Heterodoxy: The Search for Something Other
The "Perennial" Problem of this Current Generation 

Defining Heterodoxy 

The term heterodoxy means basically to think differently about something. It is comprised of two Greek terms - hetero - meaning "other" and dokein - meaning to "think," have an "opinion," or to "suppose." The application of the term heterodoxy occupies the position somewhere between "error" or "heresy." One may be in error without being a heretic biblically thinking. However, when one moves into heterodoxy they slide closer and closer to entertaining heresy while at the same time not being officially a heretic. It is a dangerous position. The state of believing heterodox teaching means you have moved away from biblically and orthodox teaching while still confessing the truth when it comes to basic Christianity. In other words, a teacher may not be in denial of basic Christian truth (the virgin birth of Christ, redemption by his death and resurrection, etc.), but is more and more using Scripture to promote their own novel doctrines. These teachings may be influenced more by psychology, therapy, culture, personal ideas of the way things ought to be, or simply poor exegetical skills. The combination of these things can become the source of the teacher's own confusion in how to interpret and apply the Scriptures. The basic drive is that which is clearly established is not enough. We need something more or "other." With the increase in some Christian circles for novel doctrines and experiences, speakers come under mounting pressure to produce the goods. The temptation is very difficult to resist and often leads to more and more heterodoxy. 

It must be said that there is no substitute for good exegesis of the Bible both in consultation with historic Christianity, the original Hebrew and Greek, and the aid of the Holy Spirit. It must be underscored that the Holy Spirit has already spoken in the past as sound exegetes have faithfully interpreted the Bible. Therefore the "creeds" and "historic confessions" for instance can be good starting places along with the disciplines listed above.

Understanding the Biblical Term Hetero (Other)

One place the term appears is in Galatians 1:6 where the apostle Paul references the church's deviation from the one true gospel to "another gospel" or something "other." Paul concludes that this "other" is really no gospel at all, but nevertheless, still refers to it as "another gospel." It might sound like the gospel and even use gospel language, but at the end of the day it is "other."

The term also appears in Matthew's gospel (Matthew 11:3), as a questioning John the Baptist becomes confused over whether or not Jesus is truly the Messiah. John's question in Matthew is one of the premier questions in this gospel - "Should we look for another?" This might be understandable considering John's perilous state at the time. Behind John's question is; should we search for the "other." In the original Greek hetero is used.

Applying the Term To Today's Search for Something More or "Other" Than Christ!

Much of our questioning and search for something more or  "other" today is not driven by the same despair that John the Baptist faced when he raised his question about Jesus and his credentials. Much too often our search comes from a desire that misdirects its faith away from Christ to "other" things in addition to him often motivated by our desire to create Christianity after our own image.  

For example, Scripture is not enough, so we seek novel interpretations of the biblical text attempting to appeal to our audience thinking the basic meaning is not going to meet their needs. Far too many messages do not flow organically from the biblical text being used and far too often no text is used at all.

Equally, in our search for comfort and the assurance of our salvation we seek continual strange experiences with the Holy Spirit, while masking our own deep need to simply trust God and have faith in Christ. One of the main works of the Holy Spirit is to strengthen our faith in Christ (Ephesians 3:14-17).

Some Concluding Remarks 

Instead of this non-biblical quest to search for some "other," we need to understand that Christ is enough, the Scripture's faithfully taught are enough, the already given Holy Spirit is enough, the table of the Lord with all the grace that is offered is enough, the gospel as given in the Bible is enough, and the promises of God "that he who begin a good work in us will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ." (Philippians 1:6). In these things, and not the novel, strange, or "other" things we can at times seek, God is more than able to bring us safely to ever increasing places of growth and grace in Christ. He is enough.

