To Overcome Heresy, Die To The Self

One of the major problems of heresy is that it oversimplifies the truth. Heresies take an aspect or two of truth, and reduce the truth to those aspects which they express; this, then, is turned into “the fullness of the truth” and is then used to judge and criticize everything. In this way, heresy ignores the mysterious aspects of truth which cannot be expressed by mere words. Eunomius, who believed he understood God as God understood himself, represents the kind of error often associated with those who promote heresy: they think too highly of themselves and their abilities. They have no ability to appreciate the fallible nature of the human mind. They believe way too strongly in their systematic constructs, and think anyone who cannot see things as they do just fail to recognize and understand “the simple truth.” Their arguments all so often resemble the kinds of arguments one finds with logical positivists; the strength of their arguments and systematic presentation, which is often filled with tremendous insight, fails to meet the mystery on which the truth lives, and thus, their teachings leave those searching for the spirit of truth dead, leading one to search elsewhere if they want true spiritual livelihood.

In defending the teaching of the Council of Nicea against the Arians, St Hilary of Poitiers made it clear that the words of the Nicene Creed must not be used to limit the expression of the truth, but rather, they are pointers to something which transcend themselves and all that could be said:

But the errors of heretics and blasphemers force us to deal with unlawful matters, to scale perilous heights, to speak unutterable words, to trespass on forbidden ground. Faith ought in silence to fulfill the commandments, worshiping the Father, reverencing with Him the Son, abounding in the Holy Ghost, but we must strain the poor resources of our language to express thoughts too great for words. The error of others compels us to err in daring to embody in human terms truths which ought to be hidden in the silent veneration of the heart.[1]

It is one thing to not understand and to know the limits of one’s understanding. This means one has an apophatic “but” behind all that one says. It leaves room for the fullness of truth, for the recognition that what is true might end up appearing paradoxical because of the finite nature of the human intellect.  It is pride which leads many away from this, pride which leads to heresy. It is pride which makes one unwilling to consider aspects of truth which are too difficult for them to understand. It is pride which assumes “I must be able to understand” and declare what is not understood, by that fact, as being necessarily wrong.” Such pride has led to the destruction of many lives, for many who suffer such pride become leaders in the world, leading many, as zealots, to destroy or kill anyone who thought differently than they.

“Only fools have clear conceptions of everything,” Pobedonostsev write. “The most cherished ideas of the human mind are found in the depths and in twilight: around these confused ideas which we cannot classify revolve clear thoughts, extending, developing, and becoming elevated. If this deeper mental plane were to be taken away, there would remain but geometricians and intelligent animals; even the exact sciences would lose their present grandeur, which depends upon a hidden correlation with eternal truths, of which we catch a glimpse only at rare moments. Mystery is the most precious possession of mankind.”[2]

Even in the sciences, Pobedonostsev reminds us, we find the mystery, the mystery which motivates us with wonder and awe. Without such mystery, if one really thinks they have penetrated the depths of reality, the sciences as with every other human endeavor would fall apart into meaninglessness, because there would be no place for us to go, no possible elevation beyond the present and all that could be would be decline and degeneration. “Not in vain did Plato teach that all below is but a weak image of the order reigning above. It may be, indeed, that the grandest function of the loveliness we see is the awakening of desire for a higher loveliness we see not; and that the enchantment of great poets springs less from the pictures they paint than from the distant echoes they awaken from the invisible world.”[3]

The world at large contains all kinds of mystery to enchant us, mystery which enraptures our soul. It is the spice of life. We often tire with those things we have completely comprehended, those things which we have so grasped we feel no need to return to them. This is why so many people turn off television when they find their favorite series is going into reruns: they feel no need to reconnect with that which they have already seen; the mystery of a given episode is no longer there for them. There is the need for something more. This need for such more is found in our hearts and shows why, to meet it, God must be involved; we need eternal communion with God, because here God offers that infinite newness and mystery which will satisfy us and help us love and appreciate things in and through our ever-increasing awareness of them through God. But, so many people grow cold to God. They think they know all there is about him, and then they think they can capture him by mere words; what they establish is a dead idol, and it is no wonder with so many dead idols, the reaction of many is atheism. Heresy, with its over-simplification, reduces the mystery to nothing, depriving the truth of its depth, and, if that heresy is not overcome by allowing the mystery return, then the only other result is atheism and a rejection of all that is God. Atheism is the logical conclusion of heresy because it is the logical conclusion of all rejection of the supernatural, of all reduction of mystery to nothingness. It agrees with that reduction and declares there can be no mystery. And it should be no surprise that such nihilistic reduction of the world by a rejection of mystery is zealous in its destructive tendencies; it, after all, takes the zealous rejection of mystery which is the foundation of heresy to its conclusion. Just as heresy is intolerant and destructive, so must its extreme representation, atheism, be such:  “Intolerance of strange beliefs and strange opinions has never been so sharply expressed as it is nowadays by the apostles of radical and negative beliefs, among whom such intolerance is merciless and bitter, and joined with animosity and contempt.”[4]

