from author Eric Shuster
SECTION
2: WHAT IS A CHRISTIAN?—A Definition
Chapter
8: It’s Complicated According to the
Critics
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.
Where are the
Christians? The Unrealized Potential of a Divided Religion
by Eric Shuster
Coming May 2013!
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