Upon Further Review Homepage
Why Heresy ?
Truth as the “Good Injun”
I remember growing up to the stories of the Old West. The cowboys always wore the white hats and the Calvary always rode in at the last minute to save the day and drive off the Injuns. When we played cowboys and Indians, the first battle was always over who got to be the cowboys, because we had been taught “the only good Indian was a dead Indian. The only saving grace was that the “losers” got to run around like a bunch of wild Indians, shooting and whooping it up, while the Good Guys had to salute and say things like “yes ma’am and no ma’am.” Truly, the winners write history, and the winners never ever paint themselves into a corner.
Now that I’ve grown up and looked into things, however, I’ve discovered
just how wrong that view had been. Movies such as Little Big Man, books such as
Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee, and studies of such historical figures as Chief
George have shown how our forefathers might as well have worn swastikas on their
uniforms or, at least, dollar signs. Funny how the more things change, the more
they remain the same. Indeed, recent events have thrust upon us doubts over the
most trusted of institutions.
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What IS a heretic? What IS heresy? Does the Bible REALLY warn against such, or is this just another assumption? |
The problem once again, is that the winners have written the history books and stifled the whining of the vanquished – might has made right and, in return, justified might. Exposing “the man behind the curtain” can be as painstaking a process as interpreting from fossils whether dinosaurs were birds, reptiles, or mammalian quadrupeds. As a student of history, I have found that studies conducted from this alternative viewpoint produce unique perspectives on Truth, Justice, and the Capitalistic Way, not to mention Religion with a big “R.”
Until recently, few have dared challenge the authority of Corporate Religion to tell us what is and what is not so. Those intrepid souls have, invariably, been marginalized into a corner, “banned in Boston,” and beaten to a pulp – or, at least, limited to paperback. However, that’s all changed, hasn’t it? What we now see going on in the Roman Catholic Church, as well as in other venerable enclaves such as Arthur Anderson and Cohorts, has opened our eyes to not only the necessity, but indeed, the sacred responsibility we all have to challenge and “prove all things.” No longer are a white robe and a pompous proclamation sufficient to stifle dissent. The day of the heretic, it seems, is upon us.
Heresy, tigers and bears, oh, my! Just the word can provoke a good Catholic, as well as those heretics known as Protestants, to go into fits of “sign of the crossing.” But, is this like killing of the evil Injuns? Is this like how the Church summarily dismissing those pained individuals who had made the original accusations of Pedophilia? Remember just whom it is that decides which history books get published and distributed.
Before we go on any further, I think it important to define the term. What IS a heretic? What IS heresy? Does the Bible REALLY warn against such, or is this just another assumption ordained in the interest of maintaining the status quo?
The church has long sought to portray the heretic as a tool of the devil, a despicable leper purposely attempting to pollute and destroy the very body of Christ. To merely bring the accusation of heresy was threat enough to silence any who might digress from the commonly accepted doctrines. No wonder I was recently accused of denying that Jesus was the Son of God. It seems that is what the term has come to represent. But that is just not true.
Heresy, considered to be any religious doctrine opposed to the established dogma of a particular church, derives from the Greek word, hairesis (choosing for oneself). It originally referred to a belief that one arrived at through independent study. Once Emperor Constantine installed Christianity as the state religion, heresy became a capital crime. Heresy was also generally outlawed in countries with an established or state-supported church. After the Reformation, however, the principles of private interpretation of the Scriptures and denial of ecclesiastical authority in all matters of belief were eventually adopted in Protestant countries, though even Martin Luther acceded to the martyrdom of heretics when it was his ox being gored. During the 19th and 20th centuries, Roman Catholic countries began to adopt the principle of religious toleration. (Funk and Wagnall’s New Encyclopedia)
The search for truth is, of necessity, heresy. This is because; the Status Quo (The Establishment) resists change whether it be truth or error. Paul, in addressing the Corinthian Church said, "It is reported there are heresies among you and I believe this to be true, for they must of necessity arise that the Man of God be revealed." After all, the Jewish Sanhedrin considered Paul himself a heretic for his conversion to Christianity, to which he brought change from the stale traditions of the Law into the free air of grace.
