You have eyes but you do not see. You have ears but you do not hear. You say the words, but you ignore the deeds. You claim to profess a belief in Christ, but you do not live according to the words of Christ. You follow Christ by your own desires but not by the desires of Christ.
O Ye Christian Hypocrites!
Let me be clear. I have known many Christians whose lives reflected extraordinary compassion, humility, mercy, and sacrifice. This essay is not about them. It is about those who invoke Christ’s name while ignoring Christ’s teachings.
I have watched Christians for seventy years now and what I see are too many hypocrites. People who commit the same sins over and over again, buoyed up by their belief that they will be forgiven. Forever forgiven for their debts and trespasses. They call out the Lord’s name over and over again, “Please forgive my sins” but they do not change how they live or what they do.
O Ye Christian Hypocrites!
You rant and rail against those who disagree with the specific brand of Christianity that you belong to. All the rest of the Christians in the world will not be allowed in the same heaven as your Christian sect. You demand that the Government put the Ten Commandments of Moses in the schools. You demand they be put in City and Municipal offices. You want to tear down the wall separating Government from Religion so that America can become a Christian Nation.
You ignore the fact that nothing, absolutely nothing in the Declaration of Independence calls for America to be a Christian Nation. Where it says “God,” in your hypocrisy you read Christ. Where it says “Creator” you read Christ. The Founding Fathers knew what it was like to live under religious tyranny. That is why they were wise enough to open the doors of America to all religions. Religions such as Congregationalists, Quakers, Calvinists, Muslims, Catholics, and Jews were all welcome.
O Ye Christian Hypocrites!
If this hypocrisy was not enough, the worst is still to come. The Christians who totally ignore the Sermon on the Mount. Not the commands of Moses. Not the commands of Joseph. Not the commands of Isaiah. The very commands of Jesus on how to live and what to live for and by. In my eighty years, I cannot recall hearing Christians campaign for the Sermon on the Mount with anything approaching the fervor devoted to displaying the Ten Commandments. I have never heard a Christian demanding the Sermon on the Mount be placed in any schools. Never in any Church. Never in any Government Office. The words of Moses and the Old Testament flow easily on the lips of many Christians but the very words of Jesus himself are ignored. They are ignored or treated like so much heresy.
The Sermon on the Mount – Christ’s Beatitudes:
The Beatitudes are a series of blessings that are part of a more extensive order of teachings, including the Lord’s Prayer, called “The Sermon on the Mount” (Matthew 5-7). The Beatitudes describe the virtues and attitudes of those who will inherit God’s Kingdom.
The Sermon on the Mount and its blessings, the Beatitudes, were purposefully spoken by Jesus to challenge our conventional thinking, to turn our world upside down and guide the disciples and those who followed Jesus into a “new” and genuine Biblical life that reflected the attributes and values of God’s Kingdom.
- Love for all people, even our enemies
- Servitude over acquiring earthly wealth and power
These values opposed the law of retribution (eye for an eye) provided for within the Old Covenant and the Law of condemnation under the weight of sin leading to death.
They also oppose the entirety of this world’s systems and values, which are measured by accumulating wealth and power.
Let us look at what Jesus said and what he wanted Christians to do in this world.
The Beatitudes from Jesus’s Sermon on the Mount
- Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.
Jesus placed this first because spiritual humility is the foundational starting point for entering a relationship with God. You must acknowledge your spiritual need before you can receive spiritual wealth. Those who are too arrogant to accept the help of God will not receive it nor will they enter God’s Kingdom.
- Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
Mourning” goes beyond standard bereavement. It refers to a broken heart over one’s own moral failures and the pain caused by turning away from God. However, It also includes feeling deep sorrow for the injustice, tragedy, and pain present in the world. Not just in your own little family or your own church but for all the people suffering in the world whether from disease, injustice, famine, or politics. Jesus meant for us to be Citizens of the World and not just our own little corner of the world.
- Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the Earth.
