The only way power-hungry people can control others is by creating some form of uniformity.
For example, soldiers have to wear the same uniform and march in step. Any soldier who doesn’t comply with the army’s dress code or marches out of step is easy to spot and discipline. The same is true with respect to orthodoxy and heresy in most religions and Christianity is no exception.
Orthodoxy and Heresy in Christianity.
Orthodoxy is "adherence to an authorised or generally accepted belief, doctrine, or practice". For the purposes of this article, the operative word is 'authorised'; who exactly is authorised to do the authorising?
Heresy is a "belief or opinion profoundly contrary to orthodox religious doctrine". With respect to Christianity, one might do well to ask "which is the right orthodox doctrine?" Don't be surprised if you discover that none are the 'right orthodox doctrine'!
Practically-speaking, orthodoxy in Christianity is anything the leaders of a particular Christian sect, determine it to be. Any belief, doctrine or practise that is 'profoundly contrary" to the sect’s constitution or ‘Statement of Faith’ is rejected as heresy.
A brief history of early Christian orthodoxy.
By 100AD all of Jesus’ original disciples, the first generation of apostles, were dead; John apparently being the last to die. Although the apostles were a ‘voice of authority’ during their lifetimes, a wide variety of Christian beliefs and practices sprang up. (Note: although the apostles were a 'voice of authority' and devoted to Jesus, they got a lot of things wrong from the start; more to follow in future articles.)
After the first generation of apostles were dead and buried, a new generation of leaders emerged; bishops. Many of these bishops were power-hungry bureaucrats! In fact, this second generation of bureaucratic leaders is one of the “three worst things that can happen to any religion” (another article to follow on this topic).
These bureaucrats, 'having a form of godliness but lacking its power', were unwilling to tolerate any divergence in the beliefs and practices in the churches the led. They demanded that all beliefs, doctrines and practices be standardised; they needed an orthodox religion that they could control.
A new orthodoxy was hammered out at various regional Church Councils starting from around 150AD. Any belief or practice that did not comply with the agreed orthodoxy was declared a heresy and those who held to so-called false beliefs and practices were often shunned as heretics. So much for the love and unity of the body of Christ.
However, in 325AD, the Roman Emperor Constantine, intending to unify the Roman Empire around a single religion, called Christian bishops from across the empire to an ecumenical Church Council in Nicaea (in modern-day Turkey). At the Council of Nicaea, the bishops agreed on a standardised creed, the Nicaean Creed that is still recited, verbatim, in many Christian denominations today. Following the Council of Nicaea, Christianity became the favoured religion of the Roman Empire. Christian bishops now had the power to excommunicate heretics and then persecute them as well, which they did with a vengeance for over a thousand years! Think Inquisition!
Divided orthodoxy.
The demands by many bishops for a uniform orthodoxy, gave rise to many schisms within Christianity, including the "Great Schism" of 1054 when the Greek-speaking East and Latin-speaking West parted company. However, the schism that would have the most significant impact on Christianity and the world, began in 1517 in Germany.
In 1517 Martin Luther, a discontented Roman Catholic priest, published his "Ninety-five Theses" in Wittenburg, Germany and, in so doing, broke the Roman Catholic church’s monopoly on orthodoxy in Europe.
His action ushered in the Protestant Reformation and a plethora of new orthodoxies.
Although Luther was excommunicated in 1521, his action had opened the floodgates of rebellion against the Roman Catholic monopoly. Luther had broken the power of the Roman Catholic church. New leaders emerged from the shadows and began to debate (and disagree) over a multitude of doctrinal issues. Unresolved disagreements within the 'reformation movement', resulted in numerous schisms as leaders started new sects and began promulgating their own versions of orthodoxy. The floodgates had well and truly opened.
Today, there are hundreds of Christian sects, each with its own peculiar version of orthodoxy. Christian orthodoxy has become a meaningless mess! These divisions clearly demonstrate Christianity’s failure to represent Jesus Christ in the world; "the world will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another."
No orthodoxy, no heresy; only truth and error.
Christianity has failed because there cannot be a human-controlled orthodoxy; the Holy Spirit is the sole custodian of truth in the Church.
The Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you” (John 14.26).
The only true orthodoxy is that which the Holy Spirit validates in the heart of every disciple; no professional hireling required! That is the fundamental principle of the new covenant as prophesied by Jeremiah;
I will put my law within them and I will write it on their hearts. I will be their God and they will be my people. No longer will someone teach their neighbor saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ for they will all know me, from the least to the greatest, declares the LORD.” (Jeremiah 31.33-34)
Finally, Jesus also said,
“You will know the truth and the truth will set you free”.
There is only truth and error, and the closer our beliefs and practices align with God's truth, the freer we become.
It’s that simple.
Every Spirit-filled disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ, does not need anyone to tell them to "Know the Lord"; only "seek the Lord"!
The LORD is with you while you are with him. If you seek him, he will be found by you, but if you forsake him, he will forsake you. (2 Chronicles 15.2)
There has never been a better time to be a disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ.
