Heresy vs. Freedom

Heresy happens, and it's deadly serious. But heresy doesn't crop up out of an intentional vendetta against the church or orthodox theology. Rather, it's often the well meaning attempts of misguided individuals to make Christianity more palatable to the culture at large. That's why heresy usually isn't so much a denial of established doctrine (it can be) but a twisting and bending thereof. It's often cloaked in the same Biblical language of orthodoxy, so it's not always so obvious either. But the consequences of heresy cripple the unity of the church and ultimately subvert the good news of the Gospel, and that's why it's so important, whether we like it or not.

Heresy is one of those words that doesn't get tossed about lightly. It never has. The term itself is so loaded with baggage that people seldom use it, particularly now. With the heightened sensitivities of our culture against anything with connotations to "Truth" its use has become equated with being judgemental, intolerant, and authoritarian. For many the act of criticism, let alone the charge of heresy, is tantamount to intolerant bigotry, and an intrusion on one's freedom.

The problem, first of all, is that truth and doctrinal matters have become far less important than good values. It doesn't matter so much what you believe so long as you're a nice person and tolerant of others. A tolerant society, the argument goes, is a free society. Defending liberty is about defending one's right to create their own truth and identity, unhindered by anyone else who might impose their worldviews on them. The essence of freedom, then, is to be free of any restrictions. 


But those values aren't neutral. They have their own pre-supposed worldview which end up imposing themselves on others who disagree with them. In other words, this form of tolerance is only tolerant of those who conform to its own set of "truths" and dogmas and is just as intolerant, if not more, toward those who choose not to.

Judging something as heretical doesn't just break the rules of these values, they use an entirely different set of presuppositions. For one it implies you have epistemologically achieved some level of absolute truth. For the postmodern, truth is highly subjective, so the idea of heresy is non-sequitur. In the end, no one is the wiser. But to claim absolute truth puts you in a position of authority, and to charge heresy is nothing more than the wielding of power, subverting one's freedom to live as they choose.

The Christian's concern for truth, however, isn't just the will to power, or about being right and pointing out why everyone else is wrong, (which is wrongheaded by itself) but about reasons of much deeper importance and urgency. Among those is a very different concept of freedom than the postmodernists claim to enjoy. For the Christian freedom does not exist from the absence of dogmatic restrictions, rather it is conforming to the right restrictions.

Scientia Potentia Est is a famous latin phrase that roughly translates "Knowledge is Power." The phrase is typically attributed to Sir Francis Bacon (1561-1626),  but back then it viewed knowledge as being able empower individuals to greater levels of progress. Indeed, even Proverbs 24:5 similarly lauds knowledge when it says, "A wise man is full of strength, and a man of knowledge enhances his might." Gaining knowledge should never be an end in itself. Such ambitions typically result in the sort of authoritarian power plays the postmodernists are concerned with. But gaining knowledge is part of Christian discipleship. Submitting to the apostle's teaching, holding fast to the faith once and for all delivered, keeping a sober mind and not being blown about by every wind of doctrine, the emphasis on discipleship through learning and understanding is a steady stream throughout the entire Bible. One simply cannot avoid the conclusion that the Bible is incredibly serious about knowledge and wisdom.

And it's only through understanding of the knowledge of God that we can come to a better and more clear knowledge of ourselves. Both Proverbs 1:7 and Psalm 111:10 say, "The Fear of the Lord is the beginning wisdom" (or knowledge). We've all come to know narcissistic people in our lives. They praise themselves and demand the appreciation and respect of others. It's clear from observers they are very delusional people. But the same is true of us if we first don't understand God rightly. We are lost in our own self-deceit, out of our mind, and entirely delusional. We are like slaves.

Freedom, then, is not achieved through the absence of restricting dogmas. Nor is it found in a declaration of independence against the establishment of orthodox Christianity. Led to our own devices we are lost. Rather, true freedom comes through a clear knowledge and submission to the truth which God has given us in his word. As Os Guinness would say, "Knowledge is Power, but Truth is Freedom."

...So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him, "If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." (John 8:31)