The unifying theme between both of these stories is the propagation of heresy. Heresy throughout Christian history is traditionally punished severely because it propagates false ideas about the nature of God and His revelation. I speak not of mere disciplinary disagreements, or cases when charges of heresy were falsely used to silence public criticism since both are sins and there are many examples of people abusing this for their own ends. What I speak of are clear cases of heresy, such as Arianism.
Arianism is the heresy that Jesus is a superman but not God. Spread originally by the Libyan priest Arius, his heresy infected 75% of all Christians and 80% of bishops. Coming at the dawn of the 4th century, Arius’ teaching endured for centuries after his death and provided the basis for Islamic theology’s denial of Jesus’ divinity.
Arius the heretic being devoured in hell while Melchizedek the righteous looks on. But if he were alive today, Melchizedek would be called an “intolerant religious bigot” and Arius would have a TV show called “Your Best Life Now.”
Now I have said before that the more things change, the more they stay the same. If we went back to Arius’ time or, better yet, Arius came to the 21st century, you can bet that Arius would say that he is a Christian, that he is a “follower of Jesus Christ” and a “believer.” He would have a massive YouTube Channel with millions of subscribers, maybe he would have a TV show- perhaps a multi-million dollar ministry and a private jet- and a megachurch the size of a football stadium. He might even have a “miracle” program. He would have all the trapping of a contemporary “Christian minister,” and yet, because of his false teachings, all of this would be for naught, as he would be a damnable heretic teaching people lies that would lead them to perdition.
Robert Tilton, a.k.a. “The Farting Preacher.” While his expressions are funny and the sound overlays match perfectly, there is nothing funny about bilking $80 million out of people in “charitable donations” and then going to jail for it. But this is the reality of today- truth does not matter for Christianity in America (and also in many places in the world), but what matters is that is provides heretics (such as Arius) or thieves (such as Tilton) a place to get fame, money, and power while deceiving the people following them. This is why doctrine, not feelings, must be the center of worship, theology, and Christian life.
As Ted has laid out beautifully in his most recent book (which I encourage you to read, by the way, as I have already done so) discusses the concept of theosis, or that as God became man so that man might become like God, so as man becomes like God he takes on His attributes and seeks to execute both His mercy and His justice as a part of his mission as a Christian, which is something that all Christians are called to do. This is likewise the basis of Christian Holy War as well as the reason why heretics were rightfully, under a Christian government, suppressed and when necessary, executed.
This is also why you see among many Protestant sects such an obsession with promoting notorious heretics of old as well as the reason why they cannot call out heresy among themselves, because to do so would not only mean the acknowledgment of heresy’s existence, but also force them (the honest ones, at least) to ask “what is the authority on the teachings on (fill in a subject here)?” This would implicate almost all of them in some kind of heresy, since ultimately many would find no basis for their teachings other than their opinion on a matter as the consistent teachings of not only the Catholic Church, but the sources which the Church uses (sacred scripture, sacred tradition, the writings of the saints, the Church councils, the historical documents, etc.) would be unable to be refuted. Therefore, in the interest of protecting themselves, they must bash the Catholic Church while at the same time supporting everybody who calls themselves a “Christian” regardless of their heresy in order to avoid becoming a target themselves. This is not just dishonest- it is giving license to heresy that as we know when left unchecked or encouraged will lead to apostasy.
Christian persecution is real. To a Muslim, Hindu, or other pagan, it does not matter what particular Christian beliefs you hold or what sect you are a part of because it is the hatred for Christ which drives the persecution. This cannot ever be forgotten. However, at the same time, not all that is called persecution is actually persecution but the righteous execution of justice upon people for their sins, especially in the case of propagating blatant heresy which we know full well leads to apostasy and, in its final form, Islamization.
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