CAINS, or Cainites, certain Hereticks, who appeared in the second Century, and believed Cain to have been produced by some greater and more excellent power than Abel; and that for this reason Cain prevailed over Abel. Upon the same principle they paid extraordinary honours and respect to all those persons, who are represented in the Scripture to be the worst and most infamous of mankind, such as the inhabitants of Sodom, Corah, Dathan, and Abiram, and in particular to the traitor Judas, who knowing that the Salvation of Men was to be procured by the Death of Jesus Christ, delivered him up to his enemies in order to be executed, notwithstanding the resistance of some certain powers, who were ill-wishers to our happiness, and would have prevented him. The Cainites collected, and adopted all that was most impure and ignominious in the Heresy of the Gnosticks, and other Hereticks of those times. See Epiphanius, Heresy 38. Tertull. De Præscriptionibus, c. 47, &c.
The Eastern people assert, that the children of Seth, who were the Sons of God, and the Faithful before the Deluge, had many wars to maintain against the Sons of Cain, in Scripture called the Sons of Men. They add that Caiumaras first King of the East, in the account of the Persians, was very serviceable to the Sons of Seth, as well as his General, whose name was Dudasch1.
In the first Ages of the Church there was an Heresy called Cainians or Cainites, which took its name from Cain, whom they looked upon as their Head and Father. These were one branch of the Gnosticks, who embraced very monstrous errors: they maintained, that Cain, Esau, Lot, the traitor Judas, the inhabitants of Sodom, and in a word all those, who are mentioned in the sacred Books with horror, and whose impious actions are related there, were born of some celestial and very mighty power; that Abel on the contrary, and other righteous men were produced by some weaker power. The examples of these wicked wretches, and the books whereof they are reputed to be the Authors, encouraged them in committing the most shameful actions2, and most excessive debauches.
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