Who Do You Say That I Am? Part 4
Heresy, Cults, and Orthodoxy
We know self-identification isn’t reliable. We know that there are many reasons people falsely self-identify, ranging from ignorance to outright lies. Organizations that try to survey society and measure the religion or worldview people belong to rely on extremely faulty methodology. Basically, they just ask people to self-identify by checking a box or naming what they are with no verification or critical analysis. Yet people continue to use this data, despite its fallacious nature. It may be understandable, but it doesn’t work, and claims based on this unreliable data are extremely suspect.
There is another serious issue related to this problem. In part 2, one reason we talked about for faulty self-identification is compromise or syncretism. At root, the issue is one where social pressure, irrational views, emotional needs, or outright immoral behavior influences the beliefs one holds, instead of the truth. People are not required to be consistent in their beliefs or behavior. Hypocrisy, double-standards, and fickle superficiality are natural human traits. Stronger in some than in others. The beliefs one holds are just as much a reflection of our moral character as are our actions. Beliefs are not morally neutral. It is in fact immoral to cling deliberately unto false beliefs, to reject the truth, and to treat the truth contemptuously. This is why Scripture condemns the foolish so strongly.
A fool does not delight in understanding, but only wants to show off his opinions. (Proverbs 18:2 CSB)
Stay away from a foolish person; you will gain no knowledge from his speech. The sensible person’s wisdom is to consider his way, but the stupidity of fools deceives them. Fools mock at making reparation, but there is goodwill among the upright. (Proverbs 14:7-9 CSB)
We all know this. That is why it is such a social stigma to be considered stupid, irrational, or superstitious. It wouldn’t be an insult to be considered a fool if we did not directly associate moral failure with foolish and stupid behavior. Though, we recognize that being stupid (or a fool), in a moral sense, is derived from inexcusably poor reasoning and disregard for truth, the deliberate rejection of that which is true, or beliefs that are so grievously wrong they cause serious harm for oneself or others. We don’t (properly) believe that it is immoral (as in stupid or foolish) merely to be wrong nor to have limited mental capabilities from a physical impairment.
Why does this matter here? It matters because we have to recognize the moral character of self-identification and the fact that false self-identification is tied to a person’s moral behavior. That’s why compromise is an issue and why syncretism has an element of foolishness to it. Scripture is very clear that there are people who falsely and sinfully claim to be Christian. In Matthew 7 Jesus famously describes the “wolves in sheep’s clothing” (Matthew 7: 15) and those who try to claim to be of Christ, listing off things they have done, only to be told by Jesus that “I never knew you. Depart from me, you lawbreakers!” (Matthew 7:23). Paul explains Christians will face “Evil people and imposters [who] will become worse, deceiving and being deceived.” (2 Timothy 3:5 CSB). Notably, Paul describes here imposters, a theme repeated throughout the Bible. People exist who claim to be Christian, and who aren’t merely wrong; they are predatory frauds.
Allowing such meaningless self-identification to be used, or actually treating the data seriously—as if the narratives built upon it were valid—is misguided and harmful. Understandably, there are religions for which mere self-identification is good enough. Because not all religions or worldviews contain rigorous criteria that one must believe in order to be considered a legitimate “follower.” This depends on the religion. Christianity contains very clear doctrines about what makes someone a valid Christian. Islam and Judaism do as well. Hinduism, Buddhism, and other Eastern mystical religions are much less rigorous, allowing them to legitimately include a broader range of people as followers. Some religions, like Unitarian Universalism, outright reject criteria of exclusion and make mere self-identification good enough. Because the UU religion actively and deliberately believes in an extreme form of perennialism, that every belief imaginable fits within their religion. So whatever standard we apply for religious identification must reflect the religion in question. No general standard exists.
For Christianity, we must “test the spirits to see if they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world” (1 John 4:1 CSB). It’s improbable that God would require this of us if a feasible solution didn’t exist. It may not be easy, but the means exist. We do have Scripture itself which, right after Paul’s warning about imposters who deceive, tells us that “All Scripture is inspired by God and is profitable for teaching, for rebuking, for correcting, for training in righteousness” (2 Timothy 3:16 CSB).
