Heresy of the Day

I have this friend. He was telling me about a class he was in where the students would come up with a heresy of the day- hence the title of this blog. He told me his favorite, and I agree (even without having heard them all) is this: Everybody needs to be loved. Jesus loves everybody- therefore I don't have to love you!

Ok, so that sounds pretty funny, and I've made many people laugh by quoting that to them. Heck, it makes me laugh thinking of it. But do I occasionally come across some heresy? I work with Christians, and sometimes I find they're the toughest nuts to crack (gee i hope no one from my church reads this right now). And sometimes, the most biblical concepts seem heresy to so many believers because it is so far outside of what we know and what we have seen.

Some of the concepts I have shared here- or responses to friend's posts seem heresy. I was just telling my fiancee the other day that I feel like i'm posting a heresy a day. So I wonder- why do some things seem heretical? I mean- I know God is concerned about our lives. I know that God directs us, but why do we think that He tells us exactly what to do and if we do not do it, it's sin? The truth is that we have free will, and often times when someone says God told them to do something- they use it as a cop-out so they have no accountability in doing something they want to do.

For some people, laughter must be heresy. I mean, I know guys who seem to enjoy good humor. However, when the simpsons, or some other show pokes fun at a stereotype of Christianity- that's problematic. We cannot laugh at such a show because it exposes some of the weaker sides of Christianity in today's culture. But we can't say that, so we just say they make fun of Christians and thus are bad. I've never watched a show in which a person's religion- particularly Christianity in this show, is so used as a theme in the show, and ultimately, so important in their lives. But forget that- it's heresy to expose anti-biblical stuff in the Church. Sure, the motives of the creators may not be right- but that is not my concern- my concern is that my own motives are pure.

I mean honestly, for these people, is their "religion" so weak that it cannot stand up under scrutiny? Then perhaps it is not strong enough to be real to them- if one show poking a little fun here and there can prove the religion to be wrong- or sway true believers from it. Sure, society may think it's funny, but we also know society isn't going to like Christianity- Jesus said so himself. I mean, the God i serve is certainly strong enough to hold up to criticism, and ultimately, cynicism. My "religion" can hold it's own weight in any arena, and ultimately, should be held in high favor by our society because Christianity should provide us with an amazing experience- the highest and best thing in society today.

But forget that- it is heresy to question the church. It is heresy to question the way we do things. It is heresy to think outside the box. It is heresy to raise the questions that I and others raise in places like a Blog. It is heresy- heresy!! (i am saying this so many times, if only to convince myself) I can't imagine anything more heretical than going into the way that the religious people do things, turning everything upside down and telling them they've got it wrong in oh so many ways. Nothing is as anti-God as telling people that they don't worship God, they worship themselves.

Nothing is more heretical than this... except for Jesus.