While the aggressive and ruthless seem to conquer the world now, Jesus promises that the quiet, trusting, and resilient will ultimately inherit the renewed creation. The people with faith in his words. The people who are silent but live out the words of Jesus in action and deeds. Not the men and women who boast loudly of their faith like the Pharisee bragging about his wealth and contributions.
- Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied.
Do these hypocritical Christians even know what righteousness means? Do they think the mansions of the rich and famous are full of “Righteous” people? Do they think the politicians collecting their bribes from lobbyists and corporations are “Righteous” people?
According to Judaism a “Righteous person” is someone who acts justly, showing mercy, and fulfilling moral and communal obligations. Jesus saw true righteousness as results in practical actions. It means treating others with fairness, defending the vulnerable, showing mercy, and actively seeking justice.
O Ye Christian Hypocrites!
It saddens me to get this far with the Words of Jesus. It is exceedingly difficult to live in a world with people who profess one thing but do another. People who claim that they want the USA to be a “Christian” nation, but who support violence, hatred, intolerance, and bigotry to others. People who think that only members of their clans deserve respect or deserve to be treated like Jesus thought all people should be treated.
The questions that beg to be answered all start with Why? Why do people who claim to be followers of Jesus not follow his words? Why do people who read the bible and go to church regularly have a fundamental misunderstanding of the Beatitudes and instead practice hate, vengeance and intolerance. Why do religions become tribes that insulate their members from understanding the beliefs of other religions? Why is identity often more important than discipleship and following the true words of Jesus?
- Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.
The late Pope Francis authored a book titled, “The Name of God Is Mercy.” This book by Pope Francis gave me a deeper understanding of what it meant to be merciful. I have never been what you might think of as merciful. Francis said, “A little mercy makes the world less cold and more just.” This is a beautiful thought. Jesus also implied that those of us who have hard hearts towards others, the poor, the sick, the immigrants, the elderly would have a tough time being granted the mercy that we could not extend to the truly needy.
- Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
Who among us is truly “Pure” in heart? What Christian out there would say they are not? Yet, purity would seem to be an impossibility in this world. Why then would Jesus put this onus on us? Was he being unfair? What did he mean by Pure in Heart?
Jesus meant that a pure heart is undivided. It means loving God with your whole being, rather than having split loyalties between the world and spiritual life. It means doing the right thing for the right reasons, completely free from hypocrisy, deceit, or the desire to impress others. Jesus said, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.” Jesus did not care for hypocrites, liars, and cheats. His life exemplified his constant battle with these types of behaviors.
- Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called the Sons of God.
This may just be the one that most people regardless of religion whether Christians or not, ignore. The world seems to run on an engine of violence against others.
It has been said by some that “Violence is as American as Apple Pie.” Many Christians seem to have no problem finding passages in the Old Testament to validate any war that their leaders want to support. Christian leaders as well as other sects have routinely met in the old Rose Garden with the President to bless America and wish us success in vanquishing our enemies.
I could understand this idea of violence from people like me who were taught by their parents to never let a slight or slur or assault go unpunished. But if you say you subscribe to the words of Jesus then show me where Jesus said, “Go smite your enemies.” When his disciple Peter drew a sword and cut off a man’s ear to protect him during his arrest, Jesus rebuked him. He commanded Peter to put the sword away, warning that those who rely on violence will perish by it (Matthew 26:52).
- Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.
Easy to say but so hard to do. I am amazed by the hundreds of Christians who willingly gave their lives rather than renounce their belief in Jesus or his Father. Not all Christians by any means are hypocrites. Many Christians lead exemplary lives. Many Christians try every day to put the words and ideas of Jesus into practice for themselves and for others.
It is easy for me to stand on a soapbox and excoriate Christians for being hypocritical. I have never denied that in many parts of my life, I am a hypocrite. I admit it. I denounce it. I work to overcome being a sexist, being a racist, being violent, being greedy, being xenophobic. I know it is not easy since I have never reached the heights spoken of by Jesus. Yet, I do not support those who claim to be Christians but who by their every word and deed show themselves to be anything but apostles of Jesus Christ.
