The punk rock band from Rodeo, California, Green Day, are punk rock heretics. The words punk rock has lost most of their meaning that they held before Green Days major labor debut “Dookie” was released in 1994. Punk rock was anti-establishment, dirty, lived for the fan, and most of all avoided any major label exposure. Green Day was the most respected band from their area. When they “out grow” their music scene and went on to a larger label the underground erupted with hate. This act of heresy has spawned many followers such as Sum 41, Blink-182, and Good Charlotte.
Green Day was such a powerful force with the punk rock community that when they toured (in a tiny van) fans would follow them throughout the country. Billie Joe Armstrong, Tre Cool (performing name) and Mike Dirnt were worshipped as gods. A punk band that toured all across the nation playing great music that expressed the angst and anger they had with “establishment.” They stayed in fans grungy basements. They didn’t just live for the fan; they would live with the fan. What these fans loved most was that these were their guys. That all changed April 1993 when Rob Cavallo signed them to Reprise Records. Billie Joe and the gang had turned their back on their intimate relationship with their fans and the position as California punk kings. With joining the mainstream their albums became more watered down with simple pop rhythms and week content.
They continue to claim membership with the punk rock, through attempting to regain some of the edge they once had with their latest musical effort, American Idiot, but still came up soft with the hit single “Boulevard of Broken Dreams.” Their music had become mass appealing to be featured on the most watched sitcom episode of all time, the final “Seinfeld” episode. Even with this they continued to claim that they are a punk band. This heresy has stemmed a whole new culture that has brought upon a completely different genre of music. Any punk rock enthusiast will say that Green Day was once a punk band, but bands that are compared and are considered same genre now, such as Yellowcard, Simple Plan, and Avril Lavigne. All of these artist, just like Green Day appear on TRL (Total Request Live which plays videos by whoever masses the most votes each day) where they classifies all of these artists as “punk music.” Green Day is not only a heretic, but one of the worst because of its leadership of the new punk scene.
Belloc and Wilhelm’s criteria for a heretic fit very nicely upon this musical group. Green Day did not only claim membership they were the best of in their area. They then broke a major part of the rules/doctrine that was apart of punk music, staying small and independent. Dookie is one of the best selling albums of the 90’s. They could have stayed small; they almost didn’t sign with Reprise but continued down the path any way. They obviously did this upon their own free will. Then to make things worse the youth of the nation followed right in their foot steps bringing on more of the same kind of music. Belloc and Wilhelm, well Belloc would definitely consider this band a heretic, and I think if Wilhelm listened to their lyrics he would think so as well.

On November 24, 1974, an American anthropologist, Donald Johanson, found fossils near the Awash River in Ethiopa. Supporting Darwin’s theory of evolution, those 3 million year old fossils composed our last common ancestor, “Lucy”.

For years now, “Lucy” has been a common name in textbooks and among scientists.
In 1999, a disturbing theory was proposed contrary to the popular beliefs within the scientific community. French paleontologist Yvette Deloison claimed that bipedalism appeared 15 million years ago, farther back than “Lucy”. She also claimed that the bone structure of Lucy’s big toe matched those of the primates that climb trees today. This radical theory challenged every scientific theory that followed with “Lucy”. Although not the first scientist to defy the lineage of “Lucy”, Deloison pushed her theory more so than others researchers.

One way that Belloc describes heresy is as removing one piece from a greater scheme. To expand on that, the scheme must rely on every piece in order to function, and without a part would fall apart. In this sense it could be debated that Yvette Deloison is a heretic, because, although the entire scheme is the evolution theory itself, whether it dates back 3 or 15 million years will not threaten the scheme as a whole. However, if the scheme is narrowed down to the existence and lineage of “Lucy”, Delouson’s theory easily demolishes what scientists have come to accept for years now.

Wilheim also has some requisites for heresy that qualify Yvette Deloison. These include a strong standpoint on a theory challenging commonly accepted. Yvette stood by her theory and pushed her argument further than anyone before her exemplifying Wilheim’s definition. Another requisite she clearly exemplifies is her accommodation of her theory to contemporary mentality. After extensive research, she has gathered the resources necessary to back up her theory enough for it to be considered by the scientific community.

