Unfair Burdens
So I've been threatening this step for a while now…me and my Bible studies. Here's something you need to know before you read further. I am not a believer and haven't been for decades. I have 15+ years of religious schooling, including a college minor in religion. Add to that decades of teaching church Bible study classes, working for the SDA church both as a staff and freelance media producer and consultant. And, finally, thousands of hours reading and studying trying to wrap my head around the whole denominational approach to creating fear while pointing to a life of ease and lack of suffering in some distant time…if I didn't screw it all up. That transition from true believer to agnostic was not easy. It included the loss of many of my friends and the disappointment of my family, but that's another story.
Since I left my church culture, it has become clear to me that many self-proclaimed Christians seem to have never read the Bible. Their political and cultural viewpoints often collide, sometimes violently with, what seems to me, very clear Bible teachings. I intend, not too gently, to point out these crashpoints. I have little hope of changing anybody's point of view. I'm just tired of sitting quietly, watching the world be inundated with hypocrisy and ignorance. I have dear friends who have worked and prayed their whole lives to live up to the Christian ethic described, especially, in the New Testament, and are wonderful dear people who may find my thoughts very much in alignment with how they live their lives.
These wonderful people tend to hold themselves to a very high standard and still offer love, comfort and acceptance to others on a different path. They take the Bible, especially the teachings of Jesus, very seriously. I'm hoping my ranting will let them know that I often hold the same beliefs, not because of God who demands it but because, I've discovered these belief are practiced widely, they make my life and lives of others in my world less painful and even joyful. It gives me a great sense of peace and joy when I see these remarkable teachings play out in the lives of our fellow man. And I thank my truly Christian friends for their daily example of how this all works.
A couple of housekeeping items. I'm going to use biblegateway.com as a source for the Bible texts I use. They have multiple versions of the Bible and often have footnotes that update the meaning of some very old translations. Here we go.
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If ever there were a time where the world needs leaders who understand the following passage, it's now. We are now ruled by men and women who claim to be followers of Christ while not caring one wit about their fellow man. They claim to be virtuous and yet their public, let alone their private personal lives, show them to be, at best, lying cheats. They demand allegiance from others and then behave like the "heathens" they decry. Without apparent hesitation, these people, often the leaders of megachurches with tens of thousands of members, fleece their congregations to pay for their lavish lifestyle.
Others in the world of politics use the same religious tools of shame and fear to bolster their political power grabs. Using religion bound with a vicious strain of jingoism, they use their "us vs them" worldview to oppress and dehumanize anyone who, even inadvertently, slows their accumulation of power.
This passage is the first half of the sermon where Jesus makes it astonishingly clear he wants from his followers. Oh, and by the way, it has nothing to do with accumulation of wealth and power. Enjoy!
Revised Standard Version
Jesus Denounces Scribes and Pharisees
1 Then said Jesus to the crowds and to his disciples, 2 “The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses’ seat; 3 so practice and observe whatever they tell you, but not what they do; for they preach, but do not practice. 4 They bind heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on men’s shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with their finger. (Italics mine. See the title of this post.) 5 They do all their deeds to be seen by men; for they make their phylacteries broad and their fringes long, 6 and they love the place of honor at feasts and the best seats in the synagogues, 7 and salutations in the market places, and being called rabbi by men. 8 But you are not to be called rabbi, for you have one teacher, and you are all brethren. 9 And call no man your father on earth, for you have one Father, who is in heaven. 10 Neither be called masters, for you have one master, the Christ. 11 He who is greatest among you shall be your servant; 12 whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted. (I think we have some politicians who could use this advice. Humility seems to be held in low esteem by many of our macho "influencers." Believe me, this won't be the last time humility comes up in the series of posts.)
13 “But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because you shut the kingdom of heaven against men; for you neither enter yourselves, nor allow those who would enter to go in. 15 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you traverse sea and land to make a single proselyte, and when he becomes a proselyte, you make him twice as much a child of hell as yourselves. (My italics)
16 “Woe to you, blind guides, who say, ‘If any one swears by the temple, it is nothing; but if any one swears by the gold of the temple, he is bound by his oath.’ 17 You blind fools! For which is greater, the gold or the temple that has made the gold sacred? 18 And you say, ‘If any one swears by the altar, it is nothing; but if any one swears by the gift that is on the altar, he is bound by his oath.’ 19 You blind men! For which is greater, the gift or the altar that makes the gift sacred? 20 So 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 him who dwells in it; 22 and he who swears by heaven, swears by the throne of God and by him who sits upon it. (Jesus doesn't seem to be much impressed with those who revere gold.)
23 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you tithe mint and dill and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law, justice and mercy and faith; these you ought to have done, without neglecting the others. 24 You blind guides, straining out a gnat and swallowing a camel!
25 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you cleanse the outside of the cup and of the plate, but inside they are full of extortion and rapacity. 26 You blind Pharisee! First cleanse the inside of the cup and of the plate, that the outside also may be clean. (Can we install a dishwasher in the White House?)
27 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you are like whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within they are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness. 28 So you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but within you are full of hypocrisy and iniquity. (Any ambiguity there?)
29 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the monuments of the righteous, 30 saying, ‘If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we would not have taken part with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’ 31 Thus you witness against yourselves, that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets. 32 Fill up, then, the measure of your fathers. 33 You serpents, you brood of vipers, how are you to escape being sentenced to hell? 34 Therefore I send you prophets and wise men and scribes, some of whom you will kill and crucify, and some you will scourge in your synagogues and persecute from town to town, 35 that upon you may come all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of innocent Abel to the blood of Zechari′ah the son of Barachi′ah, whom you murdered between the sanctuary and the altar. 36 Truly, I say to you, all this will come upon this generation. (Yoiks! No minced words here!)
The Lament over Jerusalem
37 “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, killing the prophets and stoning those who are sent to you! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you would not! 38 Behold, your house is forsaken and desolate. 39 For I tell you, you will not see me again, until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.’”
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Ok, that kinda takes the breath away. There's not much to say after that!
I think maybe a GoFundMe fund could be set up to have these paragraphs etched in marble and posted in some of the megachurches and in the halls of government.
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