I am fed up with the so called Christian religions and churches that support hatred and violence towards those who do not subscribe to whatever they call Christian beliefs.
I am fed up with those who want all Americans to become Christians.
I am fed up with those who want to wage war on people and nations that do not subscribe to their religious, political, or economic values.
Too many of these efforts are led by people who say that they are “Good Christians.” People who claim they only want to do the will of God. But the will of God is bent to their own biases and prejudices.
God save us all from the Christians who profess Christianity but practice a belief system that Jesus would not recognize.
Christianity does not rest on a change of mind. It rests on a change of heart.
Aging Capriciously 
Jul 08, 2026 @ 09:54:28
Hi, John. We all know that Christianity today is not what Christ preached. Happily, Messengers from God reappear from time to time to freshen things up. Baháʼu’lláh showed up in the 1840s and gave us teachings designed for today’s world. Very refreshing!
John G
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Jul 08, 2026 @ 10:02:55
Hi John, how are you doing? Karen and I have been under the weather for the past two months with some kind of respiratory problem that they can only call Idiopathic. We have not been going to Tucson in fact the only place we have been going is to the grocery store. Hope to see you again sometime when skys brighten up. Thanks for the comment. I agree and I enjoy the readings from the Bahai scriptures. It is too bad that many Christians think they are practicing the words of Jesus. I wonder how we come to such different interpretations?
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Jul 08, 2026 @ 10:10:02
Nor would Jesus/Yeshua verbally advocate! In fact, my wife (Sandy) and I, both who have graduated from Reformed Theological Seminary (her) with a Master’s Degree and myself who attended the same Master’s program for 3-years, but could not finish due to my Dad’s suicide in July 1990… we are daily amazed, appalled, and deeply saddened that this very blog-post that hits home hard and poignantly, tells TRUTH about U.S. Christians (or Christian Nationalists). She and I too frequently state, “that is no the Yeshua/Jesus we thoroughly know in the Gospels. Not even close!” 😕 We both see far too much lip-service and nowhere near enough action/behavior. Besides, isn’t judgement ultimately their God’s domain and not their own how they want it?
Oh John, my wife could go on and on and on about how little we see Scripturally-based behavior mimicking Yeshua/Jesus… and way way too much lip-service, judgement, and hate from them. Very sad.
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Jul 08, 2026 @ 10:14:31
Hi Jon, I would imagine coming from a more religious background than I do that this must sadden and perplex you both more than it does me. I get frustrated and do not understand why so many profess beliefs that I think would shock Jesus to the core. Do they not read or hear the same things that we read and hear? Where is the disconnnect? Thanks for taking the time to comment. I hope more than those of us out there get to see my blog. I do not want to just be preaching or teaching to the choir..
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Jul 08, 2026 @ 10:16:29
Also John, if I may please kind Sir, I’d like to leave two links to a Page on my blog, followed by one (of many) blog-post I published in August 2023:
Why Christianity Will Always Fail and…
The Failures of Koine Greek & Christianity
Much thanks John. Let me know if there is technical issues, etc., with these two links. 🙂
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Jul 08, 2026 @ 12:47:17
I hope that does it.
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Jul 08, 2026 @ 11:33:47
“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called the Sons of God.” I think (cannot know) that President Trump truly believes that is him. That is why, to everyone’s condemnation, he’s done what he has, and is, doing regarding Iran. He believes, with some good reason, that God spared his life in Butler, PA. so as he could try and bring peace to the world. Call it narcissism; but he’s got a lot of evidence that says otherwise. That’s his driving force – to be viewed as a peacemaker. He’s even admitted that Iran may succeed in killing him.
So, yeah, crazy. So say you. How do you know? Do you have a direct line to God/Jesus?
https://www.postindependent.com/news/before-i-say-ta-ta-for-now-new-castle-honors-jack-jabbour-with-a-celebration-of-life/ My brother is one of those “good Christians”. COVID-19 took him after an almost four year battle. That whole story is remarkable, and ongoing.
