Complicating matters in defining a
Christian is the existence of Modern-day
Pharisees—the “critics” among the Christian community. These critics are
nothing new. Jesus Christ during his public ministry was often confronted by
the Pharisees who challenged his authority and spiritual legitimacy.
The word Pharisee comes from the
Latin word pharisæus, meaning “set
apart.” The Pharisaical movement started around 140–37 BC, viewing themselves
as defenders of the Mosaic Law and the oral Torah as part of a society that was
devout, political, cultural, social, religious and educational. The Pharisees
in our modern era view themselves similarly falling into the same prototypes
leading to negative unintended consequences and complicating Christian matters
unnecessarily.
The New Testament reveals a model
of behaviors and attitudes among the Pharisees of Jesus’ time—the pharisaical pattern. This pattern can be
observed today among the Pharisees of our time including three major components: 1) pride and hypocrisy; 2) panic and
paranoia; and 3) contention and destruction. Modern-day Pharisees are oblivious
to their attitudes and actions believing they are the defenders of the true
gospel leaving a trail of division and contention among Christians in their
wake.
By studying the Pharisees of
Jesus’ time one can identify the same behaviors and attitudes in specific
individuals in the modern era. For example, Jesus proclaimed the Pharisees to
be hypocrites (or full of hypocrisy)—eight times in one continuous sermon as
recorded in the 23rd chapter of Matthew. In our day well known cases of such
pharisaical behavior can be found in TV Evangelist Jimmy Swaggart who globally
preached the gospel of Jesus Christ only to be caught having sex with
prostitutes in 1988 and again in 1991. There is Ted Haggard, former leader of
the National Association of Evangelicals who publicly mocked Catholics,
Mormons, and Jews and then admitted in 2006 to having sex with a male masseuse
and purchasing illegal drugs.
One of the dangers facing
Christians today is the reckless practice of spiritual profiling—judging
someone based solely upon their denominational choice or specific outward
behaviors. Shuster provides instructive examinations of America’s Founding
Fathers (e.g. Washington, Jefferson, etc.), historical and modern-day
individuals (Hitler, Jones, etc.), and even Biblical figures (David, Paul,
etc.) to demonstrate show outward appearances can completely derail the
accuracy of spiritual profiling.
Where are the Christians? offers an exercise that can be completed by the reader
which calculates the degree to which the participant exhibits the pharisaical
pattern—their tendency to be a Modern-day Pharisee (i.e. a Christian critic).
The exercise is fun, enlightening and can be completed online at www.findyourchristianity.com.
Knowing who the Christians are
historically from Section 1 and what a Christian is from Section 2, it is time
for the next leg of the journey to explore the core question of “’Where are the
Christians?” Although you may have your own answers to this thought provoking
question, you may be surprised to learn the details behind the answers provided
by the author.
Go to www.findyourchristianity.com to watch the book trailer, find
out what type of Christian you are, and to order the book
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