{"id":6170,"date":"2013-03-05T16:20:36","date_gmt":"2013-03-06T00:20:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thepangeablog\/?p=6170"},"modified":"2013-03-05T16:31:30","modified_gmt":"2013-03-06T00:31:30","slug":"you-might-be-a-heretic-if","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thepangeablog\/2013\/03\/05\/you-might-be-a-heretic-if\/","title":{"rendered":"You Might Be a \u201cHeretic\u201d if\u2026"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\"\"<\/a>
Credits: http:\/\/www.wylio.com\/credits\/Flickr\/4420989627<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

In June of 2011, I posted an article called \u201cYou Might Be and Evangelical Reject If\u2026<\/a>\u201d Honestly, it shocked me to learn about how many readers resonated with being an Evangelical Reject. Many of us, who would still like to cling to the good things about evangelicalism (without some of the fundamentalist baggage of the past) often find ourselves ostracized because we challenge the cultural mold of conservative Christianity.<\/p>\n

Those of us who might identify as \u201cevangelical rejects\u201d love evangelicalism and refuse to reject our sisters and brothers in the faith. We whole-heartedly affirm the following four markers of evangelical Christianity:<\/p>\n

Biblicism<\/strong>\u2014being Bible-centered, which would include the belief that the Bible is the Divinely inspired authority for life and faith; it is trustworthy and\u00a0sufficient.
\nConversionism<\/strong>\u2014being conversion-centered, which would include the need for being converted to Jesus\u00a0Christ.
\nCrucicentrism<\/strong>\u2014being cross-centered, which would include emphasizing the death of Jesus for\u00a0salvation.
\nActivism<\/strong>\u2014being activist-centered, which would include living the Christian life, evangelizing, and helping those in\u00a0need.[1]<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

All four of these characteristics shape my faith in various ways. I believe that the whole bible is God\u2019s inspired word to us. I know conversion because I have been and am still being converted to Jesus Christ. The cross matters for in it salvation was unleashed for all who will believe. And activism is central to living in partnership with God\u2019s mission to God world. Those four convictions historically make-or-break one\u2019s own evangelical identity.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, there is an unspoken (or, often overly spoken) code of theological, cultural, and political beliefs that many within evangelical churches often champion as \u201cTRUTH.\u201d Rather than admitting that we all need to be humble in these matters, some are quick to drop the \u201cheretic\u201d bomb (just read the comments section of any blog about the work of Rob Bell \ud83d\ude42 ). The link between \u201cheresy\u201d (well, some folks\u2019 definition of that word) and evangelical rejects is sad and obvious. Many faithful disciples of Jesus find themselves in situations where they are labeled a \u201cheretic\u201d because their views don\u2019t line up with the status quo.<\/p>\n

Sometimes, if I\u2019m honest, I\u2019m tempted to pull the lever on a reverse heretical bomb<\/em><\/strong>. I\u2019d love to give some people a taste of their own medicine. So, l when I\u2019m accused of not fitting some sort of unspoken code or litmus test, I often think that demonstrating the fallacy of such thinking and labeling it as \u201cheresy\u201d might be a fun reversal of fortunes. I think of saying: O, so you believe that the world was created in 7 literal days\u2026 Well, you know, that reading the bible in its proper genre, historical, and theological context renders your view as heretical<\/em>. What if some of these issues that get us deemed \u201cheretics\u201d were labeled as the new \u201cconservative\u201d viewpoint, and we started calling various forms of fundamentalism the new \u201cliberalism?\u201d But then, that thought quickly fades as I remember how it feels to be labeled a heretic and thereby become an evangelical reject. Such a reversal would lead to more infighting, which should not be our goal. I long to be part of a movement of reconciliation \u2013 on every level.<\/p>\n

My personal view is that outside of the Apostle\u2019s Creed and the four convictions of evangelicalism, that we do well not question the sincerity of anyone\u2019s commitment to evangelical Christian faith. I would say that the four convictions may not be necessary for those expressions of faith that have not historically claimed such a label. The movement of Jesus is diverse and we should have a \u201cbig tent\u201d that allows for multiple voices. Sure, there is tons of value in identifying with a specific tribe (Anabaptist, Pietism, Roman Catholic, Wesleyan, Reformed, Orthodox, Anglican, etc.), but within those traditions and as they interact with each other, wouldn\u2019t we do well to not drop the \u201cheresy\u201d bomb every time someone has a view that diverges from one\u2019s own?<\/p>\n

Do you ever experience rejection from evangelical culture? Perhaps you know what it\u2019s like to have \u201cheresy\u201d bombs tossed in your general direction. I\u2019ve decided that I\u2019m okay with being labeled a \u201cheretic\u201d \u2013 in quotes \u2013 because ultimately I\u2019m convinced that this sort of heresy isn\u2019t heresy at all. Sure, none of us will get every part of our belief system absolutely perfect. But if \u201cheresy\u201d in quotes helps us partner in the mission of God, then I\u2019m convinced that being a \u201cheretic\u201d of this sort isn\u2019t so bad after all.<\/p>\n

If you were to complete the following sentence, how would you do so to share your experiences?<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cYou might be a \u201cheretic\u201d if\u2026\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n
\n

[1]<\/a> David W. Bebbington, Evangelicalism in Modern Britain: A History from the 1730s to the 1980s<\/em> (London: Unwin Hyman, 1989), preface.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In June of 2011, I posted an article called \u201cYou Might Be and Evangelical Reject If\u2026\u201d Honestly, it shocked me to learn about how many readers resonated with being an Evangelical Reject. Many of us, who would still like to cling to the good things about evangelicalism (without some of the fundamentalist baggage of the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":25,"featured_media":6174,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29,797],"tags":[290,373,616],"class_list":["post-6170","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-culture","category-evangelical-reject","tag-evangelical","tag-heretic","tag-reject"],"yoast_head":"\nYou Might Be a \u201cHeretic\u201d if\u2026<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"In June of 2011, I posted an article called \u201cYou Might Be and Evangelical Reject If\u2026\u201d Honestly, it shocked me to learn about how many readers resonated\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" 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