I don’t know about you, sir.
My brother’s service was remarkable. Nevertheless, I knew him better than any one. I’ll let that stand – above the fold in the local newspaper.
I miss him every day. I told the medical professionals to pull the plug.
You and I are in that stage of life. Cheers. I know you mean well.
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Jul 08, 2026 @ 12:54:04
Mark, If you are apologizing for Trump, you have come to the wrong person. When someone needs forgiveness, they need to ask for forgiveness and then accept the penance to make things up. Trump and his ilk see nothing wrong with what they are doing. Killing and assigning thousands if not millions of people to their deaths by their policies and then invoking Christ. What good reasons does Trump have? His driving force to be viewed as a peacemaker? Are you kidding? He is money hungry, glory hungry and power hungry. He does not give one damn about peace. I don’t have a pipeline to God since I don’t believe in God. But I do know what I read and nothing in Jesus’s teachings condone Trump’s behavior. I have made 43 silent Jesuit retreats and I have yet to believe that Jesus would support Trump or his so called quest for peace. John
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Jul 08, 2026 @ 12:56:08
Okay, thanks for the clarification.
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Jul 08, 2026 @ 16:03:41
Dear John and Mark,
Hello Mark! I hope that you are now in better health and wellbeing. Happy July to you and John!
Let us coin a new word:
Trult = Trump + Cult
Cultrump could work too, although it has not one but two syllables. In addition, I prefer Trult because it sounds like a carnivorous fish “trout” but rotten to the core. Besides, Trult rhymes with Insult.
Some of us share many similar concerns for composing posts involving thorough examinations of some of the most salient issues that have led the USA to this moment in time. Needless to say, due to misinformation and disinformation as well as the pandemic and other global issues, 2016 to 2026 have been very difficult and trying, not to mention having to deal with the pandemic. It was all quite surreal, perhaps in some ways more bizarre than ghosts and the paranormal (not that I believe in such things). One could indeed say that we live in interesting times, but often for the wrong reasons. It is all quite a big mess in danger of getting bigger still. Even a global pandemic and an insurrection at the citadel of democracy still cannot unite folks in the USA and wake them up. Perhaps it will take an even bigger crisis to do so, such as a series of shocking events or climate change disasters.
You and I are definitely on the same page. We now find ourselves here having to face the state of mounting chaos and even fascism in the USA, a country that seems to be imploding, and its cancer has metathesized even more, both within and without!
There is an important piece of work that sheds light on the sorry and sordid state of the US democracy and partisan politics marred by disinformation and corruption. Published on 13 March 2025 and entitled “A Movement to Destroy U.S. Democracy Controls the Presidency, Congress, and the Supreme Court—But What’s Behind It?“, this is a great article from Religion Dispatches, which “is a publication of Political Research Associates, a social justice research and strategy centre that has been researching, monitoring, and publicizing the agenda and strategies of the U.S. and global Right for over four decades.” I very much concur with the author Katherine Stewart, and I am very impressed by how well and detailed she has described some of the issues. I would like to add some of my own observations and analyses.
The “disease” of the corrupt is spreading far and wide. Rather than the “Bloody Immigrants” as scapegoats, it is actually the bloody plutocrats and their ill-informed supporters, and the matter is much more than a backlash against globalization. There is also the ongoing Christian institutions’ war on knowledge and alignment with power. Some factions of Christianity have even evolved into clerical fascism (also called clero-fascism or clerico-fascism), which is an ideology that combines the political and economic doctrines of fascism with clericalism. For instance, the Silver Legion of America (also known as the Silver Shirts) in the United States led by William Dudley Pelley has combined American Christianity (specifically Protestantism) with American white nationalism.
