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{"id":7203,"date":"2011-02-05T20:54:22","date_gmt":"2011-02-06T00:54:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nakedpastor.com\/?p=7203"},"modified":"2011-02-05T20:54:22","modified_gmt":"2011-02-06T00:54:22","slug":"the-hypocrisy-of-religion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/nakedpastor\/2011\/02\/the-hypocrisy-of-religion\/","title":{"rendered":"the hypocrisy of religion"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

This is why: Generally speaking, religious* people want to be good. When they inevitably disappoint themselves, then the default response is to deny it, ignore it, or conceal it. Hypocrisy is almost never intentional. It is a defense mechanism to protect oneself against the accusation. The indictment is above all to be avoided. Of course this happens across the board in every sector of society. But this impulse is stronger in religious contexts because being good is precisely the project of religion.<\/p>\n

Although at times he seemed to, Jesus didn\u2019t challenge the system directly. He went for the heart. He challenged our hypocrisy by pointing out how our actions do not line up with our words. This exposes the pretense of religion.<\/p>\n

*When I write \u201creligious\u201d, I do not necessarily use this term pejoratively.<\/p>\n

<\/a> $\"\"$ <\/a><\/p>\n

I\u2019m offering my services for pastoral counseling, spiritual direction, dream work, etc\u2026 Email me and we can arrange it:<\/span><\/strong> haywardart at<\/strong> gmail dot<\/strong> com (read more\u2026<\/a>)<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"