Yvette Deloison is a modern heretic because she epitomizes the definitions set by Belloc and Wilheim. She has defied Science textbooks and created a disturbing theory that tests the validity of all we know about “Lucy” and our common ancestors.

On November 24, 1974, an American anthropologist, Donald Johanson, found fossils near the Awash River in Ethiopa. Supporting Darwin’s theory of evolution, those 3 million year old fossils composed our last common ancestor, “Lucy”.

For years now, “Lucy” has been a common name in textbooks and among scientists.
In 1999, a disturbing theory was proposed contrary to the popular beliefs within the scientific community. French paleontologist Yvette Deloison claimed that bipedalism appeared 15 million years ago, farther back than “Lucy”. She also claimed that the bone structure of Lucy’s big toe matched those of the primates that climb trees today. This radical theory challenged every scientific theory that followed with “Lucy”. Although not the first scientist to defy the lineage of “Lucy”, Deloison pushed her theory more so than others researchers.

One way that Belloc describes heresy is as removing one piece from a greater scheme. To expand on that, the scheme must rely on every piece in order to function, and without a part would fall apart. In this sense it could be debated that Yvette Deloison is a heretic, because, although the entire scheme is the evolution theory itself, whether it dates back 3 or 15 million years will not threaten the scheme as a whole. However, if the scheme is narrowed down to the existence and lineage of “Lucy”, Delouson’s theory easily demolishes what scientists have come to accept for years now.

Wilheim also has some requisites for heresy that qualify Yvette Deloison. These include a strong standpoint on a theory challenging commonly accepted. Yvette stood by her theory and pushed her argument further than anyone before her exemplifying Wilheim’s definition. Another requisite she clearly exemplifies is her accommodation of her theory to contemporary mentality. After extensive research, she has gathered the resources necessary to back up her theory enough for it to be considered by the scientific community.

Yvette Deloison is a modern heretic because she epitomizes the definitions set by Belloc and Wilheim. She has defied Science textbooks and created a disturbing theory that tests the validity of all we know about “Lucy” and our common ancestors.

In the pursuit of scientific progress, mankind has made enormous discoveries over the past two centuries including, but not limited to, the theory of evolution, composition of sub atomic particles as well as nuclear physics and all of which are thought to be indisputable. However, in the past two weeks, a claim has arose that has sent a wave of hysteria throughout scientific community. This claim, which causing such panic, seems to disprove one of the utmost important aspects in physics, the laws of thermodynamics, which is the basis of many recent fields of science including nuclear physics and quantum mechanics.

Thermodynamics consists of three interdependent laws, the first of which states, “in any given process the total energy of the universe remains the same.” As a result, it is theoretically impossible to construct a perpetual motion machine, a hypothetical device that produces an output of energy greater than the initial energy input as well as being self sufficient requiring no external energy source. Steorn, a company based in Dublin, has claimed to have invented a perpetual motion machine, which has been proven to work by the eight scientist, whose names have been withheld in Steorn’s publications, Steorn has invited to their facilities. They are so confident in their findings that they have invited a team of twelve scientists to check the schematics and test the machine in person despite the fact that most patent offices refuse to patent any designs for perpetual motion machines. Sean McCarthy, CEO of Steorn, was quoted as stating, “All great ideas begin as blasphemies. We have developed a way to construct magnetic fields so that when you travel round the magnetic fields, starting and stopping at the same position, you have gained energy. The energy isn’t being converted from any other source. It’s literally created. It provides a constant stream of clean energy.”

Most of the general public remains skeptical of Steorn’s new “discovery” discrediting them due to their reputation. Devangshu Datta, stock market consultant and senior journalist based in Delhi, called Steorn a “19-person outfit specializing in fraud! It develops core technologies that address counterfeit crime in areas such as plastic card and optical disc. It made a £200,000 loss in 2003, when it last published its balance sheet.”