This first means recognizing how self-identification interacts with orthodoxy, heresy, and cults. Heresy, and cults derived from heretical teachings, usually need to operate under a shield of legitimacy. They require the perception of being a legitimate branch or group under the religion they claim adherence. This happened with Jim Jones’ Peoples Temple. Which operated under the illusion of being a Christian church, despite rather obvious and extremely serious deviations from Christianity. This is the case when talking about so-called “Progressive Christianity,” which is an oxymoron in reality. No such thing as “Progressive Christianity” exists. In reality, they are heretics and syncretists. They are more properly understood as Distrephists, not Christians.
The world’s mockery of upholding Christian standards of belief as “fundamentalism” is of no concern to us. We have no incentive to tolerate laxity or complacency. The chief obstacle in more accurately identifying true Christians lies in the fact that such a definition would inherently involve clearly identifying many individuals who are not Christian. Creating a dividing line means many will find themselves on the wrong side. Of course, the matter is very complex, and we do not know another person’s heart or the full picture of every situation. So there will be many times we have to reserve judgment. But there is a common belief that it is impossible to more properly define what Christianity is. Not because it is impossible, but because so many people disagree about how to do this.
It’s impossible to do this with perfect precision, so we must extend grace. However, it is not as hard as a lot of self-interested people pretend it is. The illusion of impossibility doesn’t come from the reality of creating a meaningful standard—especially when we already have an example of this in the Nicene Creed—it comes from those who profit from confusion and ambiguity. Heresy, false religions, and ignorance thrive in this confusion. Cults operate in the margins by exploiting people’s uncertainty and false beliefs about the “stretchability” of the term “Christian.” False prophets attempt to create an environment of confusion. Convincing people that nobody can meaningfully define what a Christian is, therefore we can make up our own definition.
Most of the confusion here comes from a superficial understanding of Scripture and history. People think that merely because a group exists which claims to be Christian, we must take them seriously. Or include them within the broader category of properly Christian denominations. A typical argument by Catholics against Protestantism (which they usually define poorly and with much equivocation) is that there are some tens of thousands of denominations (the number varies). In reality, there are only a handful of legitimate branches of Christianity. There are only a handful of legitimate branches of Protestant Christianity. Organizations like Pew Research falsely include Mormons and Jehovah’s Witnesses within Christianity. They do the same by falsely including the prosperity gospel heresy and the Word of Faith movement within Protestantism. Most of the differences between legitimate branches of Christianity, though important, do not leave the sphere of proper orthodox Christianity. Distinguishing between clearly Christian and clearly heretical is not usually as difficult as people think.
There is a massive difference between churches that disagree on the mode of baptism or the exact nature of predestination and between those that accept Christ’s divinity and those that reject it. Those who claim that Christianity can include those who reject the divinity of Christ are not to be taken seriously. Nobody who claims that Jesus’ divinity is an optional feature of Christianity has even a basic understanding of Scripture or Church history. If they aren’t simply ignorant, then we have good reason to believe they are actually deceptive and outright enemies of the faith. They are the imposters Paul warned us about. Again, remember that Scripture tells us to test all spirits. Failure to do so is sinful disobedience. It is not a friendly suggestion, but a command we are to follow.
Of course, going through with this is easier said than done. But it isn’t impossible, and we need to be obedient to God in this case. Tolerating an environment of confusion and false identification isn’t acceptable. Christians need to be clear on what is and is not Christian. We must do so with grace, being careful to avoid ignorant and poorly researched claims (unlike most social media comments) and we must do so with humility, recognizing that we don’t know everything. It might be necessary to avoid saying anything until you have done your research. Rushing to judgment is foolish, but so is cowardice disguised as patience.
Just like the Bereans diligently studied the word to make sure that what Paul was telling them was true, we need to do the same. Whenever a group or person claims to be Christian, we must test this “spirit” to see if it is of God. If it is not of God, we must say as much and warn people of the same. Failing to speak out is not loving your neighbor. Failing to take your responsibility to learn what Scripture says is another failure to love your neighbor and showcases contempt for our creator. It isn’t our job to avoid offending imposters who pretend to represent the Church. Division isn’t created by those who point out false teachings. Division is created by those who believe in, teach, or spread false teachings (see Romans 16:17). The world might rely on self-identification because it advantages those who wish to dilute and corrupt Christianity. We cannot. We must stand on truth, no matter what.