Saturday, April 20, 2013

Why "Holy Heretic"?

I thought that in starting a new blog, I should perhaps explain the name I chose for it, especially considering one as potentially provocative as Holy Heretic. First let's take the words individually. "Holy" means to be set apart for God and "heretic" means in conflict with or against the teachings of the Church. Please note that heresy and blasphemy are incredibly different things. To blaspheme is to go against God, while to be a heretic is to go against the Church. Martin Luther, for example, would be considered by almost no one as a blasphemer, but he was definitely a heretic, as he openly rebelled against the teachings of the Church of his time. Now, I truly believe that all Christians are part of the Body of Christ and therefore part of His Church. However, as the repeated rebukes in the New Testament, and especially chapters 2 and 3 in the book of Revelation make clear, the earthly Church very often falls short of how the Lord wishes us to be. Now, please do not misunderstand me, I love the church I attend and believe that attending services and being active in a church community is vitally important to anyone's growth as a Christian. It's just that as much as every church has something it does well, every church also has its failings. And as a communal Church, we as Christians have some extreme flaws. We all too often live up to the negative views others have of followers of Christ, and it makes me legitimately sad to hear non-believers drag the name of my Lord and God in the mud only to know that there are people out there confirming their misunderstandings of who Jesus Christ is and who  His followers should be. I am not a pastor, an elder of a church, or a Sunday school teacher. If I mistakenly contradict the Bible on this blog, I apologize and welcome correction and comments to rebuke me. But I neither worry nor particularly care if I contradict traditional teaching or individual viewpoints. I respect the right of all people to form their own understanding of the word of God and to form their own theological views and doctrines. I merely ask that the same courtesy be granted me as I share my views, understandings and journey as a disciple of Jesus Christ trying to live out the love, grace and beauty that He created me to embrace. God bless, and hope you'll be back for more.