Homodoxuals are attracted to those of the same theological orientation.  They tend to believe that their version of orthodoxy is the only true expression of religion, and that all other faiths are inadequate at best or evil at worst.  Homodoxual Christians tend to take the Bible literally; few of them are bothered by contradictions or anachronisms in the scripture.

Heterodoxuals are attracted to people who practice religions other their own.  They practice their religion faithfully without assuming it to be the only path to God.  They find much to inform and enrich their faith from sources beyond it, and from other versions of Christianity.   They question traditional teachings of the church and are willing to live with uncertainty about doctrinal matters for the sake of the ongoing pursuit of truth.

Homodoxual and heterodoxual Christians share a devotion to their religious tradition.  Together, they follow Jesus in acts of compassion and service.  They have much in common, but there are points of conflict.   Heterodoxuals generally accept homodoxuals as fellow Christians, while homodoxuals often declare heterodoxuals to be outside the bounds of the faith.   Homodoxuals complain that heterodoxuals water down the religion by being too open to ideas and practices from outside it.   In turn, heterodoxuals find it strange when homodoxuals say they will be tormented in the afterlife if they interpret the Bible mythically and metaphorically rather than literally. 

How can these two expressions of Christianity sit side by side in the pews? 

Homodoxuals need to let God be the one to sort out who is “in” and who is “out” of the community of the saved, and learn to live with uncloseted, vocal heterodoxuals in their churches.  Let heterodoxuals be the iron against which they hone their evangelistic messages.  Let homodoxuals remember that if they are absolutely certain of the correctness of their beliefs, it should not be threatening to have some people among them who question those doctrines.

Heterodoxuals need to respect the fact that homodoxuals feel like a persecuted majority.  They may outnumber heterodoxuals in the church, but they still have an acute sense of being threatened by outside secular or religious forces.  Many homodoxuals have a powerful urge to circle their wagons in order to defend themselves and their children from corrosive alien ideas and practices.   So even as heterodoxuals keep raising questions and pressing for change in the church, they need to be gentle toward their homodoxual brothers and sisters, listening respectfully to their concerns.

Hopefully, this mutual respect will eliminate homodoxophobia and heterodoxophobia, and allow people of different understandings of our faith to enjoy the loving fellowship of the church together as full partners.