Heresy as a Virtue
It’s confession time. And I must confess … “I am a heretic.” I don’t mean I’m a heretic only in a religious sense but about life itself. And get this … I’m striving to become more of a heretic all the time. A heretic is one who chooses. Heresy comes from the Greek haireomai , "to choose". And that choice is generally one counter to the established or widely-held belief. In religion and in science, examples abound. The Catholic Church labeled Copernicus and Galileo and John Calvin as heretics for choosing beliefs different from church teachings of the time. Einstein’s work was heretical to the scientific community at first. And those who have argued for social change – including Jesus, Susan B. Anthony, Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr. found both struggle and success as heretics. My heresy is not on a scale with these famous figures. Yet, I believe there is huge power in an individual’s ability to choose. And often, that choice will be an intentional break from the norms of soci...