Are religious hypocrites the worst kind?

Answer 1

Hmmm, that's hard to say. I think most people would say that everyone is a hypocrite to some degree. I would say that people who feel that their actions do not need to be held accountable to other people because they have the grace of god are very dangerous. It's hard to reason with a person who thinks he has god on his side. I think the nature of the religion is going to be important here. Buddhist hypocrites are probably not a real menace but the Big 3 Monotheistic have a long bloody history and a lot of justification of violence and oppression of non-believers so there is something to fear there. Hypocracy is probably not as important as intention though. People who are filled with hate and intolerance (whatever their justification) are worse that those who are filled with compassion and tolerance.

Disclaimer: This is a total opinion but "worst" is qualitative word and not a quantitative word so ultimately the question asks for an opinion and assumes that hypocracy is in some way "bad." :)

AnswerTwo types of hypocrite are mentioned in the New Testament.

Judas was religious in that he followed Jesus but he was a hypocrite on at least one occasion. He complained about a waste of money, and said it should have been given to the poor. But this was only because he used to keep the money bag and steal from it for himself. see John 12:2-6. Of course Judas, for all his following of Jesus ended up betraying him and then committing suicide.

Jesus frequently had severe words of condemnation for the religious hypocrites of His day. Matthew 23 is devoted to this subject. He called them 'a brood of vipers.' Amongst the worst features of their hypocrisy was that they led many astray into the same kind of empty religion.

AnswerYes I do believe they are....I always refer to myself as a person of faith, and not religon. I am christian in faith, not denomination - not religon. My faith exclaims that teachers will be held to a higher expectancy or "measuring rod" then others, the reason for this is simple; the assumpution of the position of leadership, influence, and representation leaves you with the power of influence, and the ability to captivate others, or lead them astray. An individual who represents their own thoughts, perspectives, and exudes their own philosophies, lives by their own moral code, and standards, is only representative of them, therefore one cannot point the finger beyond that person...they are who they are...but when claiming to be a diciple of whatever religon you are associated with, and acting in opposition to what it is you claim to embody...one points the finger at the "God" or the religon behind you,insted of you, the human, and justifiably so, not to say we don't all fall short, cause we are beautifully human and we all do, and lifes greatest lessons come from our greatest disappointments, and failures, as a matter of fact I don't believe it possible for one to truly succeed without having failed. The Lord says one of the greatest things we have is our witness, our witness is a unique synchronous of our experience, our knowledge, our perceptions, our thoughts, feelings, and our faith which is supposed to resonate into our actions, and leave others in awe of what we have...ie/ a supernatural strength, a peace that surpasses understanding, a joy that is sustained in the midst of joy-lessness, a hope in the midst of hoplessness, a way out when there is no way...we are part and parcel to the body of what it is we believe in and when we openly cliam it, with out doing our best to emody it, we lead others astray, and are solely responsible for the careless impressions that we have left on others, and the people we've potentially "turned off". Jesus did not gain the majority his followers by preaching alone...but by practicing what he preached...faith without works is dead. Those who claim God are supposed to be different from this world and thus more tolerant, more apt to forgive, more willing to contribute...and least likely to be a hypocrite, unfortunately, this is not so. As believers it is our responsibility to bring others into the "body", and we do so by being a living example.