Belloc describes the heresy as “the dislocation of some complete and self-supporting scheme by the introduction of a novel denial of some essential part therein.” Therefore, this situation does fit the criteria he set because it challenges arguably the most important aspect in the scientific field, thermodynamics. This alone makes not for heresy; however, Steorn remains confident of their findings despite ridicule, which is another aspect of heresy described be Wilhelm as “pertinacity” or obstinate adhesion.” Belloc and Wilhem both agree to an extent that to commit heresy one must have knowledge of the subject. Steorn has chosen this path out of their own free will because it is clear they are not ignorant of the subject.

Further information is required for the scientific aspect to be verified and will probably be discussed in the next few weeks. However, it is clear that, even in this modern day, heresy is alive and well.

We don’t need to discuss how we all feel about the rising gas prices because that attitude is obvious, but what if there was something that they’re not telling us? Thomas Gold wrote about an alternative theory in 1998 that has not been widely accepted, however, it has not gone unnoticed. If his theory was indeed correct, there may be hope for us after all.
Thomas Gold was the chair of the Astronomy Department at Cornell as well as the director of the Center for Radiophysics and Space Research, so it is no surprise that he was well respected amongst his peers. However, Gold was known for challenging the traditional theories acknowledged by the scientific community. In 1955 he said that the moon was actually covered in a powder. In 1948 he, along with Hermann Bondi and Fred Hoyle came up with the “Steady-State” theory that the earth had no beginning and no end. His most recent argument and probably most stirring is illustrated in his book, “The Deep Hot Biosphere,” written in 1998.
In his book, Gold reveals his theory about oil and coal. In the past it had been known that oil and coal come from life that was once on the surface and over time had been changed due to temperatures and pressure. Gold says that instead, they are “produced from primordial hydrocarbons” from when the earth was formed. After that they make their way to the surface through small cracks, etc. and do one of three things: 1. “become trapped as surface gas fields”, 2. “leak into the atmosphere as methane”, or 3. “lost hydrogen to become oil, tar, or coal.” So what does this have to do with our lives? Well, if Gold was in fact right in his conclusions, then because of that third option, there would be a lot more natural gas reserves than those estimated by Petroleum companies, meaning, well, there’s a lot more gas out there, thus lower gas prices.
While Thomas Gold may not be a complete heretic by the definition we’ve discussed in class, he certainly has challenged a part of our widely known and accepted (and also widely disputed) system of economic beliefs and has definitely, “warped the system” as said in Hilaire Belloc’s definition of the word. As for Wilhelm’s definition of Heresy, Gold fits like a glove. Wilhelm states that the formal principle of heresy is “revolt against a divinely constituted authority.” While Gold was not out to get the Petroleum companies or disrupt the economy, he did damage their credibility in the matter.
Whether or not Gold’s theory is correct is unknown. Unfortunately Thomas Gold died in 2004 and it seems as if his hypotheses died as well. The fact is that people will continue to complain about gas prices, and will also continue to be unaware of where the extra gas is needing to come from. But, there is hope because slowly scientists like Thomas Gold are breaking apart the popular belief system of this essential resource.

