Kevin of the Vineyard

Into the vortex of the morality and political conviction issue: While it is now popular for Republican Party operatives and associates to declare that their values represent what may be considered the true Christian values of American society, consider the fact that In his Sermon on the Mount, it seems that Jesus made a direct reference to the kind of public declaration now being asserted by the religious right. When asked what he thought about the laws (traditions) of the most influential sects in his culture, this was his response: "Do not think I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not co me to abolish but to fulfill...for I say to you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven." In his own succinct manner, Jesus implied that in the eyes of the public, the righteousness of the most right seemed superior, but in his eyes (one who comprehended deeper motives and truth) such superior righteousness did not merit the approval it sought to influence and obtain. "Leaven may leaven the entire lump, but beware the leaven of Pharisees," he concluded, and so should a discerning progressive Christian.