From the Pastor's Study
From the Pastor’s Study Heretics Sept 7, 2022
A heretic is someone who holds to a belief that is contrary to the accepted or official understanding. For example, in Christianity someone who says that Jesus is not God is considered to be a heretic. For more than 14 centuries in Europe, heresy (believing something that was different from the official position of the church) was considered to be a major offense, and those who refused to recant their beliefs were put to death, often by being burned at the stake. In England in 1676 the death penalty for heresy was finally abolished although the death sentence for heresy remained in effect in other places in Europe for a century or so longer.
In the years following the Reformation, which had its formal beginning in 1517, Roman Catholics and Protestants accused each other of being heretics. In England some of the monarchs were Protestants and others were Roman Catholics. During the reign of a Protestant monarch, the Catholics were in greatest danger of being declared to be heretics, but if the king or queen was a Roman Catholic, the Protestants suffered. It was during the time of a Protestant king that the death penalty for heresy was abolished, not because the Protestants were kinder than Roman Catholics but because the Protestants were fearful that if a Roman Catholic monarch took the throne, their lives would be in danger. Thus, the abolition of the death penalty for heresy (believing something other than what the church teaches) by the Protestants was more of an act of self-preservation than it was out of concern for the lives of others.
Living half a millennium after the abolition of the death penalty for heresy, we find it hard to imagine a world where someone might be put to death for holding to a belief that did not conform to the teaching of the church. For example, it is impossible for us to imagine someone being condemned to death by being burned at the stake because they said that they did not believe a line or two of the Apostles’ Creed. In fact, our world is so radically different from that world that it’s almost as if we live on a different planet. Today, instead of being encouraged (often coerced) by those in power to hold to accepted beliefs, we are encouraged to adopt beliefs that are known to be different and unorthodox. In fact, it is considered fashionable by many to ask someone who is known to hold to unorthodox beliefs for their opinion. In other words, the beliefs of a heretic are considered to be of higher value than those of someone who holds to the original and foundational teachings of Christianity. We are living in opposite times of the years that surrounded the Reformation.
Let’s be clear: it is completely unacceptable to burn someone at the stake for holding to beliefs that are not in line with what Scripture teaches and which the church through the ages holds to be true. We should never return to those practices. Never should the state take on the role of punishing those who do not have the “right” religious beliefs.
At the same time, we have moved too far in the other direction with respect to heresy. Even if we don’t elevate heretics to a position of greater authority, we have come to accept the notion that it’s okay for someone to believe whatever they want. “You believe what you want to believe and I’ll believe what I want to believe, and let’s not fight about it” is the mantra we hear often and may have come to believe.
But what is at stake if we do not recognize and confront heresy? Heresy within the church tends to be something that challenges the gospel of salvation as it is articulated in Scripture. As I mentioned earlier, one heresy might be to say that Jesus is not God. Another heresy may be the statement that Jesus did not rise from the dead. Others may hold to the heresy that God did not create this world. These teachings are central to Christian belief, and they are the foundations of our salvation. If Jesus is not God, then we cannot be saved through his sacrifice. If Jesus did not rise from the dead, there is no hope of salvation for there is no hope of eternal life. If God did not create this world, then he does not have authority over our lives. What is often at stake when heresies become acceptable is the very nature of our salvation. Heresies destroy the understanding that God, through his grace in Jesus Christ, has provided salvation for this world. If there is no salvation, then there is no eternal life with God.
The church, for 1400 years (beginning around the end of the 4th century) put to death those who were heretics. Again, that was wrong. But the church’s response to heresy was not random. Those who guided the church instructed their civil governments to put heretics to death because, they reasoned, it was better for one person to die than for the whole church to be led astray. They took false teachings seriously and although the imposition of the death penalty was wrong, their impulse to put an end to heresy was not. Heresy can destroy the message of salvation, and the church of the past was loathe to allow that to happen.
As Christians we want to uphold the truths of Scripture, and we want others to know the salvation that God has provided in Jesus Christ. The best way to do that is to know what Scripture teaches so that when we hear heresy, we can recognize it, and we can speak against it by making known the truth of the gospel. That means, of course, that we do need to know what the Bible teaches, and so we need also to study Scripture with the intent of understanding what God has done for us. This is not a trivial or mundane thing, but it is at the very core of salvation. We challenge heretics in what they are saying, not because we are angry with them but, rather, because we don’t want people to be led astray. We need, therefore, to resist false teachings and challenge those who present them. We don’t want to burn them at the stake, of course, but we do understand the danger of false teaching, for heresy truly is a life and death matter.
Pastor Gary
