Party of the Pharisees [View all]
Matthew 21:12
12 Jesus entered the temple courts and drove out all who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves. 13 “It is written,” he said to them, “‘My house will be called a house of prayer,’[a] but you are making it ‘a den of robbers.’”
Matthew 22:35
Then one of them, which was a lawyer, asked him a question, tempting him, and saying,
36 Master, which is the great commandment in the law?
37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
38 This is the first and great commandment.
39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.
40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.
Matthew 23:2-9
"The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses' seat; so practice and observe whatever they tell you, but not what they do; for they preach, but do not practice. They bind heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on men's shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with their finger. They do all their deeds to be seen by men; for they make their phylacteries broad and their fringes long, and they love the place of honor at feasts and the best seats in the synagogues, and salutations in the market places, and being called rabbi by men. But you are not to be called rabbi, for you have one teacher, and you are all brethren. And call no man your father on earth, for you have one Father, who is in heaven."
Matthew 23:13
"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."
Matthew 23:23-24
"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. You blind guides, straining out a gnat and swallowing a camel!"
Conservatives believe in a “strict” interpretation of the law (unless of course the law does not support conservative principles). In the time of Jesus, the Pharisees believed in the strict interpretation of the Bible. They were Jesus’s antagonists and ultimately his murderers. Jesus had a message of hope. One of salvation and love. The Pharisees opposed this notion insisting salvation only through strict adherence to the Bible and their perverted interpretation of the Bible.
You can go to heaven if you have no sin. In my belief, Jesus understood that we are all sinners and therefore without something to mitigate this state of condition, none of us can attain salvation. He was challenged by the Pharisees on this liberal interpretation of the law which was and is the basic tenant of Christianity. He was accused by them of trying to abolish the law. Jesus responded.
Matthew 5:17-20
"Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. Anyone who breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven."
Surpassing the righteousness of the Pharisees was then and now an impossbie task. What then? What mitigates our condemnation? For Christians it is the grace of Jesus. "For he who believeth in me shall not perish".
The one thing that all Republicans and Democrats have in common is that they are all sinners condemned to damnation and hell. There is no sense in discussing which party has more sin. Both parties are equally condemned as are all. Even the independents.
What is the difference is the way the two parties respond to the grace of Jesus. One by embarrassing the philosophy of the Pharisees, with a strict interpretation of the Bible as if salvation is possible without grace. The other, by taking to heart the basic tenants of loving thy neighbor as thyself. Love not hate. Forgiveness not condemnation, not judging not that they shall be judged. You draw your own opinion.
My opinion is that people do not have to be a Christian, but if you are Christian you cannot oppose welfare. You cannot oppose universal health care and be a Christian. You cannot support the death penalty and be a Christian. And on and on
I am going to sin here. I am going to judge. Republicans are the party of the Pharisees. I am saying therefore that it is impossible to be a Christian and a Republican. May God forgive me for my judging. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
Following the teachings of ones faith but not to the detriment of other religions and beliefs is a Democratic Principle.
