It is easy to be misguided into thinking that perfidiousness is a Christian duty. Opposition to evil can be counterproductive, causing smart people to do dumb things. When we focus on heresy, it is possible for us to be so obsessed that our vision becomes blurred and we shoot our own people. Eugene Field in his classic, The Duel , talks about the gingham dog and the calico cat that got into a family spat. The air was littered an hour or so with bits of gingham and calico . . .
Conviction can cause consumption.
If we do not know under whose colors we march, we bloody the field with our own. During World War II, I saw American artillery kill Americans. In the battle of Armageddon, I see soldiers of the cross slay other warriors for truth. We must know who the enemy is and direct our fire into his camp. It is easy for us to become confused about the difference between who says something and what is being said.