In theological circles we use the term orthodoxy to refer to essential propositions, dogma, teaching, etc. that are considered "right" or "correct" as opposed to those same statements that are heterodox which has become associated through time with "false teaching" or "untrue" statements about the faith. Looking at the word heterodox itself without the historical baggage associated with it, it literally means anything that is different from what is considered to be orthodox. In this sense, it is that which is outside of what is considered to be any set of core propositions. Creating or supporting any kind of statement of the faith that is considered "heterodox" is also to marginalize a different view of things.
Adhering to anything orthodox is a political statement, it is not merely following what one believes to be the proper interpretations and instructions contained in the faith for how to live a life. Because orthodoxy sets itself apart and sets self over other teaching, it is inherently exclusionary. However, because we are talking about people who inhabit these different kinds of ideas, when we marginalize something by calling it "heterodox" we are also marginalizing the people who are convicted that their different ways of believing and living a life of faith are valid and right.
The rub is that people and ideas, and knowledge and power, are never absolutely distinct. Every idea, every conviction, everything we say about our own understanding of faith is inherently political. If we exclude ideas that are different from our own, and if we set those ideas as those of lesser value than our own, we are excluding the people who trust in those different ideas and beliefs. This is why orthodoxy invites protest. Those who are marginalized in any social structure that allows freedom of expression are invited to protest and make their voices heard in order to get those in control of the orthodox tenets of the faith to change. Of course this is different in systems where there is a congealed power elite at the top who simply enforce correct thinking all the way down to the parishioner.
It is because of this political problem of orthodoxy and how the medieval church controlled it with political force that the Reformation occurred. When I was in seminary I noticed that we liked to look at the Reformation through a pretty theological lens. What we never really discussed was that it was a massive movement of political protest followed by the even more potent and horribly violent political Anabaptist protest. The Reformation largely replaced one political problem with another. This shows us that when orthodoxy fuses with power, it becomes oppressive and marginalizes those who are different.
Until we understand the political nature of orthodoxy, and in order to mitigate the effects of revolutionary actions from those who are marginalized, we will be in an anemic position to understand the nature of change and how it is largely an inevitable outcome of our social structures. Because orthodoxy excludes people as much as it excludes ideas, until we allow heterodoxy into the walls of our politics and our theology, protest is always around the corner demanding for the marginalized to be heard.
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I love this post, and it leads me back to one of the tweets from #gac today.
"Open source" theology and "open source" culture are particularly threatening to orthodoxy if it is focused on preserving power instead of focused on pursuing TRUTH.
One of the things I like best when I read books on "liberal Christian sexual ethics" is the understanding there of how the marginalized must be allowed to speak their truth in order for the orthodox to retain their claim to a truth that has anything to do with the realities of life. (For instance, Marvin Ellison in "Erotic Justic: A Liberating Ethic of Sexuality".)
Personally, I have learned to pay attention to the areas of dissonance between orthodoxy and my own sense of "how life really works", instead of assuming that there is something wrong with me and my experience of reality. This is a big jump away from the conservative brainwashing that says that anything that appears at odds with orthodoxy is due to my own depravity or immaturity, and that the way forward is to pray for protection from "evil spirits" (if I'm charismatic) or to go to prolonged pschological therapy (if I'm reformed evangelical). (This isn't to say that my sense trumps orthodoxy, of course — just that both can be held in tension and that the way it all resolves FOR ME is not necessarily on the side of my sense of reality being "fixed" and orthodoxy holding steady as it is currently understood.)
It is interesting how orthodox Christian faith sometimes seems most focused on saving each of us from the need to challenge the status quo and not at all focused on the freedom to see and experience life as it really is. This is indeed political, and not at all rooted in our Scriptures or historical experiences – or our daily experiences of reality!
Life with agape love as our ethic does lead us to a coherent understanding of reality and TRUTH, as politically incorrect as that may be. The Holy Spirit will preserve God's version of orthodoxy through the centuries, as it has been preserved — and refined. TRUTH is TRUTH, after all.
As a postscript — it would be fun to see a post linking the ideas in this post to the ideas in your post "Spiritual Porn". How do we pursue TRUTH in community and not settle for our own drivel and also not settle for ideology?
I love this post, and it leads me back to one of the tweets from #gac today.
"Open source" theology and "open source" culture are particularly threatening to orthodoxy if it is focused on preserving power instead of focused on pursuing TRUTH.
One of the things I like best when I read books on "liberal Christian sexual ethics" is the understanding there of how the marginalized must be allowed to speak their truth in order for the orthodox to retain their claim to a truth that has anything to do with the realities of life. (For instance, Marvin Ellison in "Erotic Justic: A Liberating Ethic of Sexuality".)
Personally, I have learned to pay attention to the areas of dissonance between orthodoxy and my own sense of "how life really works", instead of assuming that there is something wrong with me and my experience of reality. This is a big jump away from the conservative brainwashing that says that anything that appears at odds with orthodoxy is due to my own depravity or immaturity, and that the way forward is to pray for protection from "evil spirits" (if I'm charismatic) or to go to prolonged psychological therapy (if I'm reformed evangelical). (This isn't to say that my sense trumps orthodoxy, of course — just that both can be held in tension and that the way it all resolves FOR ME is not necessarily on the side of my sense of reality being "fixed" and orthodoxy holding steady as it is currently understood.)
It is interesting how orthodox Christian faith sometimes seems most focused on saving each of us from the need to challenge the status quo and not at all focused on the freedom to see and experience life as it really is. This is indeed political, and not at all rooted in our Scriptures or historical experiences – or our daily experiences of reality!
Life with agape love as our ethic does lead us to a coherent understanding of reality and TRUTH, as politically incorrect as that may be. The Holy Spirit will preserve God's version of orthodoxy through the centuries, as it has been preserved — and refined. TRUTH is TRUTH, after all.
As a postscript — it would be fun to see a post linking the ideas in this post to the ideas in your post "Spiritual Porn". How do we pursue TRUTH in community and not settle for our own drivel and also not settle for ideology?
[...] evangelicalism has through its fundamentalist branch. Theology and biblical hermeneutics are inherently political and if we lose sight of that, we lose sight of what theology does to people when we make [...]