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The Biggest Heresy of All Time (Are You Guilty of It?)

By Jeremy Myers
21 Comments

The Biggest Heresy of All Time (Are You Guilty of It?)

I’ve been called a heretic before. I imagine that most people who teach or write about Scripture and theology have been condemned as a heretic at least once or twice.

A person might get condemned as a heretic for not believing in the Trinity, that Jesus was not God incarnate, or that the Bible is not inspired or inerrant.

Others might get condemned as a heretic for questioning whether or not Genesis 1-2 teaches creationism, or whether there will be a future rapture of the church.

Burned at the StakeThere are all sorts of ways of getting condemned as a heretic.

In times past, believing some of these things above could have gotten you burned at the stake.

Ironically, if one commits the greatest heresy of all time, nobody will even raise an eyebrow, point a finger, or call you to account.

Nobody has ever been fired from their job, burned at the stake, or excommunicated from church for believing the greatest heresy ever.

And what is this great heresy that nobody cares about?

The greatest heresy of all time is the lack of love toward others.

Why do I say this is the greatest heresy?

Because love is the only thing that matters when it comes to Biblical and theological knowledge.

In fact, I would argue that love is the litmus test for true biblical and theological knowledge.

If what you believe about God and the Bible does not lead you to love others more, then what you believe is not true.

truth in love

Speaking the Truth in Love

In Ephesians 4:15, Paul writes about speaking the truth in love. I used to think that while one could speak the truth but not be loving, it was impossible to be loving without being truthful. When I preached through Paul’s letter to the Ephesians about 15 years ago, I taught that if one has to choose between truth or love, one should always choose truth, for there is no such thing as a loving lie.

I still sort of agree, but I would never state this idea the same way now.

I now believe that if one truly knows the truth, they will also be loving. If there is no love, then there is no truth.

If truth is truly true, it will also be loving. If truth is not loving, it is missing most of the truth that makes it true.

The Love Chapter

What Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 13 is most instructive.

He says that if we have all knowledge – you know, if we can recite the Bible forward and backward, and can argue theology with the best theologians in the world, and can read Karl Barth, and can debate about infra- supra- and sub- lapsarianism, – but have not love, then we have nothing.

You see? Without love, there is no truth. Without love, knowledge counts as nothing.

In this way, the lack of love is the worst heresy we can have.

A Lack of Love is the Greatest Heresy of All Time

no love the greatest heresyBut what makes the lack of love even more heretical, is that a lack of love often leads religious people to do horrendous and hurtful things “in the name of Jesus,” which makes these actions not just heretical, but satanic and evil.

If two people are performing the exact same hateful actions, but one is doing it “in the name of Jesus,” it is the second person whose actions are more evil and satanic than the first.

If I hate a person because I’m mean, well, then that’s just mean. But if I hate a person because “Jesus told me to hate him,” this is not just mean, this is satanically mean.

This is why the lack of love – especially the lack of love from people who claim to follow Jesus – is the worst heresy in all.

When we hate and hurt and kill “in Jesus name” – we are the greatest arch-heretics the world has ever seen.

Which is worse: to teach others that Jesus was not God, or to burn such a person “in the name of Jesus” for not believing that Jesus is God?

While the first person might be wrong about the nature of Jesus, the second person is completely wrong about everything related to Jesus, for if they think that Jesus wants them to burn people who don’t understand Him, they haven’t understood the first thing about Him, and should incinerate themselves first.

So Do You Love?

So stop asking if you know the truth. The real question is, “Do you love?”

Truth leads to love and love indicates truth. If you have love, then you know the truth. If you know the truth, it will lead you to love.

And stop asking to see a church’s doctrinal statement or inquiring about whether or not an author, blogger, or teacher is “doctrinally sound.” The real question is this: “Are they loving?” If so, you can almost bet that they are living in truth as well.

So stop seeking the truth. Seek love instead, and you get truth thrown in.

God is Redeeming Life, Redeeming Theology Bible & Theology Topics: 1 Corinthians 13, Ephesians 4:15, heresy, Imperative Theology, love, love like Jesus, Theology Introduction

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New Theological Categories

By Jeremy Myers
11 Comments

New Theological Categories

Systematic TheologyYesterday, I proposed some new theological categories that focus on the activity of God in history, rather than on abstract ideas about God. Hopefully, by arranging theology this way, the study of theology leads us to action, rather than to more abstraction as commonly happens with current theological studies. Studying theology this way will hopefully lead us to both know the truth and live it.

Below are seven categories (which have been revised from time to time since the original publication of this article), with a little more explanation. I’ve already made one change, from “Judging” to “Justice.” I did not like “judging” but I’m not fond of “justice” either for several reasons, but mostly because it is more of a noun than a verb, and I want the categories to be verbs. Any ideas? (Thanks Tim Nichols, for the suggestion of “Naming”!)

Also, following each explanation in parentheses is where discussion about some of the ideas from traditional Systematic Theological (ST) categories might be found.

It is also important to note that all seven of the following categories can be found in Genesis 1, the opening chapter of the Bible. These categories are all performed by God, and then (to one degree or another) passed on to Adam and Eve. This is what it means to be created in the image of God. We do what God does on this earth.

1. Creating

The Bible begins and ends with the creative work of God, and everything in history and in Scripture reveals that God creates and re-creates. He not only does this with the universe, but with mankind, the nation of Israel, and the church. Humanity is the pinnacle of God’s creation, and is called to be co-laborers with God in creation.

