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Heretics & The Monopoly of Belief
Who decides what is true? And do you dare to challenge it?
Things are weird, people are weird. I was discussing this with a colleague and friend a couple of weeks ago when, after talking about someone else’s oddities, I added that I, too, wasn’t “that normal.” My colleague responded: “Yes. But he is more Kanye West weird; you are Hugh Grant.”
Note — not Hugh Grant weird, just you are Hugh Grant.
I still don’t fully understand the reference through the application of rationality, and yet, deep inside my should-have-been-a-Pom soul, I knew she was right.
I am, in fact, Hugh Grant. A mystery still remains: what is a Pom?
Do poms exist? Yes.
Does art? I mean, I think so.
Does God? Who the hell knows!? However, Hugh Grant will remain relevant for at least until the end of this essay. And why?
Because of Heretic (2024).
By definition, a heretic practices heresy, a term derived from the Greek hairesis, meaning “choice.” A heretic, then, is inherently someone who makes a choice; one that, in the modern sense, places them outside mainstream religious beliefs, particularly within Christianity.
As far as we know, the depiction of Gods and other mythological figures happened almost fifty thousand years ago. Consider the Lion Man, an ice-age masterpiece found in Germany that has been taken as evidence of religious beliefs predating writing.
Then writing has, of course, accelerated and imprinted historically many beliefs and superstitions. Famously the narratives and adventures of the Greek gods, partaking in all too human fun and drama up above the peak of Olympus. Together with beautiful pictures and sculptures across Asia, Africa, and (native) America, we have the poetically crafted texts of various traditions, some, still influencing people’s beliefs today.
The evolution and repetition of beliefs — something I’d attribute to our innate storytelling instincts — lie at the heart of Mr Reed’s…
