Religious Thuggery

September 13

Acts 18:17 NIV) “Then they all turned on Sosthenes the synagogue ruler and beat him in front of the court. But Gallio showed no concern whatever.”

(Acts 23:6-10 NIV) ““Then Paul, knowing that some of them were Sadducees and the others Pharisees, called out in the Sanhedrin, "My brothers, I am a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee. I stand on trial because of my hope in the resurrection of the dead." {7} When he said this, a dispute broke out between the Pharisees and the Sadducees, and the assembly was divided. {8} (The Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, and that there are neither angels nor spirits, but the Pharisees acknowledge them all.) {9} There was a great uproar, and some of the teachers of the law who were Pharisees stood up and argued vigorously. "We find nothing wrong with this man," they said. "What if a spirit or an angel has spoken to him?" {10} The dispute became so violent that the commander was afraid Paul would be torn to pieces by them. He ordered the troops to go down and take him away from them by force and bring him into the barracks.””

Religion often turns violent when it is frustrated. Just ask Sosthenes! He had become the new synagogue ruler in Corinth, replacing Crispus, who became a Christian. Sosthenes eventually led an attack on Paul and took him to court, but after the proconsul Gallio dismissed all the charges, the crowd turned on Sosthenes and beat him. Religion often turns on its own when it doesn’t get its way. There are no spats as nasty as religious spats. Religious thuggery is never pretty. It destroys the church’s moral authority. This is why it’s important to move away from “religion” and toward a relationship with Christ. And notice here that Gallio did nothing to intervene. The state does not care if religious people tear each other apart. As the church grows weaker, the state grows stronger. Don’t go the way of the Corinthian synagogue. Christ will not bless thuggery in the church. – Friar Tuck’s Word of the Day