Eastern empire’s fall to Arabs on Greek heresy

Evidence

The faith of Easterners, which has never been stable, but has always been variable and unsteady, searching for novelty, always exceeding the bounds of true belief, finally deserted the authority of the early fathers. — John V. Tolan, Saracens, 783 (#expands, via linked claim)

Apparently, these men, because of the purity of the air and sky in which they are born, as a result of which their bodies are lighter and their intellect consequently more agile, customarily abuse the brilliance of their intelligence with many useless commentaries. Refusing to submit to the authority of their elders or peers, “they searched out evil, and searching they succumbed” [Ps. 63:7]. Out of this came heresies and ominous kinds of different plagues. — John V. Tolan, Saracens, 785 (#complicates, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Theophanes blamed the Arab conquests on imperial heresy; Guibert attributes Eastern heresy to a supposed climate-induced mental agility; Guibert blamed Eastern Christianity’s doctrinal instability for its fall into heresy. — John V. Tolan, Saracens, 783 (+1 more)

Broader Connections

• Guibert blamed Eastern Christianity’s doctrinal instability for its fall into heresy. #expands (0.95) — John V. Tolan, Saracens, 783
• Guibert tied Easterners’ cleverness to their air and blamed intellectual agility for heresy. #complicates (0.85) — John V. Tolan, Saracens, 785