It's always easier (and I would even say lazier and more harmful to the body of believers as a whole) to attack a person with an idea you disagree with rather than the idea itself. Even if you were completely correct in your disagreement with the idea, what's more effective: to warn people of one person, or to warn people of an entire idea? There are a lot of so-called "heresies" going on throughout the Church, some legitimate, some not. Sometimes an idea labeled as a heresy is merely a difference in opinion, sometimes it is something extremely damaging. As we've seen throughout history, bad theology can legitimately get people killed (one of the justifications for racial superiority came from awful theology based on terrible interpretations of the Bible). There is a such thing as harmful theology. On the other hand, there are some different ideas that are not harmful, but are just opposing opinions. The easy thing to do is attack the person holding those beliefs. The effective thing to do is use facts to show why you favor one view over another. This opens the floor for discussion. As the Church, we have to get to the point where, instead of being threatened and even offended by new ideas, we understand our own positions enough to defend them properly, and we are secure enough in our faith to hear an opposing view from our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. Our doctrines should not define us, rather our love for God and one another should. We need to abandon the immature position of "Shut up, heretic!" and instead favor the far more effective position of "Come, let us reason together."

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Josh Peck
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