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<\/a>\u2018);
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But this isn\u2019t simply about the via media. Michael Ward, a theologian and writer, argues not only for moderation in all things but also a moderation about moderation itself. Some times one has to take a radical stand.<\/p>\n
Excessive balance, then, can be a problem: lukewarmness and an equally fierce rejection of heresy are both mistakes of excessive balance. (I wasn\u2019t sure what Ward was getting at in this point.) One cannot, so it seems to be what he is saying, reject heresy with the same passion as one embraces orthodoxy.<\/p>\n
The chief vocation of the orthodox is not to exclude the heterodox, so Ward argues. Excommunication was not always the result; death was very rare. Even Arius \u2014 and I didn\u2019t know this \u2014 was welcomed back and Athanasius was ordered to reinstate him.<\/p>\n
Orthodoxy is imitable and it can lead to hypocrisy; some say the right things but don\u2019t believe them. Orthodoxy can lead not only to hypocrisy but to idolatry: allegiance to the creed can transcend for some the allegiance we owe to God.<\/p>\n
Orthodoxy can also lead to barren intellectualism, and I believe the emerging crowd in some ways is responding to folks who say the right things and believe the right things but don\u2019t always live the right things. In fact, apart from the importance \u2014 dead importance in fact \u2014 of affirming Trinity, I\u2019ve met precious few who even know the implications of Trinitarian faith. Genuine orthodoxy, Ward concludes, is a matter of head, heart, will and deed.<\/p>\n
\u201cTruth, first and foremost, is not an \u2018it\u2019, not a proposition, but a person, who will always elude over-precise descriptions\u201d (141).<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The editors of\u00a0 Heresies and How to Avoid Them: Why It Matters What Christians Believe finish the book off with an epilogue that reflects on heresy and orthodoxy, and it\u2019s worth a good read. It will do well to finish off this excursion into how to avoid heresies. It is an easy temptation to become […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":197,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[337],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5507","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-theology"],"yoast_head":"\n
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<\/span> <\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.assoc-amazon.com\/e\/ir?t=jescre-20&l=as2&o=1&a=1598560131\")
<\/strong><\/em> finish the book off with an epilogue that reflects on heresy and orthodoxy, and it\u2019s worth a good read. It will do well to finish off this excursion into how to avoid heresies.\n