SCRIPTURE & TRADITION

'The history of the church is a history of debate in which the truths of the Bible have been been successively defined so as to exclude the opinions of those who have questioned, obscured or denied them.'

John Stott, But I Say To You...Christ the Controversialist, p.35.

CHRISTIANITY AS A CIRCLE

'Christianity is not to be considered as a single point or a narrow, repetitive line, but as a circle which provides form but within which there is freedom to move in terms of understanding and expression. Christianity is a circle with definite limits, limits which tend to be like twin cliffs. We find ourselves in danger of falling off on one side or on the other; that is, we have to be careful not to avoid one sort of doctrinal error by backing off into the opposite one.

We must ask God to help us, and we must hep each other, not to fall off the cliffs. There is room for discussion within each circle, but we must not forget that there is a circle to be in.'

Francis A Schaeffer, The Church Before the Watching World, p.93.

HERESY

'The providential reason God allows heresy among the faithful, according to the ancient Christian writers, is to challenge the worshiping community to correct its exaggerations so as to bring it back into the balanced consensus.'

Thomas C Oden, A Change of Heart, p.165.

FALSE TEACHING

'....the hearts of novices who are growing in their understanding of the Word cut themselves with the sword of error as they make for themselves a reputation as teachers. Therefore, when we  instruct these people not to follow perverse teachings, it is necessary that we first advice them against seeking vainglory. For if the root of pride is cut out, then the branches of false teaching will wither.' 

Gregory the Great, The Book of Pastoral Rule, p.157. 

HERESY

'Elements of truth can be found in almost any system, if not because of common grace, then because the devil needs an admixture of truth in order to market a lie successfully. The most effective heresies have capitalized on important elements of truth which were lacking in current Christian understanding.'

Richard Lovelace, Dynamics of Spiritual Life, p.218.

CRITICISM

'We are culturally predisposed to sheltering criticism from criticism; we have enshrined the iconoclast. If our feelings register some minor shock, or if we suppose the public might be somewhat irked, or even if we think we can discern some earnest hope on behalf of the writer to irk or offend ourselves or our neighbors, then a book is praised as a creditable effort and excused from the kind of attention that might raise questions about its actual novelty or merit.' 

Marilynne Robinson, 'The Fate of Ideas: Moses' in When I Was a Child I Read Books, p.95.

HERESY

'Each heresy in its own way encourages some flaw in our human nature.'

C FitzSimmons Allison, The Cruelty of Heresy, p.23.

HERESY

'Trying to communicate this important material to students led me to ask the question, "What happens to someone who follows heretical teachings?" It became quickly and readily apparent how cruel heretical teachings are and how prevalent the heresies are in contemporary times. Victims of these teachings have been encouraged either to escape the world and their basic humanity into some form of flight and death or to use religion to undergird and isolate further their own self-centred self from the need to be loved and to love.

We are susceptable to herertical teachings because, in one form or another, they nurture and reflect the way we would have it be rather than the way God has provided, which is infinitely better for us. As they lead us into the blind alleys of self-indulgence nad escape from life, heresies pander to the most unworrthy tendencies of the human heart. It is astonishing how little attention has been given to these two aspects of heresy: its cruelty and its pandering to sin.'

C FitzSimmons Allison, The Cruelty of Heresy: An Affirmation of Christian Orthodoxy, p.17

THE GOSPEL

'The only thing worth counterfeiting is what's valuable. People make counterfeit currency and jewels, not couterfeit bottle caps or garabage. Because the truth of the gosple is priceless, we should expect it to be continously counterfeited. Bank employees are taught to idfentify counterfeit bills by handling the real thing - not be studying all the possible counterfeits. If you're not acquainted with the original, you can easily be deceived by an imitation. But once you're familiar with the genuine article, you will be able to spot a counterfeit.'

Randy Alcorn, Money, Possessions & Eternity, p.72.

HERESY

'Error, indeed, is never set forth in its naked deformity, lest, being thus exposed, it should at once be detected. But it is craftily decked out in an attractive dress so as, by its outward form, to make it appear to the inexperienced (ridiculous as the expression may seem) more true than truth itself.'

Irenaeus in Timothy George, Galatians (New American Commentary), p.103.