The Heretic Hunters

Survivors of ecclesiastical warfare will recognize familiar character types, political strategies, and toxic scenarios in this story, all of which remind us that church people are as subject as anyone to the seduction of having control, acclaim, wealth, and the power to get rid of those with whom they disagree. Every church, and perhaps every institution and nation, has heretic hunters, and as this story discerns, the zealots among them generally prove themselves the most destructive heretics of all. The church's true and only treasure is the gospel of Jesus Christ, not patriarchy, rectitude, or even orthodoxy. Frederick NiednerSenior Research Professor in TheologyValparaiso UniversityAs a former politician, I witnessed firsthand how certain politicians used the word of Christ to justify inevitably un-Christian ideas and ideals. I wondered, ""How did those politicians get to such inaccurate dogma?"" Reading Peter Faur's The Heretic Hunters, I can now see how they got there. The Heretic Hunters is, as the subtitle reads, a parable for our time. At times heartbreaking, at times frustrating, The Heretic Hunters also shows that love can and will trump hate. A must-read for anyone trying to make sense of the times we are in. Lorenzo SierraFormer Arizona State RepresentativeAuthor, Fight Like Hell: Love, Politics, and the Will to Live The Heretic Hunters gets at the raw edge of faith-what happens when belief curdles into fear, when doctrine is turned into a weapon. But what stays is the quiet instinct of love and how it can still survive the noise of institutions obsessed with control. It's about what happens when a person must choose between trusting what they've been told is infallible and trusting what their inner self knows to be true. David MartinezAuthorBones Worth BreakingWhile the Christian community confesses that is the one, holy, catholic, and apostolic church, it has experienced numerous ecclesiastical conflicts and consequent interdenominational and intradenominational divisions. This fictional account is reminiscent of a major conflict within a North American Lutheran church body during the mid-twentieth century. The personalities of the main characters, the theological debates, the quest for ecclesiastical political power, the passion for what is perceived as truth, the diverse interpretations of Scripture, the family and communal dynamics, and the broken relationships that result from conflict are explored expertly, realistically, and believably in the storyline. The paradoxical nature of the church, whose members are simultaneously saints and sinners, thus becomes readily apparent. The novel will capture the attention of its readers and will remind them of the multifaceted and complex dynamic that is operative in human relationships within the church and beyond. Thus, the story actually serves as a ""parable"" for any time. Kurt K. HendelBernard, Fischer, Westberg Distinguished MinistryProfessor Emeritus of Reformation HistoryLutheran School of Theology at Chicago