Judging the Pharisee and "I'm a Christian, but..."

Today I wanted to reflect on a viral video I saw and my favorite parable.



Gospel Judo:

The parable is the story of the Tax Collector and the Pharisee.  It is short, but cuts deep.  Here 'tis:

He told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and regarded others with contempt: 

“Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.   

The Pharisee, standing by himself, was praying thus, ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people: thieves, rogues, adulterers, or even like this tax collector.  I fast twice a week; I give a tenth of all my income.’ 

But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even look up to heaven, but was beating his breast and saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’  

I tell you, this man went down to his home justified rather than the other; for all who exalt themselves will be humbled, but all who humble themselves will be exalted.”  - Luke 18:9-14

Now, the point of this parable is clear.  Those who glory in their own righteousness - forgetting that they too are in desperate need of mercy - will not be considered righteous on the day of judgment.

On the other hand, even the most lowly and despised sinner who approaches God with a contrite heart – knowing of his desperate need for that mercy - will receive it and be justified.

What I love about this parable most of all is the mind-game it plays with you, the reader.  Because the instant you are done reading this parable you think to yourself:

“Thank God I’m not like that damned Pharisee.”

Then you think a moment longer…

“Wait…. Aww shoot.”

The instant you look down your nose at the self-righteous Pharisee, you become the self-righteous Pharisee.


I’m a Christian, but…

Onto the viral video.  Here tis’:




Alright, the good motivation of the video is worth pointing out.  The people involved want to cast aside certain stereotypes of Christians and make the point that Christianity is something you can consider no matter what your starting point is.  If Saint Paul could go from killing Christians to being one, then anybody can make the transition.

It then stresses the importance of not judging all Christians by your bad experiences, to recognize the group diversity within Christianity, and a few other things.  Good stuff.

But the message becomes problematic when you get below the surface.  I want to look at two reasons why.


Stereotypes Reinforced:

Imagine I said to you:

"I'm an Irishman, but I'm not a drunk".
“I’m from Indiana, but I can speak with proper grammar.”
“I’m from the USA, but I’m not overweight.”
“I like video games, but I’m not anti-social.”
“I’m a political conservative, but I don’t despise the poor.”

What would you take away from those assertions?  Well, in each case you would hear me claiming to be an exception to a stereotype.  I wouldn’t be challenging the validity of the stereotype.  Quite the opposite… I’d just be saying it doesn’t apply to me.

So when the people in the video say they are a Christians but not ignorant, judgmental, not anti-science, and so on…. they are reinforcing the very stereotypes they are supposedly trying to repel.  Each one of them is, in a sense, breathing accusations at her brother and sister Christians.


Thank God I’m Not Like That Damn Pharisee

The other problem is that this video falls into the temptation created by the parable I mentioned above.

The tenor of the film takes as valid the stereotype that your average Christian is mean, judgmental, unwelcoming, intolerant, anti-science, etc…. and asserts,

"BUT NOT US!!!  WE ARE DIFFERENT!!!"

In other words:

“Thank God I’m not like those damn judgmental, uneducated Christians.”

The thing they end up advertising is not Jesus or our need for salvation.  (Both of which go totally unmentioned!)  Rather, the subject matter seems to but themselves and how great they are.  Was the irony lost on them?


Judge Not:

The temptation to spiritual pride is a subtle and pernicious thing.  Someone could look at this very blogpost and say I’m doing the same thing to the folks in this video.

And perhaps I am.  It is exceedingly difficult to say, “This person has the wrong attitude” without that judgement spilling over onto the person.

I always try to keep in mind what Paul said to the Philippians:

“Do nothing from selfishness or conceit, but in humility count others better than yourselves.” – Philippians 2:3

Whenever it is tempting to cast judgement or assume bad motivations on behalf of another person, it is important to remember our own faults first.  Then it is easier recall that we cannot judge the tax collector OR the Pharisee.

The only person I should try to be holier than… is who I was yesterday.