[griffin]

"Christ did not say to ignore what the Pharisses did but to surpass them in holiness. He granted that they were following the letter of the law and that is fine AS LONG AS you do not neglect the weightier matters of law. "

I guess the part of scripture that comes to mind is Christ healing the woman in the temple on the Sabbath....or healing the crippled man on the Sabbath and taking up his mat and going home. Christ was chastized for doing work on the Sabbath. The Pharisees not only blindly followed their OWN law in that they declared no one should perform work on the Sabbath, but they did it at the expense of God's peoples good. I would agree that Christ did not specifically tell people to ignore what the Pharisee's did in total....but much of what they did they did to gain a false sense of importance, arrogance and in a selfish way wield their own power against the peasants of the day....with little regard to being true to God's Law. Their hearts were not right with God, so God hardened their heart and blinded them to the Truth.

At least that is my take and the way I understand Christ, his message and scriptures today....but I am always learning. What did you have in mind when you were refering to 'weightier matters of law'? Cheers.

[TradicalRC]

I am refering to Matthew 23:23. A lot of Christians equate Phariseeism with following the rules in a strict manner. However, that is not Christ's criticism. They are being held accountable for not following the weightier matters of law such as "justice and mercy and good faith". I would also point out that Christ here makes a distinction between justice and mercy and neglects niether. Many modern Christians tend to sacrifice one for the other. My translation is the New American Bible-St. Joseph edition.