Christmas Heresy and Billboards
CENTRO ANTI-BLASFEMIA
By Tom Berryhill 2009-12-17
Response to an article by an Anglican deacon who denies the virgin
birth
Read the article at the link first, then read this article (apologies
for the blasphemous picture).
http://www.stmatthews.org.nz/nav.php?sid=498&id=999
It seems to me that all a pastor needs to do is call into question the
basic orthodox doctrines of Christianity, and he will get the
attention that his bloated ego needs. He doesn’t need to do any new
research or scour the scriptures for a good exegetical Christmas day
homily. He need only to make up a new doctrine, call it
‘progressive’ and dub the historical, scriptural doctrine as
‘fundamentalist’. This is not the season for name-calling. As
Christians seeking the truth in a world saturated with competing
creeds shouldn’t we just call a spade a spade? So, in the spirit of
fairness let’s call the virgin birth the ‘orthodox’ position, and
we’ll call this new idea, Jesus’ natural human conception, the
‘heretical’ position. Now, there is no reason to feel uncomfortable
with these terms. Yes, one of them has usually been used in a
negative light. But, if Christianity is the search for the Truth,
then we must start by using the proper terms. Orthodoxy is defined
by Merriam-Webster as “conforming to established doctrine especially
in religion.” This describes the virgin birth. Heretical doctrine
is defined as “of, relating to, or characterized by departure from
accepted beliefs or standards.” This accurately describes the notion
that Jesus was not born of a virgin. There’s no need to be ashamed
of this term if this is the position that you have embraced. Calling
this position ‘progressive’ does not serve the argument. Where is
the progress gained by denying established, biblical doctrine? If
there has been some newly discovered historical document or other
scholarly work done, it may qualify the new idea as progress. But
name-calling cannot honestly be called progress.
Progressive Christianity would be better defined by a look at the
lives of St. Therese of Avila, St. Francis of Assisi, or Blessed
Mother Teresa of Calcutta. These people redefined what it meant to
live a Christian life not by denying orthodoxy, but by radical service
to the People of God. These were not fundamentalists.
Fundamentalists deny all but the basic tenets of God (and even they
believe in the virgin birth).
Orthodox Christians do not believe “a supernatural male God who lived
above sent his sperm into the womb of the virgin Mary.” God is a
spirit. Not having a body, God does not have a gender. So, there’s
no male God in Christianity. Not having a body, God cannot send his
sperm, because he doesn’t have any sperm. There is no doctrine
defining how the Holy Spirit caused Mary to conceive. Nobody knows
how it was done. It was a miracle – something heretical ‘Christians’
seem unable to believe in.
If these heretics believe the Christmas story is fiction, why do they
call themselves Christians? And where did they get this idea?
The heretics boast that they don’t “overlook Jesus’ life and rush to
his death. Rather it sees the radical hospitality he offered to the
poor, the despised, women, children, and the sick, and says: ‘this is
the essence of God’”. Well congratulations! For more on how to
live that life, see the saints mentioned above; especially Mother
Teresa.
True, the fundamentalist is more concerned with individual salvation
and belief rather than conduct. This is a result of their Calvinist
doctrines. But, the orthodox stress communion. Where would we be
without the Communion of Saints, that cloud of witnesses? I dare say
that heaven would be a very lonely place if we sinful masses did not
have those great saints and the angels petitioning God on our behalf
at every moment. And belief is really secondary to conduct in
orthodox Christian spirituality. Though it is important to assent to
the authority of the Church, one need not be a theologian to get into
heaven. Rather, service to God and neighbor is the measuring rod of
a man’s life.
The theology of these heretics is anything but a clear view. They
are sickeningly indistinct in how they remove every holy thing from
Christianity and replace it with the current doctrine du jour,
political correctness. There is only one church which is distinct in
its refusal to water-down its doctrine even against the ever raising
chorus of relativism – the Catholic Church. The universal church is
the one which truly engages all peoples in all places at all times,
and the gates of hell will not prevail against it. Contrary to the
charge of these heretics, the Catholic Church demands something very
difficult from its adherents – love your enemy. Because of this
belief, I can agree with one thing these heretics say, “God is among
us; even among those we disagree with or dislike.” That is why I
will be praying for the conversion of these lost children of God this
Christmas.
http://www.4marks.com/articles/details.html?article_id=4523