Pharisees.

The Religious Right is made up of Fundamentalists, Evangelicals, Pentecostalists, Orthodox Christians, and some elements of the Catholic and Anglican Churches.

In the story of Jesus the Religious Right is represented by the Pharisees.

And the Pharisees conspired with the dominant power - the Romans - which is now the Corporate Plutocrats - to kill Jesus.

So, far from representing God on earth, the Religious Right has conspired against God to establish their own position of power and privilege in the world.

This can be clearly seen in their attitude to authority.

The first thing they talk to you about is authority.

By which they mean their authority over you.

In the Bible it is the Pharisees who question Jesus about authority.

"'By what authority are you doing these things?  Who gave you this authority to do them?'"  Mark 11:28 (NRSV)

To which Jesus responds with a question: "'Did the baptism of John come from heaven, or was it of human origin?'"  Mark 11:30 (NRSV)

When they answered that they did not know Jesus refused to tell them by what authority he was acting.

So the issue of authority was central to the philosophy of the Pharisees because it was by this authority that they established their power and privilege on earth.

It is the same with the Religious Right. 


[Scripture quotations (marked NRSV) are taken from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A., and are used by permission.  All rights reserved.]

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