Heresy That Warrants No Apology
One hundred years before the Protestant Reformation, the Bohemian Jan Hus was burned at the stake as an arch-heretic for teaching against abuses of power in the papacy. He believed the pope had veered from the way of Christ and did not shrink back from boldly declaring his opinions publicly. As a result, the Church called him to a heresy trial and demanded that he recant his teachings. When Hus refused by appealing to the authority of Scripture, his fate was sealed. Joining the ranks of thousands who met a similar fate during the Middle Ages at the hands of the Inquisition, Jan Hus was executed for heresy.
Heresy trials certainly seem like relics from the distant past, or at least occurrences reserved for modern-day totalitarian regimes such as Iran and North Korea. We Westerners like to believe we’ve reached some measure of “enlightenment” where we no longer police ideas and beliefs. We pat ourselves on the back for our “tolerance” and take great pride in “inclusivity.” But I saw something like a modern-day heresy trial here in the United States last week, sans the violent execution. Can we really claim “tolerance” and “inclusion” if we’re only willing to tolerate and include people who stay within the bounds of the accepted orthodoxy. It appears you don’t need belief in God to count someone a heretic these days. All you need is affiliation with the religion of Secular Progressivism.
In her book, The Secular Creed: Engaging Five Contemporary Claims, Rebecca McLaughlin identifies the five tenets that one must embrace to avoid heresy in modern Western culture: Black Lives Matter, Love Is Love, The Gay Rights Movement Is the New Civil Rights Movement, Women’s Rights Are Human Rights, Transgender Women Are Women. Any violation of any of these five beliefs will lead to a contemporary heresy trial. Thankfully, no one has been burned at the stake yet, but many have been canceled, threatened, and suffered career setbacks for voicing dissent.
The latest heretic to be tried and found guilty is Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker who gave an unorthodox graduation commencement address last week. Being a Catholic speaking at a Catholic institution, you would expect Butker to, I don’t know, voice Catholic beliefs. What exactly did Butker say that so riled up the tolerant and inclusive public? First, he had the nerve to tell women that marriage and children are more fulfilling than career accomplishments. Second, he critiqued Pride Month for celebrating sin. Third, he negatively assessed DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion) initiatives. That’s right. In one speech, Harrison Butker managed to violate all five tenets of the Secular Creed.
And, quite expectedly, the public has responded in a torrent of outrage that the NFL continues to allow such heretics to participate. Adding to the indignation, Butker happens to play for the team most closely associated with Taylor Swift—one of the foremost prophets of the Secular Creed. Scandalized adherents from every corner of social media have piled on Butker since the remarks went public. So much for tolerance and inclusion!
Did Butker really say anything that warrants such vehement backlash? Hardly. In fact, Butker merely voiced opinions that have dominated Western civilization until the last ten or so years. He never said women could not work outside the home. He made a value statement about fulfillment. I would say the same thing to men. Men, your career achievements will never fulfill you as much as joyfully and sacrificially meeting your duties to your family.
Christians from every tradition have confessed what the Bible so clearly teaches—that homosexuality is among the long list of sins offending a holy God. His criticisms of DEI initiatives don’t necessitate accusations of discrimination. He merely implied that identity provides an inadequate basis for hiring, promotion, and academic acceptance. We should reward hard work and talent wherever we see it, regardless of race or sexual identity.
How do we navigate living with heretical beliefs in the modern world? Let’s return to Jan Hus. After refusing to recant, his hands were bound, and his neck was chained to a stake around which wood was piled up to his chin. He could have spared his own life at any moment. He chose not to. Instead, he said, “In the same truth of the Gospel which I have written, taught, and preached, drawing upon the sayings and positions of the holy doctors, I am ready to die today.” His ashes were thrown into the Rhine River.
The Lord tells us what is true, what is right, and what is beautiful. May we not bow to cultural or political pressures that demand we renounce what God has so clearly revealed. May we embrace heresy in the name of faithfulness to Christ, even if it puts us in harm’s way.
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