Sunday, June 28, 2009

On, What is Hypocrisy Anyway?

I just read a fascinating post by the fascinating Joe Carter. Though the article is about much more, the part I found most interesting was his calling out of the media on their castigating of 'hypocrites' when, in fact, they don't actually know what that word means (nor do I, I guess). He writes,
The American Heritage Dictionary defines hypocrisy as “The practice of professing beliefs, feelings, or virtues that one does not hold or possess; falseness.” The British literary critic William Hazlitt once explained, “He is a hypocrite who professes what he does not believe; not he who does not practice all he wishes or approves”
The 'hypocrite' in question is Gov. Sanford. What most media critics are bothered by is not the fact that he committed sexual immorality but that he committed treasonous 'hypocrisy.' Or, they would say, he did exactly what he condemns. Carter's point is that one can actually hold a belief and still act outside that belief and not be a hypocrite. So Sanford, though 'morally inconsistent,' is not hypocritical because he still believes that sexual immorality is sinful. If he continued to promulgate that idea that sexual immorality is sinful, while at the same time disbelieving it, then he would be a hypocrite (one's actions do often belie your actual beliefs).

Exit question: How then did Jesus use 'hypocrite' with respect to the Pharisees?

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