Those who ask someone why they don’t attend church and meet with the criticism “There are too many hypocrites” should never reply, “There’s always room for one more.” With many years of experience in the churches hypocrisy comes as no surprise to me. Ted Haggard is only the latest of a long line of such hypocrites reaching back to Ananias and Sapphira. But if the Holy Spirit were still slaying hypocrites like this ignoble couple a mortician would be needed on standby in every church.

When I was deeply involved with the churches and active in the ministry I became acquainted with the expression “I would have more if God could trust me with more.” I found this to be true only of those capable of looking deeply enough into their own hearts to recognize the meaning of the “deceitfulness of riches” and work diligently on a conscience honest before both God and men. For such people there is a necessary mistrust of riches and of multiplying things that will only perish in the using, the “toys” with which so many people fill their lives.

“Put not your trust in princes” has always been good advice. For my part it comes down to the cautionary words of Jesus that the real prophets of God do not wear soft clothing or live in palaces. Further, I continue to be convinced anyone that wants power and authority over others for whatever reason must bargain with the god of this world, the Devil, in order to gain such power and authority. Politicians sell out early and cheaply and the Devil offers bargain rates to such. But the churches are in little better case when it comes to “big bug preachers,” and while the Roman Church is notorious for harboring pervert priests preying on children all too often do the Baker’s, Swaggart’s, and Haggard’s come to be the face of evangelical churches.

But when it comes to hypocrisy, Judas remains the “standard” by which all hypocrites are measured. Perhaps because of having reached my allotted three score and ten, the image of Jesus being betrayed by a kiss is a forceful one. Sam Clemens expressed the thought the only pure and unalloyed gift of God was death. Philosophical speculation easily leads to questioning whether love is the cruelest of all human emotions, since it is so often subject to betrayal whether by the death of a loved one or the kiss of a Judas.

With the forthcoming elections it would serve well to keep in mind the fact that those serving the god Mammon are not on the side of virtue, that most have already made their deals with the Devil in order to even have the money to mount a campaign. Such is the evil system of politics; and in too many cases the various systems of religion as well.

However, there are those for whom money isn’t everything when it comes to the betrayal of love and trust. Few would question it is love that raises humankind to the very best it can be, that love motivates the very best of what we are as human beings; but at what cost to those that love, especially those lovers of truth?

“It is when your facts and persons grow unreal and fantastic by too much falsehood, that the scholar flies for refuge to the world of ideas, and aims to recruit and replenish Nature from that source. Let ideas establish their legitimate sway again in society, let life be fair and poetic, and the scholars will gladly be lovers, citizens and philanthropists.”

As we are drowning in a veritable sea of facts and persons grown unreal and fantastic by too much falsehood, it is easy to understand why Emerson pointed to the world of ideas as a refuge for scholars. But as Emerson realized the lover of ideas is perceived as uncongenial and unintelligible to society, though the lover of ideas may fervently long to be accepted and join themselves to society. But how often are love and trust, the lovers of ideas betrayed by falsehood.

Jesus was a lover of ideas, many of which came from an obvious close relationship with Nature. At the same time, far from being a loner the Bible recounts the stories of his mixing with society, genuinely loving the society of others. But it was the facts and persons grown unreal and fantastic by too much falsehood that caused him to be at enmity with the world, which led him to claim he was not of the world because the world loves its own, and the world certainly did not love him.

While many things are being questioned about the Bible and the life of Jesus, had we only his sublime Sermon on the Mount that would be sufficient to establish him in history as a lover of ideas. But they were ideas that came into conflict with the world, with facts and persons grown unreal and fantastic by too much falsehood.

We live in a world neither fair nor poetic, a world in which too many innocent suffer and die, that rewards those without virtue seeking power and authority over others, a world in which the lovers of ideas are ever forced to either retreat and find refuge in the solitude of their thoughts or be punished for expressing their ideas openly. Though often free with his opinions, and often to his discomfiture, Sam Clemens pointed out that opinions made public must first be carefully barbered and perfumed.

And as to the truth, Jesus exemplifies the words of Melville: “The truth; it don’t pay.” A point made indelibly clear by politicians and those in the media emasculated from dealing in the truth by the lies of political correctness.

The universities suffering the bullying domination of perversion, being effeminized to the point of either emasculating or preventing any real men in their ranks certainly do not countenance any lovers of ideas, but are virtual bastions of hypocrisy, of facts and persons grown unreal and fantastic by too much falsehood. That the same can be said of those in the Federal Triune Dictatorship having the rule over We the People is so blatantly obvious it hardly needs mention.

Pilate realized it was out of envy and jealousy on the part of the enemies of Jesus that he had been brought before him to be judged, that the accusers of Jesus were liars and hypocrites. Then too, there was the genuine fear on the part of Caiaphas that the preaching and teaching of Jesus might call down the wrath of Rome upon Jerusalem. Pilate had to be aware of the dangers Jesus posed in this regard as well, and certainly did not want the grief of the powers in Rome thinking him incapable of governing.

So, what to do? Jesus didn’t make things easy for Pilate by refusing to defend himself, and faced by so many accusers what could Jesus say in his defense? One solitary man against a multitude; all these are wrong but I am right? But in the case of Jesus there was no little “Scout” to deliver him from the lynch mob.

“What is truth?” Much speculation has surrounded this statement of Pilate to Jesus, even whether it was a statement or a question. But he knew the truth, and for this reason we read that Pilate thereafter bent his efforts to freeing Jesus. And on my part, I am willing to credit the troubled dreams of Pilate’s wife concerning Jesus. But in the end it was not to be, and taking only the Biblical account the lesson remains that the howling mob consisting of the haters of ideas will have its way and politicians invariably bow to the howling mob.

It seems those that have the rule over America have no love of the truth in them. The lesson is lost on these that despite the efforts on the part of those deciding it was better to sacrifice Jesus than lose their place and nation, despite the efforts of Pilate to placate the liars and hypocrites and keep the peace the wrath of Rome did at last descend upon Jerusalem.

America is being forced to face an inescapable imperative: Will we be a nation with a national heritage and culture, a nation with an identity and common language the product of Christian Western Civilization and our Founding Fathers, or one whose leaders are willing to sacrifice Jesus once more to the howling mob only in the end to find our nation destroyed.