Some Strong Words from Jesus

In my last post, I suggested that it is no longer effective to attempt to engage in gentle conversations with the bigots who have become a prominent voice within Christendom (I use the term bigots intentionally, as I think the common definition is fitting; bigot: one who is strongly partial to one's own group, religion, race, or politics and is intolerant of those who differ).

A few well intended folks attempted to correct me, suggesting that dialogue and understanding is what Jesus would have us use to turn their hearts.

Maybe those folks are right. I'm not yet convinced, however. As one commenter pointed out, Jesus used different approaches for different situations. Here is one approach to ponder; Jesus' words from the 23rd chapter of Matthew;

But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you lock people out of the kingdom of heaven. For you do not go in yourselves, and when others are going in, you stop them.

Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you cross sea and land to make a single convert, and you make the new convert twice as much a child of hell as yourselves.

Woe to you, blind guides, who say, “Whoever swears by the sanctuary is bound by nothing, but whoever swears by the gold of the sanctuary is bound by the oath.”

You blind fools! For which is greater, the gold or the sanctuary that has made the gold sacred...

... Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint, dill, and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith. It is these you ought to have practiced without neglecting the others.

You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel!

Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and of the plate, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence.

You blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup, so that the outside also may become clean.

Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs, which on the outside look beautiful, but inside they are full of the bones of the dead and of all kinds of filth. So you also on the outside look righteous to others, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness...

...You snakes, you brood of vipers! How can you escape being sentenced to hell?

Sometimes, strong words and strong actions are called for. I believe this is one of those times.

J.