Why Dissenters Are Considered “Heretics”
Christians who deviate from the mainstream and question/oppose conventional doctrine are often considered heretics. Even if they seek to extend understanding towards traditional Christians, they themselves are usually met with extreme defensiveness or judgmentalism, whether this is overt or covert.
Though most Christians believe this is due to protecting the faith from corruption (i.e. heresies), one must wonder why there is so much hostility, why such an aversion to different opinions.
The deeper reason is that thinking outside the box IS seen as wrong. It is regarded as unacceptable, sinful, and evil.
Bear in mind, when I refer to challenging traditional doctrine, I am not talking about advocating anything immoral or actually blasphemous.
Examples of this line of thinking may be:
We are equal to God. There is no God higher than ourselves.
Morality is a construct. There is no such thing as right or wrong.
We do not need to follow divine laws because we are under grace.
and so on and so forth.
I am also not talking about having a doctrine that is suited solely to one’s personal preferences since this may be self-serving in nature and have no adherence to Scripture whatsoever.
I am talking about rational, sound, and morally coherent viewpoints that simply go against traditional doctrine.
When we take into consideration that these thoughts are not immoral but are just different from traditional ideologies, it becomes clearer that there is thought control going on which prevents Christians from even hearing out alternative viewpoints.
This comes from a fear that considering other viewpoints might lead to them going to Hell, which is then projected outwardly onto those considered dissenters. I understand this because some false viewpoints, if absorbed, can indeed cause a person to stumble in their spiritual path.
But again, the alternative viewpoints that I am referring to are not immoral or blasphemous in nature.
It is like seeing a shadow and believing it to be a monster when it is actually an innocuous object or animal.
Therefore, what needs to come into awareness for Christians is that it is okay to have questions and deviate from traditional doctrine. Ultimately, it is our motives that matter, so if one is sincere in seeking the truth and living from love, then they don’t have to fear getting the perfect doctrine down right.
