The Twenty-First Century Pharisees Will Not Prevail

The new Pharisees, often wearing business attire and clothed with an exalted education, wield the sword of misguided legislation or use Courts as a weapon.

GLADE PARK, Colorado (Catholic Online) - As we read the Gospel, a growing tension between Jesus and those who oppose him becomes evident. There is that pointed question: "Why does this man speak this way?" which gives rise to the grave accusation: "He is blaspheming" (Mark 2:7).What begins as tension soon turns into open conflict; a battle between truth and falsehood, love and hate. Once, when Jesus entered the synagogue, there were men bearing mixed attitudes toward him. Also present was a man with a withered hand. Those who had set themselves against our Lord's teaching "watched him closely to see if he would cure" the man with the withered hand "on the Sabbath so that they might accuse him." Our Lord, "Looking around at them with anger and grieved at their hardness of heart," said to the man, "Stretch out your hand." The man did so, "and his hand was restored." With that, the Pharisees, "went out and immediately took counsel with the Herodians against him to put him to death." (cf. Mark 3:1-6). This conflict runs throughout the Gospel and culminates in the crucifixion of our Lord. But that is not the end of it.

A.D. 64: Ten of Rome's fourteen districts lay in charred ruins. The Emperor Nero, fearful of the rumor which held him to blame for starting the terrible fire, decided to direct attention away from himself toward the Christians, placing blame upon them for the fiery blaze. Many of the Roman people misunderstood the Christians; some feared them; some hated them. Nero set about killing them. The Roman historian Tacitus wrote: "First, then, the confessed members of the sect were arrested; next, on their disclosures, vast numbers were convicted, not so much on the count of arson as for hatred of the human race. And derision accompanied their end: they were covered with wild beasts' skins and torn to death by dogs; or they were fastened on crosses, and, when daylight failed, were burned to serve as lamps at night" (Tacitus, Annals XV: XLIV, 283-85).

Christians are well aware of the multitudes of martyrs who have died for the Faith; from the apostles to those whose lives have more recently been offered for God's glory in various parts of the world, the death toll continues. As with the Pharisees and Nero, there is no doubt still present in the world that magnitude of hate which strikes out with lethal force, intent on bringing death upon those who live for Christ. But there are others of a different sort who are rearing their heads in numbers far exceeding those of the Pharisees of the past. They do not openly crucify, nailing their victims upon crosses in broad daylight; they do not burn Christians as lamps in the night; nor do they cover their prey with wild beasts' skins that they be torn apart by dogs. Rather than bloody attacks, they prefer another approach.

The new Pharisees, often wearing business attire and clothed with an exalted education, wield the sword of misguided legislation or use Courts as a weapon. Though not as openly hostile, he is no less cunning. He is determined and focused. He is a propagandist, relying on misinformation and the power of the media. He incrementally chips away at the truth, attacking elements of the Faith with progressive steadiness and ill intent. Rather than feed Christians to the beasts, he crafts laws in order to silence them; rather than burn his opponents at the stake; he persecutes, marginalizes or even jails them for what is sometimes called "Ethnic Intimidation".

An example of this occurred on October 10, 2004. A taxpayer funded celebration of the homosexual lifestyle known as "OutFest" was taking place on the streets of Philadelphia. Eleven members of a group called Repent America were present to proclaim the Gospel. Their message was simple: homosexual sex acts are sinful; stop sinning, repent, and accept Jesus Christ. Homosexual activists harassed the Christians in a severe manner: they screamed obscenities, blew horns, and prevented the Christians' movement by using their large pink signs to obstruct. Even though they had acted respectfully and peaceably, the Christians were arrested, jailed for twenty-one hours, and charged with "Ethnic Intimidation" under Pennsylvania's hate crimes law. Five years later, on Saturday night, Oct. 10, 2009, at the Banquet of the "Human Rights Campaign", the Nation witnessed the public denial of the institution of marriage with words spoken in arrogant confidence by the President himself: "You will see a time in which we as a nation finally recognize relationships between two men or two women as just as real and admirable as relationships between a man and a woman." Welcome to the age of the Twenty-First century Pharisees.

In the first few centuries of the Catholic Church, Christ's enemies actually sought to kill Christians. The Twenty-First century Pharisees, however, seek to legislate or litigate in an effort to silence them. The intent is to empty the faith of its power to effect change, hollowing it out to the point that there is nothing left but a thin shell that they believe may be easily crushed. Rather than kill Christians, they intend to kill the influence of Christianity and remake the world into a faithless void. These modern opponents use modern methods of pen, ink, and internet. They bring suit against those who are lovers of the truth, those who stand in obedience to God's law- though it may mean the loss of career and friends. Twenty-First century Pharisees insist with adroit skill and specious reasoning that they are champions of "equality" and "human rights". They speak of "tolerance" and "fairness", while they cleverly set about attacking those who disagree with them, bringing forth charges of "discrimination" against Catholics and other Christians.

Enter Belmont Abbey College. This North Carolina institution is a Catholic college which stands for the truth that Jesus Christ taught, and still teaches, through His Body, the Church. It is an institution whose guiding principles are based upon the sound, timeless proclamations of the Catholic Church God himself willed should exist. Belmont Abbey will not be found among the dissent from truth so common in a faithless age. That is why Belmont Abbey is targeted by the Twenty-First century Pharisees. When a faculty member at Belmont Abbey discovered that abortion, contraception, and voluntary sterilization were covered by the college's health care policy, the administration immediately and properly removed them. After all, Belmont Abbey is a faithful Catholic College committed to the dignity of all human life. The Twenty-First century Pharisees viewed this as intolerable. They are opposed to truth in its fullness as taught by our mother, the Catholic Church. They prefer instead a diluted, corrupted version, emptied of its meaning, which can be molded to suit their needs. The result is an injurious product distilled from the relativism at odds with beauty and clarity, at odds with God himself.

