"This matter arose because some false brothers had infiltrated our ranks to spy on the freedom we have in Christ Jesus and to make us slaves. We did not give in to them for a moment, so that the truth of the Gospel might remain with you."
For those of you who might think that I was being paranoid in my last post, this demonstrates not just how likely this is to happen, but the fact that it is going to happen anytime you have the freedom of the Gospel manifesting in your life--which obviously, I dearly hope it is doing.
On the other hand, I,like most of your, have a hard time figuring out why anyone would want to mine my data. But, be assured, it has already happened.
Who, then would be interested? Why, lawyers! They have lots of time--judging by their desperately numerous ads in the phone book and elsewhere--to do investigatory work--and besides that, they are smart enough to know that juries and even judges of the present day must go way beyond the facts, in order to win, and make the opponent out to be evil on an emotional level. There is neither justice nor truth at work, or increasingly less. The way to get to jurors is to entertain them by creating a courtroom drama and to make oneself into a super hero to boot.
But who were the lawyers of Jesus' day? Religious folk, esp. Professional Religious Figures. The idea of pleasing God by pleasing the lawyers and the keepers of the good list--the Santa Clause theory of God and man--is pervasive throughout mankind, largely but not solely because child training is usually Skinnerian, that is, "a system of punishment and reward," which very soon becomes our default mode for every problem we face--fear of man from fear of punishment by man, esp. when as in our present day, the fear of God is utterly meaningless to the vast majority, even of Christians and Jews.
So it is very handy for the law to point out the "inconsistencies" of those driven by the love and vast winds of the Spirit of God.
It also polishes our pride of self-accomplishment--see, I don't need God or Christ, I built this! I am a blessing to me and whoever "gets it," by which is meant the system of man judging not only God but those under Grace. As Screwtape inferred, it must be something else-he can't really love the little vermin, but our Research Department is still working on it.
To get the whole story of Paul's history with the Pharisees and the lawyers, most of the book of Galatians is devoted to this very issue, and it is a quick read. But the point is that we, each one of us, get imprisoned not by God but by the spirit of "every man his own lawyer, judge and jury" but only as it regards others, not one's self. The rise of international lynch mobs certainly is an extreme example of this, but historically it is also the rule, not the exception. The numbers to the slaughter is greater according to the rise in the population, hence it is increasingly common in the third world. 70% of people live in countries where Christianity is the enemy and either outlawed or pursued by moral vigilantes with impunity. With numbers like these, unless I rest in Christ Alone, paranoia is easy to come by, even if I consider myself as a very low profile person. I do not recommend paranoia, of course- it's not faith, that's sure--but rather as Paul said in 2 Cor 3:12, "Therefore we are very bold, since we have such a hope." In Christ that is, not in the law, whether of God or man.
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