Keller observes that ideas rejected by one generation may later become widely accepted. By contrasting “heresy” with “orthodoxy”, she points to the changing boundaries of accepted belief and the way intellectual or social conventions can shift over time.

The statement does not imply that every rejected idea will eventually prove correct. Rather, it cautions against assuming that present consensus is permanent or that dissent is necessarily mistaken simply because it challenges established opinion. Historical changes in religion, science, politics and social attitudes provide many examples of beliefs moving from the margins towards wider acceptance. The quote therefore concerns both knowledge and social judgement: what a community regards as reasonable, acceptable or authoritative can change as evidence, experience and cultural conditions develop.