Indeed, there are numerous compelling and irrefutable reasons as to why there is no justification in supporting such corrupted Christian organizations and their doctrines, whose leaders and followers have aligned themselves with the likes of Trump, and by extension, other corrupt entities, including Putin and numerous wretched rulers, politicians, plutocrats, autocrats, officials and corporations. Sadly, many of those who are supposedly more morally or spiritually attuned to the wise and virtuous seem to have fared even worse, given that a large percentage of Trump’s supporters have been disproportionately Christians. So much for Christianity being the guiding conscience and ultimate salvation!
The blame game is still very much rampant in Homo sapiens, which has firmly ushered in an apocalyptic age of deplorable politics, outright complicity, devious duplicity, shameless mendacity, excruciating inhumanity, extraordinary brutality and unrelenting cruelty! Considering the countless wretched situations and dire outcomes that humans have repeatedly created for themselves and nonhumans through war crimes, holocausts, slaveries, genocides, environmental destructions and ecological disasters plus a litany of gross injustices, unconscionable exploitations and staggering corruptions, any reasonable person may insist or conclude that there is emphatically no longer the need, excuse or justification to blame the old serpent, Devil or Satan, who can permanently retire from being the stigmatized scapegoat, catch-all villain and evil incarnate.
On the whole, how shocking and deplorable it has been that despite these staggering amount of reasons and overwhelming evidences against Trump, he has still become the President for the second time as a convicted felon!
The salient issues of democracy versus autocracy (and plutocracy) aside, there are many sobering implications of authoritarianism, which is a very topical area for exploring the many outstanding tensions between (the sociopsychological states of) sanity/stability and insanity/instability, affecting even the very existence and survival of humanity. In recent years, many citizens have willingly aligned themselves with misinformation, disinformation, post-truth politics, demagoguery, plutocracy, oligarchy, ochlocracy, kleptocracy, kakistocracy, narcissistic leadership, neoliberalism, globalization, clerical fascism and Trumpism. We can also agree that the ongoing chaos inflicted by the Trump presidency finally culminated in the infamous riot at the Capitol. You and I can be justified for being cynical, snide, snarky and facetious in characterizing Trump as the symbolic messiah who is going to lead his misguided supporters, sycophants and funders to glory on Earth and the promised land! It is often futile to reason with such misguided folks. Perhaps only when the country truly becomes autocratic or fascist, or when it plunges into a civil war, will such folks wake up, but then it will be too late. Consequently, any reasonable person can conclude that the USA has been plagued by ignorance, dogma, falsity, blind faith, spiritual stagnation and epistemological impasse . . . . .
I have continued to shed light on the grim reality of blatant corruption, continued carnage, calamitous inhumanity and unrelenting brutality, as evidenced by some dreadful statistics pertaining to Ukraine and Palestine as well as other regions in dire conflict. For instance, of all major Arab-Israeli conflicts assessable with calculated percentage of fatalities for each war, the deadliest is the 2023 Gaza War, which amounts for almost half of all casualties. The plights of those suffering people have been so immense and protracted that I have not enough tears to cry for them. They are so searingly painful to witness! For some of us, it can be too emotionally distraught to witness such tragedies and annihilations. We have heard the phrase “Never again!” being uttered after each major war, and yet tragic history keeps repeating itself. It is all getting to the point of “Never say never again!”
To make matter worse, even those who are supposed to know better, who are in the most privileged position or at the highest echelon, have displayed objectionable conducts, caused much disunity, and/or generated unwisdom. We have been witnessing so clearly the insidious nature of Trumpism, Machiavellian conservatism and inimical illiberalism perverting democracy for nefarious purposes and for justifying, obfuscating or muddying the waters of systemic sexism, racism, historical negationism, discrimination, marginalization and curtailment of civil rights. In a similar vein, one of my latest posts highlights not just the various traps awaiting us from the fallouts of the main event regarding the SCOTUS’ decisions on abortion and its striking down Roe v. Wade, but also how the capacity of laws and legislation to be legally valid, binding and enforceable in different contexts is both contingent (acceptable only if certain circumstances are the case) and circumscribed (restricted to certain roles or situations), given that the content, relevance and quality of laws and legislation are fundamentally filtered and moulded by class structures, social stratifications, cultural reproductions and communication frameworks as well as by the interaction between legal cultures, and the social construction of legal issues, as discussed in my post entitled “🏛️⚖️ The Facile and Labile Nature of Law: Beyond the Supreme Court and Its Ruling on Controversial Matters 🗽🗳️🔫🤰🧑🤝🧑💉“.
