The Heretic Test?
I think most readers here will score as a heretic so this is more a what type of heresy do you follow quiz.
I scored as Pelagianism.
You are a Pelagian (more). You reject ideas about man's fallen human nature and believe that as a result we are able to fully obey God. You are the first Briton to contribute significantly to Christian thought, but you're still excommunicated in 417.
Pelagianism........75%
Gnosticism..........58%
Nestorianism.......50%
Monarchianism......50%
I found very few things I could agree with on the test.
Looking up Pelagian sites I see Google Ads that refer one to Biblical Unitarianism. This is the heresy of rejecting the Trinity through Bible verses. That one is too easy as it is the Trinity that is hard to support.
I am more impressed with Biblical Universalism. This rejects the concept of Hell, eternal punishment by a loving God. Say what? That one is also too easy.
Bible! Verses with universalist readings:
1 Tim 2:4 - salvation of all desired
1 Tim 2:6 - Christ was ransom for all
1 Tim 4:10 - Christ was savior of all, especially (and therefore not limited to) those who believe
1 Cor 15:22 - all made alive in Christ
1 Cor 15:27 - all subject to him
Phil 2:10-11 - all will worship him
Col 1:20 - all reconciled in Christ
Romans 5 (cf 1 John 2:2) - all justified and made righteous
2 Cor 5:19 - all reconciled
Romans 11:32 - all receive mercy
Eph 1:9-10 - all gathered up in him
Verses with limitarian readings:
2 Th 1:9
2 Th 2:10
As a follower of Unitarian Universalism I can find inspiration from other religious traditions and from nature, science, spiritualism and philosophy as well. You may discern some good and bad things about this freedom. Typical questions include: are you free to believe anything you want? Can you define strong reasons to be moral? I think most UU's would answer no and yes.
A religious characteristic about UU's are the sacraments of coffee and discussion groups. One of the many topics for discussion may be the Bible. Many if not most UU's are no longer much impressed with the Bible and would prefer a better edited, more uplifting, and more tolerant Holy Book.
The most extreme example of this would be a crusader against the Bible. I had a friend Mosch Virshup who set out to write a better Bible. His first priority was moral teachings - this time in a hierarchal order. He felt that was a big flaw in the Bible. Here is a wayback look at some related documents in Writings at Her Feet. He became convinced the Bible had very few good moral teachings and many immoral ones. Now this is a heretic!
Heretics are more reviled by religions than heathens. A heretic is someone who knows your religion and rejects some of its teachings. Much preferable are those who do not know your religion and can be converted. It is felt that heretics by rejecting official doctrine and having knowledge and ability that could be used to gain followers must be destroyed.
Unitarian Universalists have become the most well-known of the Christian heretics. UU's are also well educated, tolerant and liberal. This is contra to the dominant American Christian community. Evangelicals are increasingly anti-science, intolerant and conservative. Many Christians will say they are not like that and even say their Church community is not like that. However, I don't think they can deny the dominant voices in the American media are the Christian leaders who are.
I am somewhat encouraged by more moderate and liberal Christian organizations trying to gain a larger voice. I subscribe to the Sojourners email list to keep up with developments. Other people I know subscribe to Beliefnet which covers nearly all faiths.
Some liberals have expressed strong reservations about Beliefnet. It is such a large site there is probable something for most people somewhere but the main page articles have a conservative bias.
Today, for example, I see an editor for the National Review writing about how it is OK for a memoir to contain lies to illuminate a larger truth and tell a good story. This is exactly the position I would expect from him. ("David Klinghoffer, a frequent contributor to National Review, often uses selective readings from rabbinical tradition to push neocon doctrine.") Neocons are frequently philosophical followers of Leo Strauss and follow his belief that elites are obligated to tell lies to keep the support of the ignorant masses.
Frequently in religion and politics I believe you'll find the biggest heresy of all is the truth. That is what happened to me in my investigation into religion. I felt I didn't know enough about the history of Christianity. Perhaps unfortunately I also continued a habit I learned of reading sources from both sides of an issue. As I got deeper and deeper into the murk of early Christianity I was shocked. There was the dawning realization that in many ways the Christian religion was determined by a small group of early church leaders seeking power. They had little regard for the truth. Taking advantage of what we would now call a police-state they established the official state religion and removed all dissent. I was in shock when I realized after about two years of study that the simple answer was they lied. They lied and then removed all the evidence they could of their lies with the power of the Empire behind them. Saints were made of those who burned libraries and many of the church leaders led sweeps to burn or alter texts that didn't support their doctrine.
Seek truth, but be warned: heresy can be easy to catch. Would you rather know the truth or be happy? Should you tell others the truth if it makes them unhappy? Are big lies necessary for some people? These are the type of questions heretics must answer. Decide what type or kind of heretic you should be.
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