Friday, October 7, 2011

Meet the Heretic

My name is Paul. And I am a recovering mud-slinger. It has been 22 months since I called someone a heretic. They may have deserved it, but then again, maybe not.

Almost two years ago, I used this word three times in a span of just two months. My friend, Meredith, happened to be present on all three occasions and likely didn't see my best side. Greg Boyd I called a heretic for his stance on the dangerous open theism. Rob Bell I had called a heretic for the collective of what I deemed unbiblical teaching. And Joel Osteen I called a heretic when maybe false teacher was a better designation.

I fear that after 22 months of sobriety I am on the verge of falling right back into my old ways. But it must be said, maybe just this one more time. Just once more.

I am a heretic.

I don't expect this admission will light up the blogosphere or make front page news, frankly because no one has ever heard of me in my little corner of the web. You wouldn't be privy to this insight had you not stumbled across this blog. You would have gone about your business and never been the wiser.

You see, high up in the mountains where few go without a donkey, I committed heresy before my believing friend and his wife, a Muslim. Maybe I get a pass because I heresied in Arabic, but I must admit that I knew what I was saying. Maybe I get a pass because it was an explanation of the trinity, but after ten years of following Jesus shouldn't I have that one locked down by now?

As I shared a story, she got the impression that Jesus was the Holy Spirit. Naturally, any good trinitarian would be quick to correct this. A good trinitarian knows there is one substance and three persons.

But how to express this in words that she would understand? I began by explaining the multiple roles of her husband, Ahmad. He is one person, but fulfills three roles. He is a father to his three children. He is a son to his own father. And he is a worker at the local butcher. Straddling the heresy line, I reminded her that this was only an example, a picture.

She didn't completely understand yet. So I tried again by showing her Jesus at his baptism in the Jordan River. We had gone through this story the previous day. Who is present? The Father speaks. The Spirit descends in the form of a dove. And the Son rises out of the water. This was it I thought, the perfect example from the Bible!

Well, she wasn't there yet. That's when I said it. They may not let me come home after this one. I could be excommunicated. They'll write books and blogs against me. I may forever bear the label "heretic", my scarlet letter. But I just didn't know how else to show it.

"We believe that God is one," I said to her, "and the Book says this in the Old Testament and the New Testament. But God shows Himself to men as a Father, a Son, and a Spirit."

In the wake of this horrendous representation of a crucial piece of Christian doctrine, I realize that anyone can fall into heresy, albeit mistakenly. It is a thin line between good teaching and bad teaching and I guess it was just my turn to cross it. Surely everyone has crossed this line once or twice. I'm not saying we reward people who camp out on the other side of the line, but that we have some understanding for people when they slip up from time to time. And when I say we, I'm firstly talking to myself.

Perhaps a little humility will go a long way in understanding people rather than judging them for theological views that may still be in process and condemning them for their process theology. After all, we believers in the only begotten Son are all continually being moved toward perfection through Him, whatever that may look like. We're being conformed to His image, even heretical offenders like me.

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