Research: Thomas Gold: 1920-2004
By: Matin Durrani June 23, 2004

Considering heresy as Wilhelm and Belloc describe it, one would think that heresy only occurs when someone lower on the social hierarchy offends it leaders. Occasionally, however, a heretical member of the upper elite may feel the wrath of disapproval from the lay people. Nowhere is this more common than in America’s political arena. In recent history the most apparent case has been that of Joseph Lieberman and his relationship with the American Democratic party.
By Wilhelm and Belloc’s definition, a heretic must claim membership in a certain group or organization. In this area, Lieberman certainly fits the criterion in that he has labeled himself a Democrat for the whole of his political career. Though always considered a moderate or “Blue Dog Democrat” he was a Democrat nonetheless.
This image has changed in the past few months, however, because of Lieberman’s incessant support of the President’s foreign policy, especially concerning the war in Iraq. Because the Democratic Party stands against further involvement in the war, and believes that it was authorized under false pretenses, Lieberman’s support of President Bush’s foreign policy has made him a heretic and all around social pariah in the eyes of the Democratic party. The lay people in the Connecticut Democratic primary made sure that he paid the ultimate price for this heresy by refusing to re-nominate him for the Senate seat. One could argue that Lieberman is a heretic twice over for claiming to be a Democrat and yet campaigning against the official Democratic candidate, Ned Lamont, by running as an Independent. Lieberman’s heresy has been further augmented by the fact that the Connecticut state Republican party, with their candidate polling at 2.5 % in polls with 3 and 4% margins of error, have abandoned their candidate and endorsed Lieberman, further separating him from his original party.
In this particular instance, the “self-supporting scheme” that Belloc mentions as a prerequisite for heresy is the platform of the Democratic party. Lieberman’s heretical foreign policy positions call into question his willingness to follow the rest of the party platform as well as his loyalty to the party because of his campaign against Lamont. A Democrat could wonder, “If all it takes is a kiss from the President to make him vote his way, what else would he be willing to cave on with just a few more pecks on the cheek?”
Finally, and most importantly, according to Belloc and Wilhelm’s definition of heresy, is Lieberman’s “ pertinacity” in his positions, more accurately put, his refusal to recant or apologize for his past support of the war, despite calls from other Democratic leaders for him to do so. In addition to this, and perhaps most aggravating to Democrats on the left flank of the party, is his continuous campaigning to persuade more moderate Democrats to agree with his viewpoint. In this, we find a modern day political equivalent of “teaching” or “preaching” a heretical viewpoint as stated in Wilhelm’s writing.
In this subject, Wilhelm’s remarks about “degrees of heresy” are particularly relevant. In American politics, it is not necessarily how important a “doctrine” is to a party platform, but how popular, or unpopular an issue is at the time. Had Lieberman strayed from his party, in other words, held lesser heretical viewpoints, on issues like tax reform, social security, minimum wage, or agreed with the President on an issue like immigration, there is no doubt that he would have easily won the re-nomination and the general election. Unfortunately for him, the Iraq war is THE talking point that Democrats across the country have aligned against and because he chose such a volatile topic on which to stray from his party, the Democrats have punished his heresy with virtual expulsion from their circles.

Statistics taken from www.cnn.com.

Valve Software is most famous for the award winning games Half-Life and Half-Life 2, but they are also responsible for the program known as Steam, the first widely used method of digital delivery in the video game industry. Digital delivery is a method of distribution that allows the buyer to purchase a game directly from the company and download it over the internet rather than going to a local retailer and purchasing a hard copy of the game. This is heresy because by rejecting the traditional method of video game distribution, Valve has set in motion changes that could radically affect the entire industry.

Though Valve was the first to make digital delivery a popular and efficient method of video game distribution, it was quickly emulated, most notably by Microsoft with their new and improved version of Xbox Live. In Wilhelm’s view this makes Valve guilty of heresy to the greatest degree, in that valve “taught” Microsoft their method of distribution by acting as an example. Digital delivery is also a heresy in Belloc’s line of thinking because by rejecting one element of a system they are changing the whole structure of that system. By removing the hard copy of the software they are cutting out the middle man (retailers such as Walmart or Game Stop). The heresy of digital delivery is very similar to the heresy within the Christian church that claimed that everyone man was his own priest and that the clergy was not man’s only path to God, with video games being God (man, that sounds blasphemous) and retailers being the clergy.

As far as the altering of one tenet affecting the whole system, which Belloc identified as necessary to a heresy, digital delivery certainly does that. One change is that game designers are given greater creative license. Some retailers, Walmart in particular, have a history of determining which games they carry based on their content. This forces game designers to modify their games to what Walmart wants to see rather than what designers and consumers want to see. With Walmart out of the picture, game designers are free to create the games they want to create, rather than censure or edit themselves in order to get their product on more shelves.

Another radical change has been the boom in sales and production within the independent gaming community. Before digital delivery, distribution companies were unwilling to invest the large cost of mass producing and distributing independently produced games, when returns on such an investment were risky at best. With digital delivery, the cost of distributing a game is much, much less. This gives independent designers a much better chance of success, and gives consumers access to far more games than before.

