Heresy
From RationalWiki
Heresy refers to aberration from an orthodox system of beliefs, while still making a claim to hold said orthodox beliefs.
A heretic is a person who preaches heresy and/or accepts heresy as fact, and a heresiarch is a leading heretic or even the originator of the heresy.
It is usually - though not always - used in a religious sense. Frequently the difference of opinion or interpretation may seem insignificant to outsiders - but be a matter of life and death to those heretics involved.
To be a heretic, one must claim that their beliefs are orthodox. If one is simply "deviant," or "deviates" by openly disregarding the orthodoxy, one is not a heretic, but a blasphemer or just an out-and-out unbeliever. Creationists do not call Stephen Jay Gould's theories of a godless universe running on automatic heresy. But when Martin Luther tried to add words to his new improved bible version like "faith alone" that were never there in the original Greek, just because he thought they ought to be there, that made him a heretic.
Catharism was one of the earliest well-known heretical sects. The Roman Catholic Church established the Inquisition in 1229 to root out the Cathars. After executing the last Cathar in 1321, the Catholic Church continued the Inquisition for several centuries to suppress all perceived heresies. One of the most famous persecutions by the Inquisition occurred in 1633 when Galileo Galilei was forced to recant his assertion that the solar system is heliocentric, and not geocentric.
On 11 July 2007, Pope Benedict XVI stated[1] that all non-Catholic churches are "ecclesial communities." The members of these "ecclesial communities" have little doubt that the pope really called them all a bunch of heretics. (The pope later backpedaled a bit on his statement).[2]
Oddly enough, not all religious sects view each other as heretical. Presbyterians and Congregationalists are less likely to view each other as heretics, since they share essentially the same theology while simply practicing a different sort of church polity. However, Presbyterians and Congregationalists are much more likely to view Catholics, Mormons and Jehovah's Witnesses as heretics.
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[edit] Some religious groups considered heretical by other religious groups
- Protestants (by the Catholic Church)
- Catholics (by most Protestant churches)
- Mormons (by Catholic and Protestant churches)
- Jehovah's Witnesses (ditto)
- Sunni Muslims (by Shiite Muslims)
- Shiite Muslims (by Sunni Muslims)
- Sufi Muslims (by Sunni and Shiite Muslims)
- Non-Orthodox Jews (by some sects of Orthodox Judaism)
[edit] The siege of Béziers
An often repeated story of Christian treatment of heretics occurred during the siege of the southern French city of Béziers during the Albigensian Crusade in 1209.
- "A German monk repeated a story that Arnald-Amaury (a Papal legate) , when asked in the middle of the slaughter how the Catholics could be distinguished from the heretics replied, "Kill them all, God will recognize his own." [3]
[edit] Clarification
[edit] Illustration of Heresy
The story below is often told to illustrate heresy:
- I was walking across a bridge one day and I saw a man standing on a ledge, about to jump off. So I ran over and said, "Stop! Don't do it!"
- "Why shouldn't I?" he asked.
- "Well, there's so much to live for." "Like what?"
- "Well, are you religious?" He said yes. I said, "Me too!"
- "Are you Christian or Buddhist?" "Christian." "Me too!"
- "Are you Catholic or Protestant?" "Protestant." "Me too!"
- "Are you Episcopalian or Baptist?" "Baptist." "Wow, me too!
- "Are you Baptist Church of God or are you Reformed Baptist Church of God?" "Reformed Baptist Church of God." "Hey,me too!"
- "Are you Reformed Baptist Church of God, Reformation of 1789 or Reformed Baptist Church of God, 1915?"
- He said, "Reformed Baptist Church of God, Reformation of 1915."
- I said, "Die, heretic scum!!" And pushed him off the bridge.[4]
[edit] A more violent illustration
Another reference to heresy was made by George Carlin, during one of his sermons:
- "Do you believe in God?"
- "No."
- "BLAM!" *Mimes a gunshot* "Now, do you believe in God?"
- "Yes"
- "Do you believe in MY God?"
- "No."
- "BLAM!" *Mimes a gunshot* "My God has a bigger dick than your God!"[5]
[edit] Political heresy
As in religion, there can be heresy in politics. At least in the views of certain right-wingers and, indeed, some leftists. The story above, regarding someone being perfectly acceptable until one final detail emerges, is certainly common.[6] Recently, the Republican Party put forward a checklist, and anyone found deviating on more than 2 principles was going to be denied campaign funding.[7]
[edit] See also
[edit] Footnotes
- ↑ Cf. the documents "Responses to Some Questions" and "Commentary" from the Congregation on the Doctrine of the Faith.
- ↑ "Will the Pope's Pronouncement Set Ecumenism Back a Hundred Years?" Progressivetheology.org website, 11 July 2007. [1]
- ↑ Sumption, Jonathan, The Albigensian Crusade, Faber and Faber, London 1999, p.93
- ↑ We recognize this as being basically similar to an old Emo Philips riff, although it might not be original to him.
- ↑ I know I screwed the pooch on this one, but I think it demonstrates the heresy point well.
- ↑ http://www.conservapedia.com/User_talk:Aschlafly#Don.27t_call_me_a_liberal
- ↑ [2]