But this I confess unto thee that after the way which they call heresy, so
worship I the God of my fathers, believing all things which are written in the
law and the prophets.
Acts 24:14 kJ
He knew that "The Way," as its adherents called Christianity, was in a search for the higher truths of God (epignosos). The only way to discern truth from error was to examine each heresy (deviation from the majority view). With this in mind, Jesus was probably the world’s greatest heretic.
If nobody spoke up as The Holy Spirit moved them, today we would still be circumcising converts and observing the Jewish Temple rituals with abstinence from pork and other unclean meats. Indeed, Gentiles would be excluded from the fellowship of Christ. All these changes and more were considered heresies in the early Christian Church.
But, isn’t it a common assumption that the apostle Paul condemned heretics and warned against damnable heresies.
Rom 16:17-18
I urge you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and put
obstacles in your way that are contrary to the teaching you have learned. Keep
away from them. 18For such people are not serving our Lord Christ, but their own
appetites. By smooth talk and flattery they deceive the minds of naive people.
NIV
Well, that does seem to indicate that Paul was teaching against heresy to the Romans or, at least, those things that interfere with proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Continuing:
1 Cor 1:10-17
I appeal to you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you
agree with one another so that there may be no divisions among you and that you
may be perfectly united in mind and thought. 11My brothers, some from Chloe's
household have informed me that there are quarrels among you. 12What I mean is
this: One of you says, "I follow Paul"; another, "I follow
Apollos"; another, "I follow Cephas"; still another, "I
follow Christ."
13 Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Were you baptized into the name of Paul? 14I am thankful that I did not baptize any of you except Crispus and Gaius, 15so no one can say that you were baptized into my name. 16(Yes, I also baptized the household of Stephanas; beyond that, I don't remember if I baptized anyone else.) 17For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel-not with words of human wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power. NIV
Here, it seems that the divisions are about which of the church leaders the individuals were identifying with.
1 Cor 11:17-22
In the following directives I have no praise for you, for your meetings do more
harm than good. 18In the first place, I hear that when you come together as a
church, there are divisions among you, and to some extent I believe it. 19No
doubt there have to be differences among you to show which of you have God's
approval. 20When you come together, it is not the Lord's Supper you eat, 21for
as you eat, each of you goes ahead without waiting for anybody else. One remains
hungry, another gets drunk. 22Don't you have homes to eat and drink in? Or do
you despise the church of God and humiliate those who have nothing? What shall I
say to you? Shall I praise you for this? Certainly not! NIV
That seemed to show divisions running along socio / economic lines. What else did Paul have to say to the fractured Christians of Corinth?
2 Cor 11:1-15
3But I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent's cunning, your
minds may somehow be led astray from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ.
4For if someone comes to you and preaches a Jesus other than the Jesus we
preached, or if you receive a different spirit from the one you received, or a
different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it easily enough.
Now, there seems to be an alternate message being preached. But, in the context
of the social differentiation previously condemned, could it be that this
“different spirit” is in thinking one’s self better than others?
5But I do not think I am in the least inferior to those "super-apostles." 6I may not be a trained speaker, but I do have knowledge. We have made this perfectly clear to you in every way.
Aha, it seems that smooth talkers have been talking down Paul and his message, as well. Is this not unlike the cliques that so pervade Churchianity, with each whispering against the other? That certainly would be contrary to the spirit in which we have been called. Paul had but one thing in mind with his teaching; the metaphor of Jesus on the Cross.
1 Cor 2:1-5
2:1And I, brethren, when I came to you, did not come with excellence of speech
or of wisdom declaring to you the testimony of God. 2For I determined not to
know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. 3I was with you
in weakness, in fear, and in much trembling. 4And my speech and my preaching
were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the
Spirit and of power, 5that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in
the power of God. NKJV
But, the used car salesman and the glad hand politician seem to have their origin in such as these false teachers. Is it any wonder they can spread their hands in supplication and so deceive the world into thinking they are priests and ministers of the Most High God?
