Why don't we burn heretics anymore. . .

Throughout history the end of one judged a heretic has usually been death but not a quiet one.  Rather, the heretic was put to death for his apostasy and impenitence in a more spectacular fashion.  It was a signal of sorts to those who might have had sympathy with the heretic's views.  But it was also more than that.  It was a signal of the triumph or orthodoxy.

Of course, I am not advocating for burning heretics.  But I fear that by not calling them out and marking them as heretics in a visible and clear manner we have left the faithful to them.  Heretics are generally not scary sorts of people but winsome.  Their appeal is not simply their views but their passion, their charisma (not the Spirit kind), and their erudition.  They have great power to deceive and have caught up many in their web of distortion, half-truth, and deception.

Note that the problem is not simply the heretic.  Sometimes, more often than we think, the orthodox are called heretics or something less religious because the truth of Scripture seems out of step with modern thinking and cultural norms.  Today we face exactly that situation.  The orthodox position on sexual desire, gender, marriage, etc... is anathema to the world which insists biology is less important than feelings and that we have the right, no, even the duty to change our institutions to fit this vocal minority.  Fair is fair, they say, and what belongs to one ought to belong to another (a sort of values style transfer of wealth).

The time has come and gone for the Church to do something more than ignore heresy.  We need to call out those who have abandoned Scripture, creed, and faithful confession.  We need to mark them so that the faithful understand these teachers and their followers no longer listen to God's Word or are informed by His Spirit.  They have another word in their minds and another spirit in their hearts.  It belongs not to God but to the enemies of God.  And God's mercy does not extend to unrepentant false teachers or to those who follow them.

All around us are big name folks who have abandoned the Trinity for some sort of modalism or monotheism.  All around us are big name people who have abandoned sin for what feels good and redemption by the blood of Jesus for a God who goes along as long as we are good with it all.  All around us are big name people who have decided that Scripture is hopelessly outdated when it comes to such things as sex, gender, marriage, and children -- they know better than God!  All around us are big name folks who have substituted fanciful thoughts for the clear word of Scripture on baptism, the Lord's Supper, and absolution.  These are not the naysayers who throw words at the Church like stones from the outside but people who claim to be within the Body of Christ and who purport to be faithful, genuine, and authentic Christians.

Perhaps we need to burn some heretics now and then -- if not with fire to consume their bodies then with fiery words to consume their wrong doctrines.  I doubt if we will do that.  We fear what the world thinks of us too much.  So Lutherans will play nice even though we cannot agree what the Confessions say or mean or if it matters and Roman Catholics will play nice so long as the ring gets kissed and Protestants will play nice so long as they get to choose the gender of the moment and evangelicals will play nice as long as they can sing love songs to the idea of a Jesus.  

I know that I have alienated people who were interested in Lutheranism but not enough to believe that catholic and apostolic truth means competing views must be challenged.  But that is the duty of the orthodox pastor.  That is the obligation of the shepherd whom Christ has put in charge of His sheep.  We either mark out the boundaries of the sheepfold or we surrender the sheep to the prey and run away to hide.  So if you will allow me some exaggerated language, now is the time to burn some heretics and let the world know where we stand.