Yours sincerely,
SoundEagle🦅
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Jul 08, 2026 @ 16:24:17
Very well said SoundEagle. If not a little over the top. You really need to learn to make your writing more consise and less verbose. I did agree with everything you said but I recommend you read Chris Hedge’s blogs and Robert Reich’s blogs. They say much the same story about Trump and his minions but somewhat easier to understand. Reich is the eternal optimist and I might say that Hedges in the eternal pessimist. Reading both of them is a little like putting salt and pepper on your eggs or potatoes. The problems with many such analyses is that they do not provide a path forward. I posted a Petition which I think provides some solutions for getting us out of the quagmire we are in. Corporate capitalism, rampant militarism, autocratic leaders who want to do away with democracy, a country devoted to buying more and more stuff no matter the impacts on the economy or the environment. Some say hopeless, others say keep hope . I think we need to start by getting the money out of politics. If we can not ban the lobbyists, I believe, we can kiss democracy goodbye. Have we come too far down the path of greed and avarice to turn around?
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Jul 08, 2026 @ 17:52:18
Dear John,
Yours sincerely,
SoundEagle🦅
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Jul 09, 2026 @ 07:56:30
SoundEagle, you might find this blog interesting. I wrote this ten years ago before AI.
It was titled a “Conversation between Satan and God.”
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Jul 09, 2026 @ 07:50:59
SoundEagle, I would never have believed that in my last decade or so of life I would have three major crisis to deal with. Climate Change, Covid and Trump. I am glad SoundEagle that we are on the same page with Trump. He may just be the most virulent disease of all. Or at least what is passing for his ideas on Democracy and Freedom. John
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Jul 08, 2026 @ 14:23:37
I’m going to be honest here because I really liked what you said. I liked it because it was clear and honest and talks about how religion is going into areas where it should not be. I don’t know the answers and I’m skeptical to the divine creator. I’m more in line with an energy and god is a man made construct out of fear. Religion is an extension of that but I never question anybody faith. What you said is very true that if this is a persons faith and what they believe this should not be in government and government should not be in the faith business. Also they should practice what they say they believe. For me that is a big issue with the whole concept.
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Jul 08, 2026 @ 16:00:00
Thanks for the comment. I have often said that God did not make man in his image, Man made God in his image. John
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Jul 09, 2026 @ 05:18:15
That is an excellent way to look at this.
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Jul 09, 2026 @ 07:53:20
Yes, Kevin, it does seem to warrant some judgement. I am reminded of what Jesus said about “Judge not others lest ye be judged yourself.” I guess I stand ready to be judged but I do not know that I could go through life without saying something about the Christians who claim to follow Jesus in word but not in deed. John
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Jul 08, 2026 @ 16:09:07
Dear John,
Well done for another informative and well-reasoned post!
I have just submitted a very long comment a few minutes ago, and hope that you have received it.
Yours sincerely,
SoundEagle🦅
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Jul 08, 2026 @ 17:32:54
Thank you. I really resonate with the blessed are the pure in spirit for they will see God. At times but not always I am pure in spirit and can see God. I also love your point about Jesus being completely against violence and yet people that are supposed to be Christians call for violence. That is not Christian, it is not what Jesus believes in. I also despise the teaching that people get sent to an eternity of torture. That is completely irrational and Jesus loves everyone so this idea of being tortured forever is completely a false evil teaching. Thank you for posting this. People really need to read it. Sharing on Facebook.
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Jul 09, 2026 @ 07:46:00
Thanks Jacob for your comments. They resonate with my thinking quite well. Uncle John
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