Ancient heresies have modern expressions which influence our churches and culture, creating cruel dilemmas for today's Christian in the forms of error, sin, and various distortions of orthodox faith. In The Cruelty of Heresy Bishop Allison captures the drama and relevance of the Councils of the fourth and fifth centuries, and shows how the remarkable achievements of these early struggles still provide valuable guidelines, embodied in the Creeds, for believers 'who are mystified and disturbed by attempts to jettison key doctrines of the faith.'