Our Collective Faith and Heresies 1

From Beliefnet -

The word "heresy" appears on this blog every now and then, and I have long wanted to do a series on heresy and heresies and have now found a perfect reason: B. Quash and M. Ward, Heresies and How to Avoid Them: Why It Matters What Christians Believe . I want to get this conversation started today. I begin with a set of questions:

How do you define "heresy"? Who defines "heresy"? What have you heard -- profound and absurd -- that was called heretical? Do you think it is important to point out heresy? What are the dangers in pointing out heresy?

This book is an edited collection of readable, brief, and incisive chps on various heresies: Arianism, Docetism, Nestorianism, Eutychianism, Adoptionism, Theopaschitism, Marcionism, Donatism, Pelagianism, Gnosticism, Free Spirit, and the book closes with a study of Bibical Trinitarianism and the purpose of being orthodox.

Hauerwas writes the Foreword and makes the following (always provocative) statements:

"Given the diminished state of the Church some Christians might even believe that if we could gain more members by being heretical so much the worse for orthodoxy." But, if orthodoxy "is used as a hammer to beat into submission those we think heterodox" it "betrays itself." So instead of a hammer, "orthodoxy is displayed as an act of love that takes the form of careful speech." There are limits, and not all stick to the limits: "orthodoxy is the hard discipline of learning to say what needs to be said and no more." And this one: "Orthodoxy shows why what we believe cannot be explained but can only be prayed." So Hauerwas.

More here-

http://blog.beliefnet.com/jesuscreed/2009/03/our-collective-faith-and-heres.html