Masters of Hypocrisy.

Vic Biorseth, Monday, July 04, 2011
http://www.Thinking-Catholic-Strategic-Center.com

“Look at those hypocrites!” say the masters of hypocrisy. The real masters of hypocrisy are the ones painting everyone else as hypocrites.

Hypocrisy may be among the easiest charges any American can let fly at another, and get away with it, even when the charge is untrue. For many, hypocrisy has become the replacement red-letter for sin. It is deemed, in many circles, that actual sin is less sinful than the supposed “hypocrisy” of those who condemn sin, and yet still sin. If you look around you will see that this is true on many levels, and that quite frequently the person who calls someone else, or some other group hypocritical is frequently a fairly serious sinner of some sort, but who seeks to gain a higher, elitist, arrogant and condescending position over whomever he is calling hypocritical.

Regular church goers, for instance, are considered by some non-church goers to be hypocrites, because they go to church regularly, and yet their human imperfections remain visible to their accusers. “At least I don’t pretend to be a good Christian” say this level of the masters of hypocrisy. Another way of saying that same sentence is “I am not a good Christian, and the ones who go to church are not much better.” Who’s the real hypocrite here? Would it not be more honest to simply say “I am no Christian and I ignore Christian rules of conduct.?” But, you see, it sounds better, and it feels better, to lower others in the estimation of the world, and thus raise yourself in the estimation of the world.

At another level, among the newer Protestant “denominations” of Christianity are those that like to call themselves non-denominational. Some Christians even go so far as to loudly proclaim themselves to be ”non-church affiliated,” as if that were a good thing to be. What it actually means is that these “Christians” are not going to be bound by any rules established by any church, and therefore, they can make up their own moral code of conduct. Or, even worse, each “member” makes up his own personal morality. It’s very easy to live within the rules when you are the one who makes them up.

Let’s look at who Jesus referred to as hypocrites.

[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.
[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.
[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.
[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.
[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.
[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.
[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.
[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.'" -- Matthew 23

Hard words. Our Lord was a Jew, and He was a Pharisee, so why was He being so hard on His own chosen people? There were multiple socio-political, philosophical and theological divisions among Jews at that time; the two most significant antagonistic Parties being the Pharisees and the Sadducees. The main differences between them were that the Sadducees were wealthier, more elitist and literalist, and the Pharisees were more common, less literal and more Rabbinic. A major theological difference involved Pharisaic belief in life after death and the need for prayer for the dead, notions rejected by the Sadducees, who believed that this life was the only life there was.

The scribes and the Pharisees had made themselves into an elite class and gradually fell prey to the temptation of serving self-interest before serving God, and others. It’s all about worldly power. Remember the Two Great Commandments: Love of God, and love of neighbor. Love of self comes last, not first, and not even second. A common set of moral rules is what makes a peaceful community. The lack of a common set of moral rules is what makes distrust, disorder and the destruction of community. When each person becomes his own rule-maker, self-interest takes over.

To err is human; to sin is also human. But we are called to try to not sin. The only way to do that is to recognize a common definition of sin in the first place. Self-interest, or every-man-for-himself morality, is not the way to do that. Here’s another pertinent quote:

A morality based on self-interest denies itself. It simply does not exist.
Atheistic morality is based on self-interest. When we act altruistically, we enhance our chances to survive and reproduce. When we pursue the interest of others, we actually operate for our long-term benefit. But why do we actually act against the interest of others? Why are we bad? For the same reason: self-interest. If self-interest explains morality, at the same time it justifies immorality. A morality base on self-interest denies itself. It simply does not exist.
(Taken from The Amorality of Atheism FaceBook page.)

So a self-interested morality is a short-term, purely survival-mode guide for an individual. But man is a social animal, and if he wants a better long-term morality for something more than temporary survival, then he needs a non-self-centered set of rules of conduct, if he wants to ever get out of survival mode and prosper. And this is just discussing the worldly necessity for rules that originate outside of ourselves. There is still the immortal soul to consider.

What about God?

Look at history for the story of what happened whenever Western man abandoned God and His law, and what the consequences were. What is often most irksome to me is how many detractors of Christianity refer to how Christianity, or, Christian Society, committed the many atrocities of the 20th century. But the perpetrators were not Christians; they were Marxists, and atheists. They rejected Jesus Christ, and God, and religion in general. Mussolini. Hitler. Stalin. These were certainly among the greatest mass-murderers and brutal conquerors in all of history. They were no Christians, they were atheists; - they rejected Christianity and turned away from it. And we can still see the results.

Is it time for you to come back to church, or are you perfect? Maybe all those church-goers aren’t perfect, but then, maybe they go to church regularly in the effort to become more perfect. In becoming more perfect, maybe they help our culture to become more perfect. Where are you in all of this? How do you view the rest of us? And, most importantly –

… what about God?

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