A Catholic once came to me asking if I had read a certain book, and I was a bit shocked by who the author was. The author, who shall remain nameless (to protect the guilty), denied a few major Christian doctrines regarding salvation (technically referred to as "antinomianism" from the Latin for "against the law") and therefore I told my friend to be very careful reading him because the author was a heretic. He looked at me like I had just said that the author was a three-headed-alien from the planet Neptune.
He proceeded to express to me an extreme displeasure with the way I was "calling anyone a heretic", and even once asked why I would use such an archaic term; after all "the Church doesn't have that category any more" (he claimed). We had multiple conversations afterward regarding "heretics", and each time he asked whether I was "still thinking that way". The concept of a "heretic" was clearly a difficult one for him, and, as he made clear, he thought it was mean and cruel to attack someone that way.
Quite an interesting perspective, I must say. The Catholic Encyclopedia refers to Antinomianism as "a heretical doctrine", and the Catechism defines heresy as "the obstinate post-baptismal denial of some truth which must be believed with divine and catholic faith, or it is likewise an obstinate doubt concerning the same". It would seem that to many in the Church today (for I have come across this same perspective more times than I can count) heresy is an abandoned idea. They treat it as an antiquated term that no longer applies to anyone (or at least not anyone who claims to follow Jesus).
Heresy, however, is something which seriously threatens us; especially today. It attacks
our minds and hearts with lies that tempt us to deny God and His truth.
This is a threat because it leads us away from the path of righteousness
and salvation. To accept a heretical teaching is to deny the truth of Christ,
and that encourages us to fall further into sin and error. In this way,
as I have said before, we are talking about dragons. The "dragon" of
heresy is flying around seeking minds to attack, and we must not remain
passive toward it. In pointing out a heretic, I am not attacking him; rather I am defending myself and my people from his attacks!
Sometimes those who are uncomfortable with the very word "heretic" express their distaste by saying it is contrary to what it means to love others, and that it is "not merciful". Other times it is so vehemently mocked that it would appear that people believe that there is an 11th commandment: "Thou shalt be nice to everyone, at every time, even though it mean thou must compromise the whole of the faith". Whatever the reason, the denial of heresy is a significantly dangerous position to hold. For, I hope everyone reading this realizes that with the definition given above in the Catechism, the denial of heresy, is a heresy (and thus endangers one's soul)!
There are a few different things that can be motivating this rejection of Catholic doctrine, but they can all be boiled down to a basic problem that is infecting many today. Although most Catholics would reject the lie of relativism, great numbers of them have accepted it in practice. In other words, they have become practical relativists. No, they would never state specifically that they believe that all truth is relative, but they live as though they believe this. To "relativize" doctrine to the point where nothing is heretical means that there is no error. It means that it is perfectly fine to teach things that will, in reality, lead you onto the path to hell. This is what the Church calls "heresy".
Moral and doctrinal relativism is indeed a dragon to be slain, but it appears that many would rather make a peace treaty with the dragon. You must understand that not everything that claims to follow Jesus really does so. Mormonism is heresy; Jehovah's Witness teaching is heresy, and there are many more that could go on the list. Many aspects of Protestant teaching is heresy. Anything that denies an essential Catholic doctrine is heretical regardless of whether the speaker says he follows Jesus, or even if he is a Catholic (!). Practical relativists (whether doctrinal or moral, or both) are a plague on the Church and they lead many to eternal damnation.
If there is a truth (and I believe that there is), then there is also falsehood and lies. Many years ago the Church guarded the truth with the zeal of John the Baptist. Today it seems as though many Catholics (both laity and clergy) believe that we need to take a lighter stance on truth and not make such a big deal of it. Canon Law (an important part of Catholic life, no matter who scoffs at it) tells us that pastors have the obligation of protecting the faithful from error and correcting them when they stray (can. 529). That is why I write on this blog the way that I do; to protect and correct. Therefore, I must point out heresy. I must declare something wrong if the Church has declared it to be so. I do not make these declarations on my own, nor from my own judgment; I am a herald, pointing out those things that threaten our very souls.