As we have learned, heresy does not necessarily have to carry a negative connotation. This shift in the industry, sparked by Valve and emulated by many others, I believe to be generally a positive thing. Without heresy, we would still be burning witches at the stake. Heresy births innovation, and this heresy has led to a less restrictive creative environment, a flourishing of independent gaming studios, and more convenient access to content for consumers. Like many movements that begin as heresy, this new method of distribution is on the path to becoming the accepted norm.

Current theories suggest that the solar system was formed at about the same time Earth was formed (approximately 4.7 billion years ago). Years ago up until the beginning of the twentieth century with the discovery of the “planet” Pluto (then “Planet X”) by astronomer Clyde Tombaugh in 1930, and since then, it has been commonly believed, taught, accepted worldwide, and set as a standard by the International Astronomical Union (IAU) that the solar system did in fact contain 9 planets, Pluto inclusive.
On August 24th, 2006, leading astronomers of the IAU declared that Pluto was no longer a planet, and that the solar system now consisted of only eight planets. Pluto does not fit the IAU’s new definition of a planet – “a celestial body that is in orbit around the sun, has sufficient mass for its self-gravity to overcome a rigid body of forces so that it assumes…a nearly round shape, and has cleared the neighborhood around its orbit.” This decision was a huge shift from proposals made a week prior to this new finding, where leaders of the IAU proposed that the solar system would actually be expanded to twelve planets. The IAU even went as far as to regret the leaks of inaccurate reports regarding the status of Pluto, stating that no proposal was made to change Pluto’s status “by any Division, Commission or Working Group of the IAU responsible for solar system science.”
According to Belloc, “heresy is the dislocation of some complete and self-supporting scheme by the introduction of a novel denial of some essential part therein.” More importantly so, he mentions that heresy “originates a new life of its own and vitally affects the society it attacks.” One could say that this is just plain old evolutionary science. On the other hand, one could say that the IAU is contradicting themselves with a novel theory, becoming a heretic within themselves. Obviously there have been people who would like to stick with the tradition of the nine planets of the solar system. There have been protestors, particularly those of the late Clyde Tombaugh, who say that size does not matter. Some teachers have debated on whether or not textbooks should be rewritten. Others like astronomer Bernie McNamara argue that the decision by the IAU was not a decision by the astronomical community at large, stating that only a handful of the thousands of IAU members were present at the conference on the day of the decision. There are people who do not have a problem with this new theory as well. They argue that this is a big step towards the advancement of science. Science is always evolving and the technology to support it is evolving even faster. Nevertheless there will always be two sides to this controversial topic. Who’s to say what is right or wrong, especially when dealing with the universe? The fact cannot be denied, though, that this breaking news has and will most likely continue to have a profound effect on society.
I just want to know what the new acronym for the planets is going to be. “My Very Educated Mother Just Served Us Nine…Nothing…???”

It was with much trepidation that I decided to tackle the subject of a political heresy. Writing about such a volatile subject for a class is a bit of a heresy in itself, but the topic was far too appealing to turn down. Modern day Republicans are hypocritical to the ideology under which they were traditionally defined.
With time, as is the case with so many other heretics, the new definition of Republicanism has been accepted, not only by its subscribers, but by the neutral passer-by and its opponents as well. To use an example from Belloc, Newtonian physics, though heretical at the time, defined the new method of how people scientifically describe their universe. The new normal was by no means permanent- Einstein made sure of that -but for a number of years "Newtonian physics" and "physics" were the same thing. The modern group referred to as “Republicans" are of a completely different pedigree from the Republican ideologues of the past.
Wilhelm says that the part of heresy that stirs up the orthodoxy is the claimed membership of the group. Though the Republicans of old are, for the most part, long gone, the new Republicans perform this key action of heresy. Neo-Republicans dictate what it is to be Republican, omitting an emphasis on reduced spending and smaller government. Republicans proposed the No Child Left Behind Act, a completely retrograde movement from the advocation of smaller government, calling for more public spending and more government intervention in schools. Similarly, though the executive and the majority of the legislative branch of government are self-proclaimed Republicans, social welfare payouts have yet to significantly decrease or cease altogether. The amount of total government spending and the national debt has increased, but the spending is continually justified as necessary by Republicans. Tom Delay stated, “After 11 years of Republican majority, we’ve pared [government spending] down pretty good. There’s no [unnecessary] fat left to cut.” While he still defends fiscal conservatism, he has changed the original definition of what is necessary to include FEMA handouts, social security, and other extensive social welfare programs. Spending-wise, what was once Republican't has become Republican.
Rather than engaging in hypocrisy, the neo-Republicans changed their ideology in order to make themselves more popular, a ploy used by most groups at one time or another. No matter how often we denounce heretics, we prefer a heretic to a hypocrite.

