self-righteousness

Who Do You Critique Loudest

Who Do You Critique Loudest

What comes to mind when you think of a Pharisee? A self-righteous finger-wagger? An arrogant rule follower?

Jesus was a Pharisee.

There were two major Jewish groups during Jesus’ time: the Pharisees and the Sadducees (a smaller number of Jews were part of the Essenes, a separatist group). The Pharisees and Sadducees both emerged after the Hasmonean dynasty (The Jewish rulers who gained independence after the Maccabean revolt (167-160 BC) were known as the Hasmoneans).

The Sadducees controlled the Temple and had political favor with the Romans. They accepted only the Torah (the first five books of the Bible) and rejected oral tradition.

This Week's Recommendations

This Week's Recommendations

1.     How Our Culture Justifies its Sexual Freedom: Michael Kruger engages the compelling argument progressives make to push sexual freedom further and further down the line. Ironically, that argument often goes something like this, "'We should care more about love and less about sex.' Of all the postmodern cliches that abound, this one may be the most common.  And it’s quite effective, rhetorically speaking. After all, it tells people what they already want to hear.  They want to hear that they have all the sexual freedom they desire and, at the same time, that they are good people who are just about “love.” It allows a person to keep their questionable behavior and congratulate themselves on their own moral superiority–at the same time."

2.     Pharisees, Tax Collectors, and the Politics of Self-Righteousness: Duke Kwon says that while many have considered the issue of anger in the public square, there is a problem upstream to anger: "It’s what ties political rage to what’s right and “just plain wrong.” It’s what establishes the perceived “worthiness” of one’s indignation, transforming anger into a political virtue. I’m referring to self-righteousness. Allow me to wonder aloud: Have American Christians succumbed to a politics of self-righteousness?"

3.     You Become What You Trust: Insightful post on the impact of idolatry from Brianna Lambert. She warns us, " The idols we create are blind, deaf, and mute, and if we continue serving them, we’ll eventually become the same. If left undisturbed and ignored, we may begin to lose our own sight, become deaf to others, and render our speech useless to the surrounding world."

4.     National History Museum Photographer of the Year: What's particularly fun about this contest are the different age categories. It's fun to see the great photos young photographers are capturing.

5.     When you Crave Chic-Fil-A on Sunday: Ha! Enjoy!