Nebulous Orthodoxy

One thing you must deal with when you worship in a confessional church is ignorance posing as protection. There are many self-proclaimed protectors of orthodoxy who haven't the first clue as to what orthodoxy is. What makes this ignorance worse is that (and this is especially true in my tradition) these heroes of the faith think that orthodoxy was definively set down somewhere around 1559 and roughly coordinating with the publication of the Institutes. The problem with this (or one of the problems with this) is that these heroes have either (1) never read any of the Institues; or (2) only read the parts that let them defend TULIP. I think that if they would ever got to book 4 they might find themselves redefining their orthodoxy. So what do these purveyers of truth do when their own personal orthodoxy is threatened? They pull the ultimate trump card--H E R E S Y (insert big, booming echo effect here). Just label something heretical and that seals the deal. You'll never have to produce any evidence to that charge and you can hand out heresy charges like red cards at soccer matches. You may then sleep well at night knowing that you've protected the peace and purity of the church.