(ST: Theology Proper, Israelology, Ecclesiology, Eschatology)

2. Caring

Other terms for this include Relating, Loving, Multiplying, Providing, and Blessing.

God is nothing if not relational. The relational aspect of God is central to thinking about God and interacting with Him. God’s relational interaction include the Trinity, the angels, and humanity. The way God interacts in these relationships reveals much about God, and helps guide us in our own relationships.

Loving is also a huge topic, and would necessarily be divided into several subcategories, such as grace, mercy, and forgiveness. The love of God is vital for understanding why and how God acts. Themes about the love of God run parallel to the previous topic, the justice of God. Love, of course, should be a primary Christian action.

(ST: Theology Proper, Trinitarianism, Christology, Pneumatology, Anthropology,  Soteriology, Ecclesiology, Eschatology, Angelology)

3. Communicating

Communication is central to all of God’s relationships. With us, He communicates through nature, our conscience, Scripture, Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit, and one another. Communication in its many forms and varieties is also central to being human.

(ST: Bibliology, Anthropology, Christology, Ecclesiology)

4. Seeing/Naming

This is seeing things as they really are and calling things by their right names. It is being able to accurately discern good from evil is something that only God can do. God, being holy, is also just, and must deal with all that is not holy. Humans participate in this, but due to our rebellion against God, came under His judgment, and unable to make right judgments on our own, and so our role in God’s justice is limited. The Scriptures are full of themes of God’s justice, both in areas of condemning the wicked and defending the oppressed.

(ST: Hamartiology, Eschatology)

5. Separating

In the beginning, God separates light from darkness, waters above from the waters below, the various plants and animals after their “kind,” man and woman, etc. But there are good types of separation and bad types as well. After sin enters the scene, humanity is separated from God, and man and woman become separated from each other.

The focus in the rest of Scripture is learning what to separate and what to join together. Sadly, religion often separates things wrongly, teaching us to join with what we should not (greed, envy, rivalry) and separate from what we must join together (other people, culture, creation, life).

(ST: Soteriology, Anthropology, Ecclesiology, Eschatology)

6. Redeeming

Redemption is the pinnacle of theological studies. It is both the goal and the means for everything else. Because of God’s love in all of His relationships, He seeks to communicate with us what is happening in our world as a result of His justice and love, and what He is doing to restore the perfect relationship that He desires. Those who have been restored are to actively participate with God in bringing the rest of God’s creation to redemption.

(ST: Soteriology, Christology, Israelology, Ecclesiology, Eschatology)

7. Ruling

We can also speak of living and serving.

Day 7 of creation is about God’s rule over the world He created. He also gave the sun, moon, and stars to rule over the heavens, and gave Adam and Eve the responsibility to rule and have dominion over the earth. To properly carry out our God-given function on this earth, we must learn how to properly live in this earth, with each other and with the plants and animals, and rule them as God rules us.

* * * * *

What do you think of these six categories? Do they fairly represent the major activities of God in Scripture and in history, and also indicate the major ways that we are also to be involved in the world? Can you think of a different term for “justice” that is a verb?

God is z Bible & Theology Topics: Imperative Theology, Theology - General

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A New Proposal for Theological Categories

By Jeremy Myers
14 Comments

A New Proposal for Theological Categories

I’m not sure who invented the most commonly used systematic theological categories of Theology Proper, Christology, Pneumatology, Bibliology, Soteriology, Ecclesiology, Eschtaology, Hamartiology, Angelology, and a few others, but it is high time to develop some new ones.

Why?

Because these categories emphasize knowing at the expense of being and doing, but following Jesus involves all three. Theology, even though it means study of God, should not stop at just “the study,” but should move on to personal change and kingdom involvement.

[Read more…]

God is Uncategorized Bible & Theology Topics: Imperative Theology, Theology - General

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Is Theology Possible?

By Jeremy Myers
28 Comments

Is Theology Possible?

I’m searching for a good approach to theology that:

  1. Does justice to the Biblical narrative.
  2. Places an emphasis on practice rather than just knowledge.
  3. Is able to embrace not just the theological ideas of the past but also the cultural tensions of the present.
  4. Is taught and lived in community.

Any ideas?

Is theology possibleI’ve read and studied Biblical theology, systematic theology, dogmatic theology, historical theology, practical theology, and narrative theology, and while they all have their strengths, none seem to meet all three requirements above.

The reason I am searching is because I want to focus this website on its original intent. When I started my Till He Comes blog in 2002, I wanted to focus on writing about Scripture and theology. I have somewhat strayed from that goal because I have not yet found a satisfying approach.

But I’m getting tired of circling the runway, and am running out of fuel, so I need to land.

Here is what I think my approach will be, and if I break a few wheels in the process, at least I end up on the ground.

  1. I am going to use Systematic categories (Bibliology, Christology, Soteriology, etc).
  2. I will approach these categories from a Biblical narrative and exegetical perspective. I don’t just want to see what the Bible says about these categories, but what the Bible says about them over time and through the progress of revelation.
  3. Church history and tradition will be factored in, but only after the Biblical data has been examined.
  4. Application to modern culture and issues will also be considered, with an emphasis on how the theological category leads to action and service.

What do you think? Is it possible? Should I put my hand to the plow? If I did, would you keep reading? Any other suggestions on how to do this?

God is Redeeming Theology Bible & Theology Topics: Imperative Theology, Theology - General

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