PHARISEES AMONG US: Why we must always be vigilant about our "holier than thou" attitudes

It's with some trepidation that I write this, as I don't want to be accused of judging anyone unfairly. But I also feel the need to speak up when I see someone using the platform of Christianity to launch attacks that are not very Christ-like in nature. What follows is a perfect example, and I feel it should be exposed.

Much has been made of the hateful “Letter from 2012 in Obama's America" recently posted on the “Focus on the Family” website of Dr. James Dobson. The thrust of this fictional letter, aside from its mean-spirited attack against a Christian by a man who claims to be a Christian, is the notion that Christianity itself is under attack. But is it really Christianity that's under attack, or is it a warped and twisted version of it that's suffering the slings and arrows of an angry public that's simply fed up with glaring hypocrisy?

One of the most worrisome things I see in modern America is the trend by some evangelical groups (such as Focus on the Family) to constantly complain about "attacks on Christianity."

I'm a Christian who happens to disagree with the claim of Christianity being under attack. The only thing I see under attack is cultural Christianity (institutionalized, compromised Christianity), but nowhere have I seen the real message of Christ coming under attack.

And that's the problem...so much of what passes as "mainstream Christianity" in this country barely resembles the true message of Christ. One of the reasons non-believers (and quite a few Christians) are so adamantly opposed to people like Dobson is that the thrust of his message bears little resemblance to a message that preaches "loving one another as God loves us, treating your neighbor as you wish to be treated, forgiving so that you may be forgiven, and showing mercy so that you may be shown mercy." Please show me in Dobson's message where this message of Christ is in play. It's nowhere to be found. So it's not really Christianity that's under attack, it's a horribly twisted corruption of it that's under attack....and well it should be.

One thing that's always surprised me is that even non-believers tend to know what Christ stood for and what He preached...and when they don't see so-called Christians living up to those standards themselves, they have every right to cry foul. One of the most instructive passages in the New Testament is Christ's admonition to not point out someone else's sin while ignoring your own. To wag our fingers while ignoring our own transgressions is a demonstration of spiritual blindness, not enlightenment.

I do agree with the point of Dobson's work, but disagree with how he attacks the issue. There is a definite collapse of the family and its function, and it's something we should all work to preserve, believers of otherwise. But Dobson ignores the real issue of the collapse of marriage and family values. According to a recent Barna Group poll, evangelical Christians have one of the highest divorce rates in the country (25%), and that's a sin that Christ actually spoke about in detail, while never mentioning homosexuality. Yet Dobson and his gang quietly downplay this glaring "sin" of divorce since it applies to millions of heterosexual couples, and instead attack homosexuals as a prime reason for the breakdown of traditional marriage and family values. What hypocrisy! This hypocrisy becomes even more evident when you consider that his own son recently divorced. Where was the outrage from Focus on the Family? This anger with Dobson and his tactics has led many local Colorado residents (FOTF is located in Colorado) to place bumper stickers on their cars that read: "Focus on your own Family!"

Until so-called Christians start living like Christians and actually following Christ's commandments delivered in the New Testament, I think we'll continue to see these groups complain about "attacks on Christianity." But as long as they cling to Old Testament legalism to compare themselves to others (something Christ condemned the Pharisees for), I doubt anything will change. I think some people find it much more convenient to see themselves as suffering martyrs, while burying their heads in the sand and refusing to see the extent of their own hypocrisy. Christ's message was one of gathering us all to Him through endless, unconditional Love, a love that never quits. I see quite the opposite happening within many so-called Christian groups. These groups should be in our prayers, as we pray that the Lord will expose our own hypocrisies to us as well.