Heresy.

From the Greek hairesis "a taking or choosing for oneself, a choice, a means of taking; a deliberate plan, purpose; philosophical sect, school," from haireisthai "take, seize," middle voice of hairein "to choose.” https://www.etymonline.com/word/heresy

“Heresy” is one of the more abused words in our faith.  This is because the establishment likes to throw it at people who oppose them.  By this standard, Jesus, Paul, and the apostles were all “heretics,” as defined by the leaders of orthodox religion of their day.  This is what happens when we allow the ruling class to define heresy as whatever threatens them.  And this is the way the word has usually been used.  Which is why it is often embraced as a badge of honor among outsiders and radicals.  It seems that the only significant changes that happen are made by people the insiders initially declared “heretics.”     

Heresy actually means more of a personal preference or choice.  It means going against accepted standards of truth, and deciding to follow your own course, according to your own desires and reasoning.

In other words, it is the whole basis of the Modern world.  All our heroes are heretics, people who perceived the inadequacies of the present order, and chose to set and follow their own course.  Heretics are those who advocate and apply the new paradigm, while the old paradigm is still in force.  They get that label from the offended keepers of the old paradigm.  

The choice therefore seems to be adherence to the old order, maintained and enforced by the establishment of insiders, or think for yourself and set out on a new path, based on new data and evidence.  Of course, the old order is often based on something that had been considered heresy years or centuries before.  The revered pillars of the establishment were once persecuted rebels.  So it’s really just a matter of choosing your own way, or the way of some dead person whose perspective has been institutionalized as the accepted standard.  Those who label other people heretics are usually the descendants and successors of… people who were labeled heretics.  It’s your own personal preference or someone else’s personal preference.  Which means it’s all heresy, by definition.  It’s all personal choices, in competition.  And we’re fine with that.

Following Jesus Christ, however, is not supposed to be about our individual personal preference at all.  Indeed, discipleship means deliberately and intentionally subordinating our personal preference — which is conditioned and controlled by ego — to that of Jesus Christ, true God and true Human.  We call this repentance.  It is about letting go of our own mind, and thereby allowing the mind of Christ, which is always within us by virtue of our sharing his humanity, to emerge.

We release our preference, and become embraced by God’s preference.  We give up our choice in order to realize our having already been chosen.

      

This happens only within the new community of those who understand themselves to be called out of the world of their own choosing, and into the Light of God’s choice.  The ego is too powerful for us to do this as isolated individuals.  A community of compassion, acceptance, forgiveness, honesty, and discipline is necessary.  We realize the true humanity we share in Jesus Christ together.  That’s why the New Testament talks about the Church as the Body of Christ.

That means of course that we are responsible to this community, and in this community we are responsible to Jesus Christ, as he is attested in the Scriptures, by the power of the Holy Spirit.  The Church emerges as the center, the locus and nexus, of God’s Presence in the world.

When the Church is faithfully doing its job of making disciples, that is to say, bringing people to the subordination of ego and the realization of Essence, which is Christ in them, it becomes an outpost and anticipation of the Kingdom of God, and the living embodiment of Jesus Christ.

So I hope to be always against heresy.  To put it bluntly, followers of Christ should not be making their own decisions at all.  The whole point is discerning together the will of God in the Church, expressed in Jesus Christ, and obeying.  It’s not about your choice; it’s about who chooses you for a life of humility, justice, compassion, gentleness, and service.

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