The Pharisee Fallacy

Every good deception is seasoned with a bit of truth. However, fallacies are especially difficult because they are built on unstable, albeit convincing, logic. A “fallacy” is “a mistaken belief, especially one based on unsound arguments, faulty reasoning which renders an argument invalid, or a misleading argument.”[i] Fallacies resemble sound reasoning, which makes them dangerously misleading. Various philosophers have constructed lists of logical fallacies that are pretty interesting. Studying logical fallacies certainly helps people to spot problematic arguments quickly. Some people seem to have a built-in sensor for logical fallacies. The Holy Ghost can supernaturally help us spot logical and spiritual fallacies as well. I believe that’s one practical aspect of the gift of discernment (1 Corinthians 12:4-11).
 
Logical Fallacies
 
Mark Twain is noted for saying, “It’s easier to fool people than to convince them they have been fooled.” That’s often true because it’s hard to admit we’ve wholeheartedly believed a falsehood. Our pride refuses to acknowledge it until the lie consumes us or we become desperate for the truth. I’ll give you a silly example from my life. As a kid, we ate lots of tuna. My mother typically bought the Chicken of the Sea brand of tuna. So, naturally, I assumed tuna came from chickens raised by the sea. I have a humiliating memory of passionately arguing that point with my friends. You can imagine my horror when I realized my error. I had fallen prey to the Hasty Generalization Fallacy, a mistake that we usually call jumping to conclusions without having all the facts.
 
People do this all the time in one way or another. For example, a man once told me his father smoked five packs of cigarettes a day and lived to be 95. In his mind, therefore, smoking couldn’t be that bad for you. But unfortunately, he used one exceptional case to draw an invalid conclusion. Another prevalent fallacy is the Bandwagon Fallacy. A typical example of the Bandwagon Fallacy is that McDonald’s has sold more hamburgers than any other establishment worldwide. Therefore, McDonald’s must make the best hamburgers in the world. In other words, the Bandwagon Fallacy assumes that majorities are probably right. Or that popularity is the best criterion for assessing worth. However, wise minds know that majorities have been terribly wrong with disastrous results countless times throughout history. That’s why going with the flow and mindlessly accepting common beliefs without testing them is a horrible life policy.
 
Everyone’s A Theologian
 
In his book Everyone’s a Theologian: An Introduction to Systematic Theology, the late R.C. Sproul lamented, “Many people react negatively to the word theology, believing that it involves dry, fruitless arguments about minute points of doctrine.” But Sproul argued, “Everyone is a theologian because any time we think about a teaching of the Bible and strive to understand it, we are engaging in theology.”[ii] He was absolutely right. Even those who say the Bible is not true are engaging in theology. Furthermore, our theology, that is, what we believe to be accurate or not accurate regarding the Bible, has consequences. The effects can be catastrophic if our theology is sloppy, careless, poorly studied, or woefully ignorant. Yet, many Christians casually accept fallacious theologies with little to no thought. In this series of articles, I’ll strive to correct several common theological fallacies Christians believe are valid.
 
The Pharisee Fallacy
 
If you’re a sincere Christian with any firmly held biblical convictions, you’ve likely been called a Pharisee. Or perhaps you’ve been labeled a “holier than thou.” Maybe you’ve been haughtily referred to as legalistic. And if it hasn’t been said to your face, it’s undoubtedly been whispered behind your back. Of course, the Pharisees famously opposed Jesus’ ministry and eventually helped arrange His death. So, to be compared to Jesus’ chief antagonists is, to say the least, very insulting for a committed Christian. However, to be clear, there are “so-called” Christians who share common traits with the Pharisees of old. But the Phariseeism charge gets tossed around cavalierly without understanding what it means.
 
Without going into a tedious and lengthy study of the historical context of the Pharisees, it should be acknowledged that much of what they did for Jewish people was good and noble. The pharisaical order began with the best of intentions. Unfortunately, as time passed, they elevated oral teaching to the same level of importance as the law of Moses. But even worse, and what Jesus harshly criticized, was their shameful hypocrisy. The Pharisees faked virtue to gain trust so they could manipulate their followers. And they paraded it when they had genuine virtue to increase their reputations. They were, by and large, insincere, power-hungry virtue signalers. Yet, their purity was only skin deep. As Jesus said:
 
“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs, which indeed appear beautiful outwardly, but inside are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness. Even so, you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness (Matthew 23:27-28).”
 
Jesus did not denounce the Pharisees for their outward righteousness, attention to religious details, or strict obedience to the law. The problem was that their hidden motives, secret ambitions, and false fronts discredited their outward religiosity. They weaponized the law against others while placing themselves above it in their private lives. Despite all that, Jesus made some often-overlooked comments about the Pharisees:
 
“Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. Whosoever, therefore, shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so; he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 5:17:20).”
 