In today’s world, we as American’s pride ourselves on being one of the most culturally and religiously tolerant nations in the world. At its conception, America was to be a kind of shelter for the oppressed, wherein they could live and speak freely without fear of persecution. Granted, it took centuries for the country to truly approach the land of tolerance our forefathers envisioned, but we have made great strides to the betterment of our nation. With this in mind, it may seem a bit disturbing to some that websites such as www.godhatesfags.com exist. After all we have done to promote tolerance in our nation, the concept that a church can claim to be based on Christian values and preach messages of hate like this is astounding.

The Westboro Baptist Church, based in Topeka, Kansas and led by Fred Phelps maintains several websites similar to the aforementioned example, speaking of hate towards essentially every culture and religion other than its own. Phelps makes the claim that God hates America because we allow homosexuality, among other sins, to go unpersecuted. According to him 9/11, hurricane Rita and Katrina, the loss of lives in Iraq, and every other disaster affecting America is part of God’s retribution against America.

Fags (this “metaphor” was chosen because faggots serve as kindling for fire, and homosexuals are fueling the fiery rage of God with there sins) seem to be the major target of this fanatic and his followers, but certainly not the only target. Among the groups Phelps hates are Jews, Catholics, Muslims, Mormons, Canada, Sweden, and many more. The church even protests at the funerals of soldiers killed in Iraq, holding signs with phrases such as “God Hates Your Tears”.

Phelps fits virtually every criteria set by Belloc and Willhelm. No Christians outside of the Westboro church believe that Phelps preaches the true word of God. Even the hardcore fundamentalists believe homosexuals can repent and be saved, whereas Phelps barely considers homosexuals to be human. He frequently refers to them as hogs, dogs, or pigs in his sermons. In 2004 the church protested Sweden’s trial against Åke Green, a Pentecostal pastor who preached against homosexuality, calling it a “tumor in the body of society”. Phelps called Green a martyr, proposing to erect monuments of him throughout the US. Green responded by calling Phelps “appalling” and “extremely unpleasant.” Phelps does everything he can to make his voice heard, and pertinaciously maintains his view no matter how many people confront him about it. This man fits every definition of a heretic of Christianity and the American society in general.

All quotes taken from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki, articles on Westboro Baptist Church and Ake Green.

Recorded history not only dictates the occurrences of the past, but it also influences the present and consequently shapes the future. Therefore, as intelligent beings, we put the sanctity of our history in the hands of historians, who map the passage of time for the future to see. One such historian deviates from the established views of history in respect to the Holocaust, one of the most significant periods in human history. David Irving, a published historian who has written many books on World War II, openly denies the existence of any death camps in an interview and in the revised copy of his 1991 book, Hitler’s War. Like Belloc and Wilhelm’s writings on heresy, David Irving is a historiography heretic who perverts the doctrines of orthodox history writing by denying a crucial part of history which shapes the future as an accepted truth.

