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I must be evil because of my mistreatment of James Dobson in my
article, "Why Focus on the Family is of the
Devil." I must be evil -- many of those who
responded declared -- because I, as a fellow believer, had the gall to
attack a respected Christian organization and its leader. I must be evil
because Christ is of love, and by attacking Focus on the Family, I was not
showing love.
What many people forget, however, is that I am merely following
Christ's example. Christ was the one who first modeled anger toward self-
righteous religious leaders. Christ was the one who openly condemned the
very religious leaders that most people revered. Christ was the one who not
only condemned such leaders, but who used violence to remove religious
merchandising from a place of worship.
The proof of this is no further away than your nearest Bible. Take a
look.
In Matthew 23 Jesus, speaking before a large crowd, begins to
publicly denounce the religious leaders of his day:
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"The scribes and the Pharisees have seated themselves in the chair of
Moses....But they do all their deeds to be noticed by men....And they
love the place of honor at banquets, and the chief seats in the
synagogues, and respectful greetings in the market places, and being
called by men, Teacher. But do not be called Teacher; for One is your
Teacher, and you are all brothers. and do not call anyone on earth your
father, for One is your Father, He who is in heaven. And do not be
called leaders; for One is your Leader, that is, Christ. But the greatest
among you shall be your servant. And whomever exalts himself shall
be humbled, and whoever humbles himself shall be exalted."
- Matthew 23:2,5,6-12
Christ was arguing against religious leaders who set themselves up as
authorities over their followers. He argued against those who liked the
limelight of being considered an honored community leader as well. When
we watch James Dobson, we can see many of these same qualities.
Christ continues in his diatribe against the religious leaders of his day:
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"Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you travel
about on sea and land to make one convert....Woe to you, scribes and
Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cummin, and
have neglected the weightier provisions of the law: justice and mercy
and faithfulness, but these are the things you should have done without
neglecting the others. You blind guides, who strain out a gnat and
swallow a camel! Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For
you clean the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside they are full
of robbery and self-indulgence....Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees,
hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which on the outside
appear beautiful, but inside they are full of dead men's bones and all
uncleanness. Even so you too outwardly appear righteous to men, but
inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness."
- Matthew 23:15,23-25,27-28
Christ is arguing against religious leaders who appear righteous on the
outside, but who fail to extend the grace of God to others. Christ argues
against religious leaders who are more concerned about appearances than with truth. Consider the
following:
Finally, let's look at the violent reaction of Christ to the religious
merchandising of his day:
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"And He found in the temple those who were selling oxen and sheep
and doves, and the moneychangers seated. And He made a scourge of
cords, and drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and the
oxen; and He poured out the coins of the moneychangers, and
overturned their tables; and to those who were selling the doves He
said, `Take these things away; stop making My Father's house a house
of merchandise.'"
- John 2-14-16
Jesus was mad, fighting mad. He made himself a kind of whip and
began violently purging the temple of those using it to make money. You
would think verses as strong as this would make Christian merchants nervous
that they are making a buck from what God feels is holy. Sadly, though,
Christian products, trinkets, books, tapes, and jewelry are growing at a very
steady rate. And Focus on the Family is right in the middle of it, month after
month asking for "suggested donations" for all of its products.
So yes, I'm angry. I'm angry at a "ministry" whose leader proclaims
his opinions as the Gospel truth while enjoying the high life of being pals
with the nation's political leaders, sitting with them in reserved seats while
taking money from poor people who don't see him in his ritzy office writing
books that he merchandises deceptively as "suggested donations." I'm angry
that so many people blindly follow him, calling him "teacher," giving weight
to his political agendas. I'm angry, but, unlike what many readers have
proclaimed, it is not an anger of the devil. Rather, I have Christ, himself, as
my model. It is with this example that I proclaimed then as I do now that
"Focus on the Family is of the Devil."
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