compass
sea and land to make one proselyte; and
when he is become so, ye make him twofold
more a son of hell than yourselves. .
. .
Woe
unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!
for ye tithe mint and anise and cummin,
and have left undone the weightier matters
of the law, justice, and mercy, and faith:
but these ye ought to have done, and not
to have left the other undone. Ye blind
guides, that strain out the gnat, and
swallow the camel!
Woe
unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!
for ye cleanse the outside of the cup
and of the platter, but within they are
full from extortion and excess. Thou blind
Pharisee, cleanse first the inside of
the cup and of the platter, that the outside
thereof may become clean also. . . .
Woe
unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!
for ye build the sepulchers of the prophets,
and garnish the tombs of the righteous,
and say, If we had been in the days of our fathers, we should not have been partakers
with them in the blood of the prophets.
All
these "woes" are to
those who are living in the letter instead
of in the spirit of the law. But Jesus
did not condemn religion, nor religious
organizations. His denunciations were
aimed at those who profess to teach and
to follow the law but fall short in carrying
it out in their lives.
Right
here, however, religious teachers should
be on their guard in framing tenets for
religious organizations. Do not dogmatize
in creed, or statement of Being, as a
governing rule of thought and action for
those who join your organization. These
things are limitations, and they often
prevent free development because of foolish
insistence on consistency. The creed that
you write today may not fit
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