Faith must always be apophatic, must always allow for an opening beyond the words used to express it, in order for it to be preserved and for it to be open to the grace of God to lead the one practicing it to eternal theosis. “The essential in religion cannot be expressed on paper, or categorically formulated. The most essential, the most persistent, and the most precious things in all religious creeds are as elusive and as insusceptible of definition as varieties of light and shade – as feelings born of an infinite series of emotions, conceptions and impressions.”[5] Religious traditions, as long as they keep with the mystery, are capable of being representations of truth. “From ancient times down to the present, there is found among various peoples a certain perception of that hidden power which hovers over the course of things and over the events of human history; at times some indeed have come to the recognition of a Supreme Being, or even of a Father. This perception and recognition penetrates their lives with a profound religious sense.”[6]

There are, of course, various ways this truth is addressed; one’s cultural heritage influences one’s religious faith. It provides the foundation for one’s understanding of God. “The essential elements are so involved with the psychical nature of the race, with the principles of their moral philosophy, that it is futile to separate one from the other.”[7] If one is truly seeking God, one will understand the limitations of one’s cultural background, and not confuse the expressions which develop from it as the fullness of truth. Indeed, one will be willing to reform it when a greater sense of the mystery and truth is encountered. But this means more than merely studying the other. One can certainly gain much from reading what the other has to say, because one will get a sense of their experience, but since words do not contain the fullness of this experience, one must do more, one must find a way to live with and under the other. There is much the other has to offer, much which the other has to teach us of their experience of the truth. “The Church, therefore, exhorts her sons, that through dialogue and collaboration with the followers of other religions, carried out with prudence and love and in witness to the Christian faith and life, they recognize, preserve and promote the good things, spiritual and moral, as well as the socio-cultural values found among these men.”[8] This requires more than mere study of the words of the other:  it means being with the other. Frs. Robert de Nobili and Matteo Ricci were appreciated by Indians and Chinese alike because they embraced the cultures and the ways of thinking of the people they went to evangelize. They adapted themselves to the people, instead of just expecting such transformation to be one way. “The children of different races and different faiths, in many relations may feel as brethren, and give to one another their hands; but to feel themselves worshippers in the same temple, joined in religious communion, they must have lived together long and closely, they must sympathise with the conditions of each other’s existence, they must be bound by the most intimate links in the depths of their souls.”[9]

Any inter-religious or ecumenical dialogue must be about more than the words by which one expresses one’s experience of the mystery of truth; it must be an experience which brings people together, to live together, and to share each others ways. Thus, Pobedonostsev, speaking as a Russian, explains:

A German who has lived long in our country may come unconsciously to believe as the Russians believe, and to feel at home in the Russian Church. He becomes one of us, and is in complete spiritual communion with us. But that a Protest community, situated far away, judging us by report, could, through abstract accord in dogma and ritual, combine with us in spirit, is inconceivable. No reunion of churches based upon accord in doctrine has ever succeeded; and the false principle of such an alliance must sooner or later manifest itself, its fruit is everywhere an increase not of love but of mutual estrangement and hatred.[10]

The ecumenical desire for unity is good, but the way many think it is to be done, through doctrinal dispute, always ends up with more and more disputes and less and less love. It is when people come together and live and work together that the other no longer is as strange, no longer so confusing, that one can begin to appreciate their way of thinking and truly dialogue with them. Those who are moved by heresy are incapable of this. It requires them to admit something in someone other than themselves, to admit that they can learn from the other. Heresy cannot allow this, for once it does, it finds itself already defeated: if the other has something to teach us, then we do not have a full and comprehensive understanding of the truth. There remains some mystery which the other has for us to learn, and even if it confuses us as to why it is with them and not us, that mystery will allow us to rise to greater heights, to find greater joy, to find that the truth really is marvelous and greater than we could have ever imagined.  Life is full of mystery. We have youthful dreams which find themselves countered by the hardships of life. However, that mystery which remains around us is capable of transforming our sorrow into joy, into eternal beatitude. We must overcome ourselves, and find even our initial journey into mystery is incomplete; the pain and sorrow we encounter in life opens us up to take in and commune with the truth. This is how we come to be all that we can be: we must learn to die to the self, and the dark night of misery provides the means for this, so that we can find true and eternal joy. Heresy does not want to overcome the self, while the truth, however painful it is for us to encounter, will set us free. This is what we must learn and appreciate:

But these dreams must be broken by sorrow, anxiety, and the disenchantment, the loss of happiness and justice. The sun must vanish – the night, with all its terrors, draws near.

But in the midst of this night, in the firmament appear to the troubled soul, in all their mysterious beauty, the heavenly stars which it saw not while the sunlight shone. Mystery embraces and calms the troubled soul; the stars of childhood and youth appear—the simplicity of early sensations, the counsel and caresses of disinterested parental love, the lessons of reverence of God and of duty – all that eternity has made innate in man, all that has nourished, taught, and enlightened him at the beginning of life. It was necessary that the soul should be plunged into the darkness of the night for the heavenly stars to be revealed out of the depths of the past.[11]

Heresy struggles against the dark night of the soul. Heresy thinks it has already gotten through to the end of the night, just because it has seen shadows during the day. The self struggles to remain unmoved, the ego wants to live. But it must die. Heresy is the prideful unwillingness of the ego to die. It is the unwillingness of the ego to take up the cross and to follow Christ, however difficult and sorrowful the cross must be. But once one tires of its endless, boring, lifeless words about truth, the dark night of the soul remains, and if one is willing to be crucified with Christ, one is promised to come out of the dark night a saint, in possession not of some false truth, but of the truth which sets one free. Let us make sure we all overcome all our personal heresies, so that we can die with Christ and rise with him, to the glory of God the Father. Amen.