tactcalogic: “I think we have much more serious political issues to deal with right now than hunting heretics.”
Spirited: It’s because you do not know the definition of heresy that you do not recognize yourself as well as BroJoek as heresy hunters.
Both of you are at variance with the essay “Damnnable Heresy,...” because the theories and opinions you hold are contrary to those delineated throughout the essay.
So what is heresy? According to on-line dictionaries, the definition of heresy depends on particular religious beliefs, even those thought to be ‘scientific.’
For example, Christianity loosely defines heresy as opinions and teachings (i.e.), contrary to revealed truth. This makes evolution a heresy since it is contrary to creation ex nihilo.
Miriam Webster on-line further defines heresy as dissent or deviation from a dominant theory, opinion, or practice.
So for example, to dissent against the theories of Darwinism and Dialectical Materialism in the Soviet Union was to be branded an evil heretic deserving of death. Disbelief in either of these evolutionary conceptions was not tolerated. Thus Soviets “burned at the stake” in excess of 60,000,000 heretics, and other undesirables.
It is because of the particular theories and opinions held by BroJoeK and tacticalogic which are in opposition to those advanced in the essay that they are “hunting intolerable heretics” in this thread. Going by the relentless attacks launched by BroJoeK against Linda Kimball, YHAOS, and Spirited Irish, it appears they are particularly evil heretics. Thus he does his best to verbally “burn them at the stake” over and over and over.
Classic Alisky agitprop - accuse the other side of what you're doing. In the entire span of this thread neither BroJoeK nor I have ever leveled accusations of heresy.
Dear Ms irish: Have you not been reading your own thread?
Did you not notice your own comrade-in-arms, Kevmo, for dozens of posts now has been howling, howling like a wolf, in nearly every sentence, the word "heretic" at yours truly, BroJoeK?
Indeed, is that not your whole purpose here, to seek-and-destroy "heretics" like, oh, just saying, BroJoeK & tacticalogic?
I mean, truly, Ms irish, if you can get enough of your own mob yelling "heretics" and "blasphemers" at us, maybe you can force the mods to step in and crucify, er, I mean "zot" all those nasty people here defending our Freemason Founders religious ideas.
Wouldn't that be a great day for spirited irish, orthodoxy and Free Republic?
Wouldn't it?
Ms irish, I think all of us here (Kevmo possibly excepted) understand the definition of the word "heresy".
We all "grasp" that in a certain sense all of us are "heretics" all of the time, because none of us ever accepts everything that falls under the rubric of "orthodox accepted conventional wisdom".
But we don't run around howling the word "heretic" at others or ourselves, for the very serious reason that historically words like "heretic", "blasphemer", "apostate", "infidel" & others have meant trials, convictions and murders -- burning at the stake, crucifixions, stonings -- for many thousands, if not millions.
Even today, after centuries of "enlightenment", these words still, still send waves of fear up the backs of brave men & women.
Nobody wants to be called a "heretic" and nearly all of us avoid using such terms, except in technical-historical contexts -- i.e., were reformers like Jan Hus and Girolamo Savonarola burned at the stake for heresy, or was it something else?
And now, Ms irish, some of your own compatriots have launched a witch-hunt against certain FReepers-in-good-standing, people who, if I dare say it, have survived many other such "battles" but are never-the-less rather persistent in responding whenever their BS-meters hit the "red zone".
And yet, Ms irish, you can't see it.
You look and look, and for you it's not there.
And though neither tacticalogic nor myself have called anybody a "heretic", to Ms irish that's the real problem.
We are out there hunting you to charge with "heresy" -- according to you.
You can't see that the reverse is what's really happening, can you?
Have you thought of getting new eye-glasses?