Wait! Jesus said our righteousness must “…exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees!” In the above passage, Jesus reaffirmed the salvific value of the Old Testament, outward holiness, strict obedience to the Word of God, and careful attention to biblical religious details. However, when contrasting this passage with His harsh criticisms of the Pharisees in other places, it’s clear that our righteousness must be the same inwardly as it is outwardly. There is no outward holiness apart from inward holiness, and no inward holiness without outward holiness. We don’t get to forsake one and cling to the other as the Pharisees did.
 
The Flipped Fallacy
 
Disturbingly, most self-proclaiming Christians today have flipped the Pharisee’s hypocrisy upside down. They embrace almost no outward holiness and separation unto the Lord, claiming that righteousness is an entirely inward condition. They are highly resistant to and critical of any visible manifestations of holiness. This is why we’ve seen an overwhelming influx of high-profile pastors cursing from the pulpit, showing off tattoos, and growing their hair out longer than the average woman’s. Those examples are outgrowths (pun intended) of a problem that has plagued modern mainstream theology throughout my lifetime and longer. Most of Christianity rejects the biblical teachings that righteousness will produce outward fruit. Any earnest resistance to that anything-goes theology is offhandedly rejected as Phariseeistic legalism.
 
Typically, people who have wholeheartedly embraced the Pharisee Fallacy have convoluted the word love. They might say, “Love is the ultimate outward manifestation of holiness.” This is true. However, they’ve redefined love to mean acceptance, tolerance, and approval. They’re overlooking the simple reality that while love may be the ultimate display of holiness, it is not the only outward expression of holiness that God demands. Tolerance is not always loving. Acceptance isn’t always the best way to love a person. Same with approval. For example, if my child tells a lie, I should correct them with love rather than accepting the lie. Love is often intolerant. Pure love is courageous enough to confront things that are displeasing to God and harmful to self and others.
 
Another way many religious people convolute the word love, whether insidiously or naively, is by equating it almost exclusively with niceness or friendliness. This is tricky territory because love is patient and kind, and we should strive to be as friendly as possible to everyone. Yet, sometimes, love should be impatient. If your friend is about to walk off a cliff knowingly or unknowingly, patience is no longer the loving response. Even kindness has its limits. Otherwise, you’d have to believe that Jesus sinned when He flipped over tables and wielded a whip in the temple. Or that He was being a big meany head when confronting and calling out people’s sins, hypocrisies, and errors.
 
The Danger of Oversimplification
 
Oversimplifying, misconstruing, and redefining sacred concepts like love, holiness, righteousness, and legalism lead to terribly fallacious beliefs with disastrous consequences. Love becomes little more than wishy-washy feelings, naïve acceptance, or surface-level politeness. Kindness at all costs mutates into compromise. Holiness is relegated to a super mystical, philosophical conundrum with no practical, real-life applications. Legalism morphs into a catch-all term for anything that challenges those one-dimensional suppositions. Ironically, often, it’s the very people levying the Pharisee charge who exhibit Pharisaical traits.
 
What a Pharisee is Not
 
To be sure, there are legalistic Pharisees of all stripes out there. But you’re not a Pharisee because you take the Bible seriously, hate sin, or strive to walk in holiness. You’re also not a Pharisee because you keep godly traditions established by spiritual leaders. Paul said, “…brethren, stand fast, and hold the traditions which ye have been taught, whether by word or our epistle (2 Thessalonians 2:15).” In the next chapter, Paul says something similar even more urgently, “Now we command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye withdraw yourselves from every brother that walketh disorderly, and not after the tradition which he received of us (2 Thessalonians 3:6).”
 
Definition of a Pharisee
 
I’ll close by defining a modern-day Pharisee as a religious individual who flaunts outward displays of righteousness for selfish reasons while remaining secretly unrighteous. Pharisees are hypocritical in that they pretend to be something they are not. They add to or subtract from the Word of God for the sake of power, manipulation, political posturing, or spiritual ignorance. Remarkably, they consider themselves above the law while harshly subjugating everyone else to it. Finally, Pharisees wield religious and political authority. They hold offices and positions of influence and power. If that doesn’t define you, you’re not a modern-day Pharisee.

[i] Porter, Noah, ed. Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary. Accordance electronic edition, version 1.7. Springfield: C. & G. Merriam Co., 1913.
[ii] Sproul, R.C., Everyone’s a Theologian: An Introduction to Systematic Theology. Florida: Reformation Trust Publishing, 2014.