How many ways are there to be a heretic? Holy cow, what a question! Since the word's root basically means "able to choose," the ways are as many as there are choices.
My choice (right now) is to leave supernaturalism behind. But I want the League of Heretics to be broader. That's because heretics can have more in common with each other than they have with people who label them as such. This is especially true among the progressive members of religious groups.
For example, even though I'm a non-theist, I will have more in common with a progressive theist Christian than I will with a fundamentalist Christian. (Which is why I can be employed as music director in a progressive Christian church!)
It has long been interesting to me that, while the fundamentalists of any religion would scarcely have a conversation with each other, the progressives and the mystics of the same religions can get along very well.
I want the League of Heretics to be a place where questioning conservatives and fundamentalists can be comfortable. Ok, "comfortable" probably isn't the right word. Maybe the word is simply "honest." Questioning can be the first step toward the broadening of horizons, so I don't want any honest questioner or seeker to be put off by the word "heretic."
That's why I so frequently mention the word's origin. Maybe a person will choose progressive theism over fundamentalism. I believe the world will be a better place because of it.
As I've said in other places, I want League of Heretics to be a community, not merely a newsletter. I look forward to more reader engagement, more sharing of stories, and (of course) more questions.
Make a comment and tell why you feel like a heretic, or what your particular struggle is, or how you overcame adversity, or just ask a question.
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heretic--accepted one who takes unacceptable exception, so becoming excepted.
It's an inside job. One outside is not a "heretic," but an "other."
Solids break and have defects; fluids flow and freely reform.