"I'm not sure where I'll land, but I know that I don't hold a traditional view any longer," said the seasoned pastor and bible teacher in a recent phone conversation. "I am open to other ideas about the eternity of hell." The pastor went on to reveal that he had contacted a few of his ministry colleagues asking them about this question: Is hell an eternal reality? Or is this doctrine invented by man?" He received a number of replies including the predictable, "Be cautious where you are treading." But he was most surprised when his most respected colleague and bible teacher, the one with the strongest teaching chops, told him, "I don't ascribe to the traditional view any longer either."
Traditionalism is a commitment to upholding a set of beliefs and views and defending them from being discounted or rejected. Christian traditionalists, for example, tend to believe that Jesus is the Son of God, born of the virgin Mary, lived a life beset with holiness and miracles, suffered death by crucifixion, and rose from the tomb on the third day. Other traditional beliefs include the idea that women are blocked from spiritual leadership over men and that men are the head of not only the home but also the church; that the bible is the inerrant word of God...and the idea that hell is a place of eternal condemnation for those souls who have not received Christ as their Savior.
I am a happy traditionalist about a number of things. I choose to believe and am content being committed to the view that Jesus is the Son of God, and that he did indeed die by death on a cross and then supernaturally overcame death by resurrection. This I believe.
In this way, you can say I am a traditionalist.
However, there are a number of things that I am not willing to maintain a rigid, unmoving position of traditionalism. Like the question of women in leadership, etc... and also the doctrine of eternal damnation...aka Hell.
A couple of years ago I was talking to an old pastor friend of mine (I seem to have lots of friends who are pastors!!). This man, very intelligent and solid in his faith and also his character, indicated that for the first time in his life, he was willing...WILLING... to reexamine the traditional view that women ought not to teach over a man. {there are a few New Testament verses that this traditional view was built upon and it is considered by many Christians to be a biblical point of view and is therefore not up for debate. I am choosing not to enter a biblical defense or offense, though I have researched this topic extensively including much bible scholarship. If you are interested in such research, there are many sites and books that provide such information}
Ok, so back to this pastor - he was in his mid-forties at the time of our conversation. All he had known his whole life was that women have certain roles, and being a pastor or a church elder was not among them. He maintained this traditional view with little to no challenge for decades. But suddenly, as a seasoned man of God, he began to discover others he respected rejecting this view and embracing what is called an egalitarian view of women, or the point of view that women can access all roles and offices of authority. He was in the midst of exploring this new way of thinking (for him) and was tiptoeing cautiously into this new vista of thought. I hid my annoyance when he said, "I'm afraid that it might be a trendy view just because the world thinks it's cool to believe this way." I held back from saying, "Since when is bucking up against injustice and inequity a trendy view?"
I am too much of a diplomat at times to a fault!
Traditionalism for many Christ followers is much less a boundary to keep us on the straight and narrow as it is a strait jacket to keep us restrained from possibilities and recalibrating of miscalculations.
When someone comes along and boldly rejects a traditionalistic position and favors a new point of view, they are sometimes labeled a heretic, or as someone who has ventured off the true path into a pit of heresy.
A heretic is defined as:
one who dissents from an accepted belief or doctrine
It has been said many times that today's heretics are often the agents of change and breakers of tradition. They are the trailblazers for the rest of us, the ones who have broken free from the asylum of traditionalism. As such, they are typically accused by the doctrine police as heretics.
Heresy hunters are not new to our modern era. They are an old dog that's been prowling and sniffing around the beliefs of others for millennium. Only nowadays we don't need to worry about being arrested or burned at the stake (though in some nations there are religious extremists of all kinds of beliefs who will execute perceived heretics).
Breaking the back of traditionalism is uncomfortable for many. There is one's own psychic protest that must be overcome. There is often close friends and family who will distance themselves from the rebellious traditionalist. (just ask Bishop Carlton Pearson)
Breaking rank with the party line, no matter the party, will cause some degree of disturbance. The more influence and wider platform one has, the bigger the disturbance.
Which is why I am sympathetic to those who are professional Christians and feel a heavy burden to tread carefully into heretical territory. They are not only influential to others, but they very well might be jeapordizing their reputations and also their livelihoods.
Breaking the back of traditionalism is each person's journey. Some of us will do so with great relish while others with weeping and sorrow or trepidation and angst. I want to suggest that it is the special mandate of Christians to be willing to confront the old dog of tradition. It's what our Founder did. Jesus was heretical in what he taught and how he related to other people. He was a super bad ass when it came to pulling down the walls of those traditions that did not represent the kingdom or character of his Father. He is our Trail Blazer.