A suit was brought against Belmont Abbey on the grounds that the denial of oral prescription contraceptives constitutes "discrimination" against women. As is the norm for the Twenty-First century Pharisees, "women's health" and "discrimination" are among the deceptive mantras so often sounded in their war on truth, driving nails, in a sense, through Christ's hands and feet, again and again. The Equal Opportunity Commission's Charlotte District Office issued a determination, on August 5, holding that the denial of prescription contraception drugs constitutes discrimination based on gender "because only females take oral prescription contraceptives." According to the Gaston Gazette, the Charlotte District Director added that "By denying coverage, men are not affected, only women." Thus, as is so common among the Twenty-First century Pharisees, the silent chant "let us destroy truth rather than assent to it" rings on, cloaked under long ago distorted terms and principles such as "women's health" and "discrimination".

In an attempt to shape the world into the disordered sphere that the Twenty-First century Pharisees desire, the true Christian religion is attacked by legislation, litigation, words and deeds aimed at stripping Christian truth and leaving behind a skeleton. We have seen how this attack has worked in stages, similar to war stratagems, where the enemy is defeated little by little, hill by hill, until he has lost his hold. Further, the battle is waged on young and old alike: the Twenty-First century Pharisees know well the power of influence. In 1962, as a result of a case styled Engel v. Vitale, prayer was "outlawed" in public schools; Bible reading was prohibited by court decision in the case Abington School District v. Schempp, in 1963; and, in 1980, the Ten Commandments were removed from school walls as a result of Stone v. Graham.

The Twenty-First century Pharisees kill the voiceless innocent through legalized abortion; they shout "population control!", devising all sorts of deeds to further their nefarious dreams; they experiment on the youngest, freezing them and dissecting them in a process they deceptively term as "research"; they wage war on the institution of marriage under the guise of "equality", elevating homosexual sex acts to the status of a "right", demanding that society fully embrace behavior which is clearly against the Natural Law and forbidden by God. These Pharisees are, in reality, set on remaking morality itself into something more to their liking. They seek to establish a "new global ethic".

These modern Pharisees, like those of past, talk as if they believe in God, enjoying quite readily the use of phrases which include "God" in their speeches, as if to imply they too are interested in following God's will and living under His commands. Yet, like the Pharisees of past, their actions speak more loudly. The new "global ethic" they seek to establish is not a world where God is an unknown word, but, rather, a world where God becomes merely a word of unknown meaning. They seek to replace the true Christian religion with the new pagan religions of relativism, secularism, subjectivism, and practical atheism.

On October 8, 2009, Archbishop Joseph Tlhagale of Johannesburg, South Africa noted the attack on Gospel values in his own country. He stated that moral and Gospel values are "threatened by the new global ethic." He said this ethic "aggressively seeks to persuade African governments and communities to accept new and different meanings of concepts of family, marriage and human sexuality." He went on to characterize this situation as "a second wave of colonization both subtle and ruthless at the same time." So it is. The Twenty-First century Pharisees indeed seek to re-colonize. Their attempted method of action is the ruthless, gradual slaying of the true Christian religion as they labor at destroying morals by legislating immorality. They seek to strip truth of truth, spreading falseness among a society who, to a large degree, often seems unconcerned. They have made a great deal of headway, and they know it. Therefore they feel empowered. Like a Bird of Prey whose talons are mere inches from its victim, palpable victory is just beyond their fingertips - so they think.

Yet, while the Twenty-First century Pharisees appear to be an unconquerable corruption, they will not prevail. While they will continue to inflict further damage on society, and a great deal will be lost, in the end, they will disappear as smoke on the wind. For they are set against God, the All-Powerful, All-Wise in their pitiful attempts to place themselves above Him as gods of themselves, society, and the world at large. What is set against God will always fall. There is a voice welling up, a voice whose heart is drawn from the heights itself; a voice of unbending strength and endurance. Such a voice is the devout Catholics around the world whose love of Truth runs to the depths of their souls, who will stand in God's strength; who will remain in the light as God's children, unafraid, unwavering, faithful, obedient, strong and purposeful.

They know that true happiness is found in the One who is Truth; that the path to the future passes through real Wisdom. They are lovers of the Way, the Truth, and the Life. These Catholics and other Christians will raise their hands to the heavens, placing their very lives in service of Truth. They may shout or they may pray in silent tears, but they will not turn, nor will they be silenced. They will stand. They will prevail. Should the sea itself pass above their heads, they will fear not, for they will remain in love with their Lord Jesus Christ. One day the Twenty-First century Pharisees will lose their apparent power; yet the Church will remain and continue on as a beacon of light set upon a hill. In the end, it is certain that the Catholic Church and the fullness of truth she proclaims to the world will prevail. In the end, the supernatural superpower whose lifeblood is Christ our Lord and Truth itself will be the victor; for the will of God cannot be undone.

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F. K. Bartels operates catholicpathways.com, and may be reached via email: bartels@catholicpathways.com. He is a contributing writer for Catholic Online.

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