Having written a plethora of works chronicling the nature of the Third Reich in books such as The Mare’s Nest where he details the works of Nazi secret weapons projects, Irving established himself as a historian. In what could be deemed “history as it is presently accepted,” the holocaust is the extermination of approximately 6,000,000 Jews by the Nazi regime in death camps such as Auschwitz. Irving picks out this assertion of today’s stable history and publicly denies the existence of such an occurrence in an 1989 interview held in Austria. Irving cites evidence that proclaims that no evidence of cyanide was found inside the supposed gas chambers, therefore a mass extermination never transpired. Belloc and Wilhelm describe a heretic as one who takes a self-supporting scheme and picks one part of it and denies the doctrine or emphasizes his or her own. As a self-proclaimed, educated historian, Mr. Irving has separated himself from the historic community by attempting to break the structure that historians base reality on. Thus, he is what Wilhelm would consider a formal heretic, one who consciously separates from the self-supporting structure. One may be so bold as to say that his denial does not make him a crusader for holocaust denial. On the contrary, his constant support of active holocaust deniers such as the infamous Ernst Zundel contributes to another of Wilhelm’s criteria for defining heresy: pertinacity. Zundel, a known pamphleteer for Nazi revivalism openly denies the Holocaust in his book Did Six Million People Really Die? Part of Wilhelm’s doctrine that defines heresy proclaims that a heretic distances himself or herself further from the freestanding society when he or she spreads such heretical dogma. Despite the condemnation Irving has received for his publicized beliefs, he stands firm and supports a man with similar, heretical views. Irving’s appearance in court to vouch for Zundel exacerbates his heresy because he supports one who teaches the doctrine to other people.

With the recent arrest of Warren Jeffs, an outspoken advocate and leader of a sect of the Mormon religion, the practice of polygamy has popped up in newspapers and television virtually everywhere. Polygamy is of course the practice of having multiple marriages whether that be between one man and many women or vice versa, though the first is most common. Jeffs, a Mormon himself, developed a polygamist sect of the Mormon Church of the Latter Day Saints with his father titled, the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (FDLS). During the Second Manifesto of the 1800s, the Mormon Church abandoned its practice of multiple marriages and hence frowns upon the idea. But, Jeffs believing he is a man of God’s word built a polygamist community in Utah with the underlying theme that multiple marriages will allow man to enter heaven with high regards. His foundation was based upon early Mormon ideas but denied the current condition of the church and the belief in monogamous marriages by the government and other religious denominations (Polygamy FAQ).

The U.S. government sees polygamy as unlawful and does not recognize multiple marriages. In terms of a political and law abiding view, polygamy is seen as a heresy. Belloc defines heresy as he sees it in the first few paragraphs in non-religious terms. Polygamy is a religious idea but holds a stance as a distortion to the government’s idea as to what defines a marriage. Heresy in Belloc’s mind is the “dislocation of some complete and self-supporting scheme by the introduction of a novel denial of some essential part therein.” In the instance of polygamy, the self-supporting scheme that is being disrupted is the institution of monogamous marriage. This practice denies the idea of one marriage and replaces it with the idea of multiple marriages. Having this “pull and fill” idea confirms Belloc’s belief that heresy “warps” a withstanding belief or idea by some “exception.” Belloc even goes on to confirm that polygamy is seen as a heresy because he feels heresy is not a “denial of a scheme wholesale.” Warren Jeffs and his followers do reject the lawful idea of monogamy but do not deny the government or even their Mormon religion as a whole. But, Jeffs not only planted the idea of a polygamous lifestyle, he also keeps it succeeding through himself as a leader. Belloc mentions how the appeal of a person to its followers can lead them down a path different from what otherwise might not have been taken. Jeffs is seen as a link to God in his formed community. The congregation of the FDLS takes what Jeffs says as truth and hence follows him and the practice willingly without thinking of other options for themselves.

While I feel polygamy and its practices are backed by Belloc’s definition of heresy, I feel it most identifies with Wilhelm’s definition and explanations. Firstly, Wilhelm defines heresy in religious terms and polygamy does have a religious origin. As mentioned before, the practice began underneath the Mormon religion. So, now that the practice has been denounced, the act of polygamy is heresy against the Mormon Church. Wilhelm describes how St. Thomas defines heresy as “a species of infidelity in men who, having professed the faith of Christ, corrupt its dogmas.” I feel the idea of polygamy follows this definition. For, while Warren Jeffs and his followers of polygamy reject the idea of one marriage, they still retain their faith in Christ. Having seen a piece on TV about one of Jeffs’ followers, I believe they are some of the most religious individuals around by putting God above everything else in life thus enforcing the idea that a portion of a religion can be rejected while the religion as a whole is not. Wilhelm states as Belloc did, that the strength of a heresy grows with the influence of an acknowledged leader. For polygamy, that current acknowledged leader is Jeffs. His influence on his church congregation allows the practice to grow in numerous people of all ages and races. Even though he has now been arrested for his practices, his ideas are planted firmly in people’s minds. His community has now been infected and therefore the heresy of polygamy is persistent and thriving.