13For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, masquerading as apostles of Christ. 14And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. 15It is not surprising, then, if his servants masquerade as servants of righteousness. NIV
This sure speaks to the recent situation in the church, as well as what we find has happened in the past. Indeed, as Paul mentions, is it any wonder we have been so easily misled with Satan appearing as a messenger of the truth? It is these false apostles who bring upon us what are referred to as destructive heresies (“damnable heresies” in the KJV). But note, the condemnation is not against an individual Spirit-led search for truth but against those teachings which are destructive to the Gospel as first preached by Jesus Christ.
2 Peter 2:1-3
But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false
teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even
denying the sovereign Lord who bought them-bringing swift destruction on
themselves. 2Many will follow their shameful ways and will bring the way of
truth into disrepute. 3In their greed these teachers will exploit you with
stories they have made up. Their condemnation has long been hanging over them,
and their destruction has not been sleeping. NIV
Such as has been lately exposed certainly has brought shameful doubts upon the church that purports to represent Jesus on earth. The end of this matter is yet to be determined. However, this should not come to us as a surprise when this warning of Jesus is considered:
Matt 24:23-25
24For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and
miracles to deceive even the elect-if that were possible. 25See, I have told you
ahead of time. NIV
Jesus says that great signs and miracles are not necessarily a sign of His ministers. He warns that Satan’s ministers are capable of deceiving even the “very elect” should it be allowed. BUT, Jesus seems to indicate that those led by His Holy Spirit will be protected. He, also, stated “wide is the gate that leads to death and many there be that go therein, but narrow is the way to life and few there be that enter in.” That does NOT sound like an endorsement of the global corporation proclaiming, often through great signs and miracles, to represent Jesus. Indeed, to closely study the teachings of this, and its daughter offshoots, further casts doubt on the veracity of its universal assumption. But, to bring a critical eye to this party qualifies one for the office of heretic, does it not?
If the physical church has jumped the track, when could it have happened? What Pope could have been responsible for leading the church away from the “faith once delivered? Paul gives us a strong hint with the following:
Gal 1:6-9
I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you by the
grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel- 7which is really no
gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are
trying to pervert the gospel of Christ. 8But even if we or an angel from heaven
should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be
eternally condemned! 9As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is
preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let him be eternally
condemned! NIV
Could it be that those against whom Paul was contending were ensconced in the Jerusalem church headquarters? The following scriptures show that Paul and the original apostles were in contention over how the Gospel of Grace was being perverted by the legalistic requirements of the original Jewish Christians. This was the very epistle that inspired Martin Luther to bring charges centuries later against how Christ was being misrepresented by the Roman church.
Gal 2:1-5
Fourteen years later I went up again to Jerusalem, this time with Barnabas. I
took Titus along also. 2I went in response to a revelation and set before them
the gospel that I preach among the Gentiles. But I did this privately to those
who seemed to be leaders, for fear that I was running or had run my race in
vain. 3Yet not even Titus, who was with me, was compelled to be circumcised,
even though he was a Greek. 4[This matter arose] because some false brothers had
infiltrated our ranks to spy on the freedom we have in Christ Jesus and to make
us slaves. 5We did not give in to them for a moment, so that the truth of the
gospel might remain with you.
Paul’s attitude towards the “Primacy of Peter” is evident in the next scriptures:
Gal 2:6-10
6As for those who seemed to be important-whatever they were makes no difference
to me; God does not judge by external appearance-those men added nothing to my
message. 7On the contrary, they saw that I had been entrusted with the task of
preaching the gospel to the Gentiles, just as Peter had been to the Jews. 8For
God, who was at work in the ministry of Peter as an apostle to the Jews, was
also at work in my ministry as an apostle to the Gentiles. 9James, Peter and
John, those reputed to be pillars, gave me and Barnabas the right hand of
fellowship when they recognized the grace given to me. They agreed that we
should go to the Gentiles, and they to the Jews.
