A few years ago I had a friend who was very dedicated to God; he would be spend hours studying the Bible and could recite verse after verse with even the correct verse numbers. He started out as an atheist and became a Christian after certain events took place and some soul-searching. We learned much together and motivated each other to increase more and more in dedication (with hindsight: to extremes). One day however he confessed that he no longer subscribed to fundamental dogma’s in Christianity and had come to the conclusion that Jesus was not the Messiah.
The minute I heard it I was so upset that I felt like leaving on the spot and never talking to him again. I didnt leave him right away but did make it very clear that after that day we would no longer be friends. It didnt come to him as a surprise, in fact he himself told me the verse that seems to point to such an action. It was very hard for me but at the time I felt in addition to the Biblical injunction a need to protect myself from his ideas.
Interestingly, about 4 years later when recalling this episode I find myself being reminded of the exhortation not to judge your neighbour until you have stood in his place. I cant say my situation is exactly the same but in some ways I would classify as a person who has heretical opinions (of course depending on who you ask). And all of a sudden this seems a lot less evil than the way I saw my friend. For one, it doesnt feel like a conscious choice to default but really part of a journey that led me to certain places, some which were deemed profitable from the perspective of the Christian Orthodoxy, and other places that were judged to be less so. I cant say that I havent played any part in this journey, surely I made all these choices myself, but mostly they were small steps and not a full plan to end up at this place.
This is also one of the reasons why I have come to think that beliefs and opinions should not be tied to reward or punishment because they cannot be forced; you either believe in a certain idea/view/proposition or you dont. I realize this runs counter to what many hold; that certain affirmations are required for eternal salvation, such as belief in the Incarnation/Trinity, atonement, and more. But I find it very difficult to understand some of these concepts even after having spent quite some time on Christology. It doesnt seem right then that failure to comprehend would equal eternal damnation.
Rabbi Shmuel David Luzzatto (1800-1865) wrote in a letter about belief the following words which ring very true to me:
Moses did not dictate articles of faith, because God does not command belief, that is, He does not command that which cannot be commanded. He assigns grave punishments for many religious transgressions, but He never makes mention of the sin of disbelief, nor does He condemn antireligious speech, except for seduction to idolatry (since it leads to material acts condemned by the law) and blasphemy, or cursing aimed against the nation’s God, which was thus an act of lese-majeste [an offense against the Sovereign]. (link, p. 231)
These are strong words but I think the distinction he draws between beliefs and acts is very important; thoughts can simply not be coerced, however when it comes to acts a person is able to refrain from engaging in a particular act. Hence it makes sense to hold a person responsible for that which he is capable of directly influencing. Needless to say a person is to some extent responsible for the thoughts he has. In the sense that he is responsible for choosing what to receive as input, which books to read, which people to talk to. But then, these are acts, the way his mind develops affinity for certain ideas however is a track that is very hard to manipulate and so I think the distinction is important to maintain.
Perhaps then the response to a heretic should vary according to the type of person you are dealing with, a person who is intentionally engaging in transgressions out of spite or rebellion could indeed be distanced from but I do not think the same strong stance needs to be taken towards a person who happens to develop his beliefs in a different way.
If God is really going to hand out eternal reward and punishment based on belief, then he’s really going to screw over the intelligent (people who perceived holes in their belief system) and people that actually cared enough about faith enough to investigate it, the people that valued him over “religion” (those attributes of stability, familial ties, etc.).
I trust that God, who sees the heart and understands all the multitude of circumstances that led anyone to their religious position, will decide justly.
Hi, good post. I agree with you (as a heretic who finds atonement very confusing). I wish I would have known that quote last year when I was writing a paper on heresy in Judaism (for a post-colonial Judaism seminar).
Peace out.
Reminds me of:
and forgive our sins
as we forgive those who sin against us
This seems to say that God will forgive our sins in the same manner or to the same degree as we forgive those who “sin” against us. If we fail to show mercy, will God fail to have mercy on those of us who call out to Him?