Polygamy and its leader Warren Jeffs fit both Belloc and Wilhelm’s descriptions as a heresy lead by a heretic. While polygamy takes the principle of marriage and substitutes the idea of monogamy with plurality, Warren Jeffs takes this principle to the next level and attempts to justify the actions through the old yet extinct teachings of the Mormon religion. With Jeffs as the leader of this Mormon pro-polygamist sect, polygamy and its practices are allowed to survive and grow making his followers believe polygamy is the way to a successful life in the present day and an honorable life in the afterlife.

*Polygamy FAQ (www.absalom.com/mormon/polygamy/faq/htm) is a website I used to obtain background information on the origin of polygamy that I did not know as common knowledge.

Heresy has been an aspect of societies for all of human history. There are modern heretics even today. According to the criteria describing a heresy given by Hilaire Belloc and J. Wilhelm, Peter H. Duesberg is a modern day heretic in the field of biology. Duesberg’s theory concerning Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and its relationship to Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS) is a topic not recognized or accepted by the biological community.

Hilaire Belloc states two characteristics that define a heresy. A heresy, as defined by Belloc, is “the dislocation of some complete and self-supporting scheme by the introduction of a novel denial of some essential part therein” (Belloc 1). Additionally, there must be an alternative suggestion for the element that is being denied. Deusberg claims HIV is not the cause of AIDS. This idea goes against the common belief held by the scientific community. Human immunodeficiency virus has always been thought to be associated with the onset of AIDS. Duesberg says this relationship is simply a correlation, not causation. If Duesberg’s theory was unable to be disproved, the scientific community would have to shift their entire idea and treatment of HIV. Following Belloc’s criteria for a heresy, Duesberg’s research offers an alternative explanation to substitute for the long held biological beliefs. His research suggests that AIDS is caused by several things including, recreational drug use, malnutrition, and bad drinking water.

Wilhelm explains that a heretic must be punished by the society whose doctrine they are breaking apart. While J. Wilhelm’s criteria are based mostly on religious aspects, Duesberg still fits Wilhelm’s idea of a heretic. Duesberg is being punished for his novel ideas in ways unique to biological researchers. His grant money for his research is being restricted and his reputation as a brilliant scientist is being tarnished because people believe his ideas are highly unlikely. However, there are aspects of Wilhelm’s criteria, where Duesberg does not qualify as a true heretic. In keeping with Wilhelm’s ideas of heresy, there must be a religious aspect where the heretic speaks against the churches doctrine in some way. The nature of HIV/AIDS research is not part of the religious realm but it part of the scientific realm.

Peter H. Duesberg is considered a modern heretic based on the criteria presented by Hilaire Belloc and most of the criteria presented by J. Wilhelm. Duesberg is going against an already established doctrine by arguing key aspects of the system and replacing those key aspects with his own ideas.

Gonzo journalism was created in the 1970s by a very imaginative reporter Hunter S. Thompson. Thompson was a bit of a revolutionary as well as a heretic of his age. He began his life of writing publishing a sports article for an Elgin air force base paper while he was stationed there. Ultimately, this began the great writing career of Dr. Gonzo. Some years later, when he had built up more recognition, Thompson was commissioned by many magazines to write stories following sports and later political trails. Among many of Thompson’s adventures were a few that helped him start his journalism heresy, such as: riding with the Hell’s Angels for one year, preceding a campaign for mayor of a small town in Colorado. The pitch for his campaign for governor included flying his “freak flag” much like Kinky Freidman in Austin today. This traveling is where Gonzo journalism came into effect.