A Heretic for Peace

Heretic is one of my top ten favorite words. When I was in seminary, several of my professors called me a heretic to my face. In the 1990’s! I was asking questions outside the quite tiny box of their dogma and it enraged them, but that’s another story.

Heretic is a variation on a Greek word which means able to choose. Able to choose. A heretic is someone who knows that choosing is the principle activity required of a human being. A heretic doesn’t take the conventional wisdom as truth. A heretic knows she has a choice. A heretic looks at theory, dogma, concept, idea, everything and asks about it. A heretic is more often than not thought of as an eccentric.

SIGN ME UP!

I believe that in order to create peace on earth, we’re going to need some heretics, a lot of heretics, really. In the June issue of Ode, Anita Roddick said, “This world really does need more of these wonderful heretics.” There were pictures of Jesus, the Dalai Lama, Joan of Arc, Nelson Mandela, and Gandhi, among others.

This newly-card-carrying heretic is accepting heretical suggestions for creating peace on earth. Go ahead, make a new choice.