There seems to be confusion regarding the difference between heresy and a heretic.
A heresy is a doctrine that is held by someone at variance with the established religious beliefs.
A heretic is someone who believes contrary to the fundamental tenets of a religion to which he claims to belong.
The difference should be obvious. A heresy is not always a fundamental departure from established or orthodox doctrine. But a heretic believes contrary to the fundamental tenets of a religion he claims to belong to.
For example, I am a SBC member (Southern Baptist). Our church believes in the doctrine of eternal security. Several of our members believe this is wrong, and instead hold that one can be saved and forfeit their salvation. The idea is a heresy to our established belief (it is at variance with established SBC doctrine). In terms of SBC doctrine, it is a heresy (and the one holding the belief will probably not be permitted to teach it, if they are allowed to teach at all). BUT it is not a belief that is contrary to the fundamental tenets of SBC faith (we also believe in “soul liberty” and these persons remain in good standing in our church).
So a heresy is more than a disagreement (it is a belief in variance with established religious belief). But it is not necessarily enough to depart from the framework of foundational belief (the holder of the heresy may or may not be a heretic, depending on the fundamental tenets of the organization).
A heresy is a doctrine that is held by someone at variance with the established religious beliefs.
A heretic is someone who believes contrary to the fundamental tenets of a religion to which he claims to belong.
The difference should be obvious. A heresy is not always a fundamental departure from established or orthodox doctrine. But a heretic believes contrary to the fundamental tenets of a religion he claims to belong to.
For example, I am a SBC member (Southern Baptist). Our church believes in the doctrine of eternal security. Several of our members believe this is wrong, and instead hold that one can be saved and forfeit their salvation. The idea is a heresy to our established belief (it is at variance with established SBC doctrine). In terms of SBC doctrine, it is a heresy (and the one holding the belief will probably not be permitted to teach it, if they are allowed to teach at all). BUT it is not a belief that is contrary to the fundamental tenets of SBC faith (we also believe in “soul liberty” and these persons remain in good standing in our church).
So a heresy is more than a disagreement (it is a belief in variance with established religious belief). But it is not necessarily enough to depart from the framework of foundational belief (the holder of the heresy may or may not be a heretic, depending on the fundamental tenets of the organization).