An End to Heresy?

Friday, Aug. 25, 1967
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Since the 2nd century A.D., when the early Christians condemned the Gnostics as heretics for maintaining that salvation can be obtained through knowledge alone, many Christian faiths have found the accusation of heresy a handy tool to keep dissidents in line or toss them out. For supposedly challenging church doctrine, Joan of Arc was burned at the stake in 1431; so were Czech Reform Leader John Hus in 1415 and the impassioned Dominican Savonarola in 1498 (he was hanged first for good measure). In recent history, however, punishments for heresy have grown less brutal, and the charge has only rarely been invoked. Doctrinal disputes are increasingly resolved by debate within a church, or by the dissidents leaving of their own accord. The last time the Episcopal Church resorted to heresy procedure was in 1924, when it was employed to depose a retired and aged bishop.

Now Episcopalians seem on their way to almost complete rejection of the concept. This is one of the major recommendations in a report made public last week by the church's committee on theological freedom and social responsibilities, which labels the sin "anachronistic" and suggests that ideally it be abandoned except in the historical context "of the radical, creative theological controversies in the early formative years of Christian doctrine."

The committee was formed last Janu ary in the wake of Bishop James Pike's demand for a heresy trial to challenge those attacking him for speaking out against various hallowed doctrinal beliefs. The church was loath to take so drastic a step, instead named the committee of eleven clerics and laymen to advise the church's presiding bishop on the overall problem of freedom of inquiry within the church. It was headed by Bishop Stephen F. Bayne, Jr., 59, energetic former executive secretary of the Anglican Communion, presently director of the church's overseas department, who has long been known for his outspoken, often unorthodox ways.

A Delicate Balance. "Where there is an appeal to authority, especially institutional authority, in our time," says the report, "it is likely to be made for the wrong reason, to establish a refuge from the bewildering uncertainties of our life. Such retreat from encounter is an enemy to true theological or social inquiry."

"God makes men free. It does not behoove His Church to try to hobble their minds or inhibit their search for new insights into truth. The Church should not only tolerate but should actively encourage free and vigorous theo logical debate. Any risks the Church may run by fostering a climate of genuine freedom are minor compared to the dangers it surely will encounter from any attempts at suppression, censorship or thought control."