The Heart of the Pharisee V

Tobie

To those who have been waiting for the last two Heart of the Pharisee articles, my sincere apologies for not having posted them yet. I feel that they are in need of some editing, and so they will not appear here until that has been done. But I have drawn you a picture to compensate…

2 thoughts on “The Heart of the Pharisee V”

  1. Edith Sher's avatar Edith Sher May 2, 2020 / 11:01 am

    I doubt that the Pharisees wore the type of “uniforms” depicted in this caricature of Jewish stereotypes. I suspect you’re more judgmental than any Pharisee.

    Reply
    • Tobie's avatar Tobie May 2, 2020 / 1:42 pm

      Hi Edith. Thanks for the comment. The picture comes from a series of cartoons in a visual commentary on Romans, and are explained by the following quotes:

      1. “The fact that some of the Pharisees look quite ‘evil’ in our illustrations is because they are caricatured, not because they were exceptionally vile specimens of religiosity.”

      2. “In fact, they appear to have been regular ‘nice guys.’ According to the Jewish historian Josephus, the Pharisees were friendly to one another and lived in harmony with the community, were lenient in matters of punishments, enjoyed the support of the masses (unlike the Sadducees who were supported only by the wealthy), lived and ate simply, were reasonable and paid respect to the elderly. (Flavius Josephus and William Whiston, The Works of Josephus: Complete and Unabridged (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson).

      And yes, you are right. We don’t know exactly how they dressed. We know they were Jews, hence the recognisable Jewish dress.

      I apologise if you experience the picture as judgmental. That was not the intention. The actual chapter in which these pictures appear deals with dead “religiosity” as a substitute for the vibrant faith proclaimed in both testaments of the Bible – and the Pharisees of Jesus’ time serves as a metaphor thereof. (If you see the picture of the “white, American Presbyterian” in the commentary you will see that all religious efforts outside of Christ get the same treatment.)

      I recognise the Jewishness of the Bible and I appreciate the work that people like you do amongst the Jews. But I do not believe that unbelieving Jews will receive any preferential treatment on the Day of Judgment. I also believe that the Hebrew Roots Movement is one of the most misguided religious manifestations of the past few decades. As a result, I see no difference between the religiosity of the Pharisee who rejects Christ and the religiosity of any other unregenerate religious being on the planet.

      Reply

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