And, what of the matters under dispute?
10All they asked was that we should continue to remember the poor, the very
thing I was eager to do.
But, was this the end of it all?
Gal 2:11-16
11When Peter came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he was clearly
in the wrong. 12Before certain men came from James, he used to eat with the
Gentiles. But when they arrived, he began to draw back and separate himself from
the Gentiles because he was afraid of those who belonged to the circumcision
group. 13The other Jews joined him in his hypocrisy, so that by their hypocrisy
even Barnabas was led astray.
Hmmm, this sounds very much like what Paul had to say to in I Corinthians 11:17-22:
14When I saw that they were not acting in line with the truth of the gospel, I said to Peter in front of them all, "You are a Jew, yet you live like a Gentile and not like a Jew. How is it, then, that you force Gentiles to follow Jewish customs?
15"We who are Jews by birth and not `Gentile sinners' 16know that a man is not justified by observing the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by observing the law, because by observing the law no one will be justified. NIV
It seems that the legalistic work of the Antichrist was already well underway.
1 John 2:18
18Dear children, this is the last hour; and as you have heard that the
antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come. NIV
2 Tim 1:13-15
13What you heard from me, keep as the pattern of sound teaching, with faith and
love in Christ Jesus. 14Guard the good deposit that was entrusted to you-guard
it with the help of the Holy Spirit who lives in us.
15You know that everyone in the province of Asia has deserted me, including Phygelus and Hermogenes.
2 Tim 4:9-17
9Do your best to come to me quickly, 10for Demas, because he loved this world,
has deserted me and has gone to Thessalonica. Crescens has gone to Galatia, and
Titus to Dalmatia. 11Only Luke is with me. Get Mark and bring him with you,
because he is helpful to me in my ministry. 12I sent Tychicus to Ephesus. 13When
you come, bring the cloak that I left with Carpus at Troas, and my scrolls,
especially the parchments.
14Alexander the metalworker did me a great deal of harm. The Lord will repay him for what he has done. 15You too should be on your guard against him, because he strongly opposed our message.
16At my first defense, no one came to my support, but everyone deserted me. May it not be held against them. 17But the Lord stood at my side and gave me strength, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it. NIV
With Paul finally out of the way, his message of unmerited Grace was now susceptible to the ravages of Big Brother’s “think speak.” It is written that the Jews invented guilt, but that the Roman Catholics perfected it. Maybe that’s why mass so resembles a Jewish temple service. These days, while the Protestants seem to be on the legal bandwagon while their mother church is more representative of:
Jude 3-4
Dear friends, although I was very eager to write to you about the salvation we
share, I felt I had to write and urge you to contend for the faith that was once
for all entrusted to the saints. 4For certain men whose condemnation was written
about long ago have secretly slipped in among you. They are godless men, who
change the grace of our God into a license for immorality and deny Jesus Christ
our only Sovereign and Lord. NIV
Either extreme is a perversion of the message of Jesus, the Christ as interpreted by the apostle Paul. Rediscovering and expanding within the context of that original message of Grace and reconciliation is the basis of most of what has been condemned as heresy. It is the search for that truth towards which I, and those others led by God’s Holy Spirit, strive. It is in the name of that Truth which this site is dedicated.
Your input is desired and appreciated, for it is only through the interaction of God’s people that His Truth shall be understood and expressed.
To get the shared expression rolling, I will provide a general overview of
the teachings of the great heretics. Since most of the heretical writings have
been ordered destroyed, most of our information will come from their accusers.
But, with the Holy Spirit of God Almighty, that “Good Injun” will have its
spiritual Little Big Horn. No longer will we permit the truth to be buried at
Wounded Knee.
Wil
houghfw@aol.comChicago , IL
United States