@DuLu Said
[More on shoehorning and/or hypocritical religious leaders:
Matthew 23:13-36
13)"Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites!
You shut the kingdom of heaven in men's faces.
14) You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let those enter who are trying to.
15) Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to win a single convert, and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as you are.
15) Woe to you, blind guides! You say, 'If anyone swears by the temple, it means nothing;
16) but if anyone swears by the gold of the temple, he is bound by his oath.'
17) You blind fools! Which is greater: the gold, or the temple that makes the gold sacred?
18) You also say, 'If anyone swears by the altar, it means nothing; but if anyone swears by the gift on it, he is bound by his oath.
19) You blind men! Which is greater: the gift, or the altar that makes the gift sacred?
20) Therefore, he who swears by the altar swears by it and by everything on it.
21) And he who swears by the temple - swears by 'it' and by the one who dwells in it.
22) And he who swears by heaven swears by God's throne and by the one who sits on it.
23) Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices (mint, dill and cummin). But you have neglected the more important matters of the law (justice, mercy and faithfulness). You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former.
24) You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel.
25) Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence.
26) Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean.
27) Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead men's bones and everything unclean.
28) In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous
-but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.
29) Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You build tombs for the prophets and decorate the graves of the righteous.
30) And you say 'If we had lived in the days of our forefathers, we would not have taken part with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.'
31) So you testify against yourselves that you are the descendants of those who murdered the prophets.
32) Fill up, then, the measure of the sin of your forefathers!
33) You snakes! You brood of vipers! How will you escape being condemned to hell?
34) Therefore, I am sending you prophets and wise men and teachers. Some of them you will kill and crucify; others you will flog in your synagogues and pursue from town to town.
35) And so upon you will come all the righteous blood that has been shed on earth, from the blood of the righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah (son of Berekiah) -whom you murdered between the temple and the altar.
36) I tell you the truth, all this will come upon this generation."
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--Being a religious leader in Jerusalem was very different from being a pastor in a secular society today. Israel's history, culture and daily life centered around its relationship with God. The religious leaders were the best known, most powerful, and most respected of all leaders. Jesus made these stinging accusations because the leaders' hunger for more power, money and status had made them lose sight of God, and their blindness was spreading to the whole nation.
--The Pharisee converts were attracted to Pharisaism, not to God. By getting caught up in the details of their additional laws and regulations, they completely missed God --to whom the laws pointed. A religion of deeds puts pressure on people to surpass others in what they know and do. Thus, a hypocritical teacher was likely to have students who were even more hypocritical. We must make sure we are not creating Pharisees by emphasizing outward obedience at the expense of inner renewal.
--It is possible to obey the details of the laws but still be disobedient in our general behavior. For example, we could be very precise and faithful about giving 10 percent of our money to God, but refuse to give one minute of our time in helping others. Tithing is important, but giving a tithe does not exempt us from fulfilling God's other directives.
--The Pharisees strained their water so they would not accidentally swallow a gnat --an unclean insect according to the law. Meticulous about the details of ceremonial cleanliness, they nevertheless had lost their perspective on inner purity. Ceremonially clean on the outside, yet they had corrupt hearts.
--Jesus condemned the Pharisees and religious leaders for outwardly appearing saintly and holy but inwardly remaining full of corruption and greed. Living our Christianity merely as a show for others is like washing a cup on the outside only. When we are clean on the inside, our cleanliness on the outside won't be a sham.
--These prophets, wise men, and teachers were probably leaders in the early church who were persecuted, scourged, and killed, as Jesus predicted. The people of Jesus' generation said they would not act as their fathers did in killing the prophets whom God had sent to them; but, they were about to kill the Messiah himself and his faithful followers. Thus, they would become guilty of all the righteous blood shed through the centuries.
--Jesus gives a brief history of of Old Testament martyrdom here.
Abel was the first martyr (Genesis 4).
Zechariah was the last mentioned in the Hebrew Bible, which ended with 2 Chronicles.
Zechariah is a classic example of a man of God ..who was killed ..by those who claimed to be God's people (see 2 Chronicles 24:20,2).
Actually, you make a number of good points, if somebody is really into the Bible in depth and wishes to analyse every nuance of its meaning, that is.
But.... and here's the rub.... do most people really
to find that much meaning in their religion..? For sure, some do. But I think most people have a more simplistic, workaday belief in God and just want to live good, honest lives which are meaningful in a way they can relate to.
For most people who believe in God, it's enough to know that Jesus was a decent man who set a number of good examples for his believers to follow, and did what he did for altruistic reasons. As for the Old Testament, I think that most people are prepared to leave that to the Hebrews who seem to be quite happy with the racist, murderous, homophobic, vain, arrogant, ethnic cleansing, genocidal maniac who calls them the chosen people.
Even when I had belief, which was when I was being terrified, browbeaten and brainwashed by nuns at my Roman Catholic primary school, I thought that my belief in God was my business. Yes, I read the Bible (even at the age of 10 I found it difficult to believe but didn't dare question it at school) and started to think about it. I thought that prayer was personal and private and was none of anybody elses business. I asked myself if I really needed a church. Me and God could get on just fine if I kept it between he and I.
I think most people are like that. They don't want to be battered over the head with the Bible. They can read. They can think. And when they have doubts, they can pray. If God's listening surely he'll answer their prayers and hey, wouldn't his reply be better than a priest's...? You can't do better than personal 1 2 1 communication with the man himself, can you..?
A person's religion should be, in my opinion, a simple relationship which doesn't need analysis of the minutiae of whatever holy book you subscribe to. Just read it and find your own truth.
Live with that and be happy.