1. The success of the Christian movement can be directly linked to the willingness of its leaders to risk heresy. While Matthew failed to bring Christianity and Judaism within the same fold, he succeeded at establishing a spiritual and theological link between the Hebrew Scriptures (Old Testament) and the revelation of a new way through Jesus as the fulfillment of God’s promise. Mark told us that any credit for the Christian faith rests with the source, not the followers. Luke espoused social conscience and John the opportunity for intimate connection with the divine.

Paul advocated a religion of faith strong enough to capture the imagination of the Greek and Roman world. James reminded the early church that faith alone without evidence of good works is dead. Peter sought the opportunity for compromise – respecting the diverse views and practices of those following the way.

Thomas exposed the hidden side of truth. Mary bridged the gap between death, resurrection and Christian mission.

Constantine sealed the imperial conquest of faith, making Christianity the organizing force for western civilization. And Martin Luther’s reformation stirred the work ethic leading to the industrial and information revolutions of the most recent 500 years.
In short, taking risks to interpret the Jesus experience has changed our world – both spiritually and materially.

2. Heresy requires conflict, over and over again. Each heresy has its flip side – when the beneficial insights brought to both faith and experience are fully extrapolated without regard to Christian balance and moderation. In short, each of these dozen heresies lives on today – serving its own on-going legacy of conflict:

• Matthew’s fast and loose interpretation of biblical prophecy enables televangelists of today to interpret prophecies to their own whim.
  
  
• Mark’s unbridled criticism of Jesus’ chosen twelve apostles lives on in the countless uncivil conflicts within churches and between denominations.
  
  
• Luke’s social service gospel foments do-goodism independent of Christ’s observation that the poverty will never cease.
  
  
• John’s portrait of a personally accessibly Jesus introduces the idolatry of worshiping a Son (begotten of the Father) rather than the Father.
  
  
• Paul’s trashing of tradition drove a wedge between Christianity and Judaism that remains unbridged 20 centuries later.
  
  
• James’ rejoinder of salvation via works easily gives way to the abuses of performance oriented Christianity – from penance to Christian work at the expense of home and family.
  
  
• Peter’s call to compromise spawns the ecumenicism of good feeling without substance.
  
  
• Thomas’ veil of mystery gives rise to movements emphasizing special and mystical knowledge ranging from the Moonies to New Age occultism.
  
  
• Mary’s assertion of a special relationship with the Savior may have provoked a counter-thrust relegating women to the back rows with chauvinistic Christianity only recently challenged.
  
  
• Constantine’s marriage of church and state has led to authoritarianism of church leadership that continues even in today’s secularized society.
  
  
• Martin Luther’s half-a-reformation rings increasingly hollow – particularly just after the completion of a century of world wars, holocausts and ethnic cleansing.
  
  
• And Jesus’ legacy of ambiguity has degenerated over two millennia to a fractured movement often uncertain of its bearings or shared interests.

Which brings us to observation #3.

3. Jesus advocates and embraces conflict as the vehicle to a richer earthly and spiritual experience. If feeling good was all there was to it, Christianity could be welcomed to the trash-heap of philosophical and religious systems that have outlived their usefulness.

But fortunately, that’s not the whole story. Jesus says, "I have not come to bring peace, but a sword." Conflict is not just the name of the game, it is the game. Get used to it, get over it and get on with it. Over and over and over again.

To his disciples, Jesus is recorded as saying: "To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of God, but to others I speak in parables, so that ‘looking they may not perceive, and listening they may not understand.’ "

The non-canonical Gospel of Thomas offers perhaps the most unique insight into Jesus’ motivation, quoting Jesus as saying: "Those who seek should not stop seeking until they find. When they find they will be disturbed. When they are disturbed, they will marvel, and will rule over all."

And so it is. Jesus on the one hand is offering access to the kingdom of God, but he intentionally sets hurdles in the way of getting there. One must be motivated to search for the kingdom, then be prepared to get frustrated along the way. But persistence leads to eventual understanding and even to opportunity for mastery.

4. The continued vitality of Christianity depends on encouragement of diverse viewpoints and experiences. Starting with Paul and extending through Constantine and Luther, Christianity has been driven by the imperative that the "winner takes all." Each sect, each denomination pushes to find and then adhere to one correct interpretation; others all too often are belittled, excluded, and condemned.

But that’s not what Jesus says. Jesus claims to be "the way, the truth and the life." In practice, there are diverse ways to get there – all mediated through this Jesus. The keys to the kingdom are both practical and metaphorical. It is up each individual, each community to seek, then find.

Which Way Christianity?
And so we reach the end of a tale of a dozen Christian heresies – viewpoints and lifestyles that bucked the system but also changed lives. It has now been almost five hundred years from the last great heresies of the Christian movement – those of Martin Luther and his contemporaries ranging from Calvin to Zwingli.

The last 500 years brought western civilization and then the world to and through the industrial age to colonial power to world war and then to the ascendancy of capitalism predicated on a protestant inspired work ethic.

Maybe it’s time for another heresy or two to come front and center. To challenge the established order of parochial, inbred interests. To reinvigorate dialogue within churches, between denominations and faiths, and to draw renewed interest from the wider public.

If there is a need, it is to complete the reformation that Martin Luther initiated in 1517 but proved incapable of finishing. To restore the "priesthood of believers" back to the primary position of individual and communal interaction with the Godhead – each pursuing the practice of their own faith in their own way.

Reinvigorating Christianity requires a return to our spiritual roots. This means a willingness to critically reexamine scriptural texts together with historical and other materials from outside the canon.

We can and should expect that the search for our Christian roots will lead to new and perhaps unexpected discoveries. Some of the discoveries will undoubtedly prove disconcerting – challenging previous beliefs. Virtually all will prove to be enlightening if we are willing to let the information inform our knowledge and practice of the Christian way.

For those of us willing to experience the conflict, we will have the opportunity to marvel at what we find. If we can truly get excited, no doubt our faith will be stretched. Others who have viewed Christianity as outmoded or irrelevant may just be attracted to this new burst of robust vitality.

We seek a Jesus who consistently demonstrates that, just when we think we have the answers, there are new questions. When we feel we’ve run the race, we find we’ve only just begun.

This excerpt is adapted from the 360 page book 12 Heresies of Christianity.

Please click here for more information on the 12 Heresies of Christianity.

Intrigued? Want to read the entire 12 Heresies of Christianity? Here are some options for purchasing this 360 page book --