Vindiciae Gratiae (The Vindication of Grace) 
Gary L. Finkbeiner

Restoring the Kingdom
A Look Back at Martin Bucer's "De Regno Christi"

During an election year many Christians are seeking answers to the problems of our current cultural climate. Disillusionment sets in when we think the answers to the challenges in our nation will come from a particular political party or candidate right or left. Recently while doing my morning reading of a section from Martin Bucer's, De Regno Christi, 1550 (The Kingdom of Christ) caught my attention. The section of Bucer's treatise to King Edward VI of England contained wise and valuable counsel. The subtitle of the section I was reading is, What the Kingdom of Christ Is and What is Necessary For Its Restoration, Bucer set out to both define what the kingdom of God is and provide clear instruction that would help reform the whole of Edward's realm thereby bringing restoration to the land. In Bucer's strategy restoring and renewing the church was first. Restoring the church for Bucer is what he meant by restoring the kingdom of Christ, not the political sphere. England as a nation would reap the benefits of a restored church. The church would function in its God ordained mission thereby bringing the rule of Christ to the nation without confusing the church and the civil spheres.

What Bucer gives us might challenge Christians in America who are committed to finding answers for today's problems in the political arena thinking that if we can find such solutions there will certainly come a recovery of some mythical Christian past. Before you react to this current statement I do believe that America's founding although not Christian, was influenced greatly by a Christian worldview. This is saying something different than America is a Christian nation. Time does not permit a treatment of this at this moment. Further we need to be wiser in our pronouncements of what constitutes something as being Christian, especially a form of government. However, Bucer's counsel was not for England to recover its Christian past, although it certainly had one, and it would be proper to appeal to any moment in a nations history that was affected by the gospel. His counsel was to set out a fuller strategy of restoration that included the proper role that the church and the gospel would contribute to England. This was indeed the very reason he was summoned to Edward's realm from the city of Strassburg arriving in April of 1549 in order to lecture at Cambridge University, while Peter Martyr Vermigli, the great Italian Reformer, went to do the same at Oxford. Both men had been called by Archbishop Thomas Cranmer to assist England in the Reformation.

Before providing Bucer's biblical strategy allow me to assert that the call to restore the church is not a call to political neutrality. Instead it is a call to properly focus the efforts of Christians as they rightly involve themselves in the political sphere. This will help those outside the redemptive kingdom of Christ that we are not calling for the church to replace the civil government. But, neither are we calling for a passive and neutral stance when it comes to Christians putting their voice in the public arena. Christians must contribute their voice and convictions, they must run for political office when called upon, and in America they must vote for candidates that reflect Christian convictions.

Bucer commends five biblical properties that constitute the restoring of the kingdom of Christ to England. There are five of them and they appear on pages 226-232 of the edition by Wilhelm Pauck in the Library of Christian Classics, volume 19. I now list them slightly paraphrased.

1. Everything done in the Church must be done for the "gaining" of salvation of peoples souls. People need to be "cleansed from sin and reconciled to God". Anything that is not focused on this should be "abolished and rejected."

2. The called of God (elect) "must be gathered from the nations of the world" through the preaching of God's word. The Reformation was a recovery of biblical preaching. It was a preaching movement according to a recent article in Christianity Today by Timothy George. Bucer reminds us in his treatise here that it is Christ who gave the church apostles, prophets, evangelist, pastors, and teachers (Ephesians 4:11-12). Bucer was not shy about preaching the biblical doctrine of predestination. He believed the church is greatly weakened as result of the neglect of this doctrine in preaching, not merely believing it! I might add the feminization of the American church is due in part to the neglect of such preaching.  

3. The kingdom of Christ is "governed and ruled" by Christ alone. Political authorities must not attempt to govern this redemptive kingdom and church leaders must submit to proper political authorities.

4. Membership into the kingdom of Christ must be allowed only as those seeking to enter agree to be "sufficiently instructed in the gospel."

5. All true citizens of the kingdom of Christ must offer themselves to "be ruled and governed" by Christ as they submit to the training in righteousness by the sacred ministry of the church. Here true believers learn to repent of sins, grow in grace, and conform their lives to holiness.

This strategy might not be what some modern American Christians are looking for. We would it seems to prefer concerts over preaching, mass rallies to church membership, and our leaders to be popular speakers at the expense of doctrine. Bucer might even seem a bit too strong for us in the current culture. However, Reformers like him and the gospel of justification by faith that he preached both shocked and reformed the world. They lived in a world that was being transformed by the gospel, while we live in a world that is becoming anything but at the moment.

Vindiciae Gratiae (The Vindication of Grace),
 Gary Finkbeiner