HERESY! Really?

The Burning of Bishop John Hooper

We need to stop calling ideas “heresies” and people “heretics” just because we don’t agree with them. It is an adolescent mentality. Heresy is 1) a denial of doctrine clearly taught in the Scriptures, and then 2) taught in such a way that it divides the Church. “Heresy” does not mean “false doctrine.” It means “division,” though specifically a division caused by teaching false doctrine. Examples of heresy would be…

°Denying the divinity of Christ is heresy.
°Denying the inspiration of the Scriptures is heresy.
°Denying the Virgin Birth is heresy.
°Denying the substitutionary atonement of the death of Christ is heresy.

However….

°Believing that demons can be transmitted by having sex with another person is not heresy.
°Believing in pedobaptism OR in cedobaptism is not heresy.
°Believing that people can, by the power of the Holy Spirit, can speak in languages they never studied is not heresy, nor is believing that such people are a few bricks shy of a full load.
°Believing that God has elected some to be saved is not heresy, nor believing that God’s grace frees the will and gives people the opportunity and choice to accept or reject the Gospel.
°Believing in a Millennium or not believing in a Millennium is not heresy.

The accusation of heresy is a serious accusation, and not to be thrown around just because we do not like or agree with something someone has said.