Christian/Religion Studies

The Heretic:

The heretic speaks heresy and can cause a schism in the church. It could be said that the heretic speaks of other doctrine that is contrary to the doctrine of the "accepted church".  Some would say that the heretic speaks a perverted doctrine. A heretic could be a person who does not accept scripture, and does not accept the accepted and current traditional doctrine of the church. Of course doctrine can be hard to  define when  there are so many claiming that they have the true doctrine. The heretic could be said to be somebody who does not accept the current "reading" of scripture, or what is the current  accepted scripture.  Many famous people have been called a heretic, probably the most famous would be Martin Luther who caused such a ruckus with his challenge to the accepted church of his time.  A heretic will often put his life on the line for his belief. If he feels or knows that God is with him and that the accepted church is wrong then he is willing to lose his life for the cause of true justice. As you can see from the likes of Martin Luther, the heretic can be the good guy or the bad guy, but it all depends on who you are and what you believe. A HERETIC IS: "someone who sees a truth that contradicts the conventional wisdom of the institution - and remains loyal to both entities." Art Kleiner - The Age of Heretics: Heroes, Outlaws, and the Forerunners of Corporate Change. In the book "The History of Christianity" Jonathan Hill wrote When a doctrine is part of a official faith of a church or group, it is part of a orthodoxy; if it is at variance with orthodoxy, it is heresy.