In everyday life, a person who is called a Pharisee is usually treated with some degree of contempt: this is how it is customary to call hypocrites in life. They are usually disliked for their sanctimonious behavior. But the very word "Pharisee" came into modern language from ancient Judea, where it originally had to do with the religious movement, and not with the assessment of personal qualities.
Pharisees as representatives of a religious movement
In the II century BC in Judea, a social and religious movement arose and developed over several centuries, whose representatives were called Pharisees. Their characteristic features were literal adherence to the rules of conduct, ostentatious piety and pronounced fanaticism. Often the Pharisees were called adherents of one of the philosophical trends that spread among the Jews at the turn of the two eras. The teachings of the Pharisees formed the basis of today's orthodox Judaism.
There are three main Hebrew sects. The first of these were the Sadducees. Members of the monetary and tribal aristocracy belonged to this circle. The Sadducees insisted on strict fulfillment of divine decrees, not recognizing the additions that believers often introduced into religion. The Essenes sect was distinguished by the fact that its representatives, considering the law unchangeable, preferred to live in solitude, for which they went to remote villages and deserts. There they observed the laws given by Moses with special scrupulousness.
The Pharisees formed the third religious branch. In this sect one could meet those who left the masses and managed to rise in society at the expense of their own abilities. The Pharisee movement developed and grew stronger in an irreconcilable struggle with the Sadducees, who sought to take control of the temple rituals.
Features of the doctrine and policy of the Pharisees
In their activities, the Pharisees sought to rid society of the Sadducees' monopoly on religious power. They introduced the practice of performing religious rituals not in temples, but in homes. In political matters, the Pharisees stood on the side of the disadvantaged people and opposed the encroachments on freedom by the ruling classes. That is why the common people were imbued with confidence in the Pharisees and often followed their teachings without criticism.
The Pharisees recognized that the ordinances of God are immutable. They believed that laws were in place to be faithfully and accurately enforced. However, the Pharisees saw the main purpose of legislation and religious regulations in serving the public good. The Pharisees' slogan was: the law is for the people, not the people for the law. It is interesting that Jesus Christ, criticizing the Pharisees, denounced not so much this trend itself, but rather its individual hypocritical leaders.
The Pharisees attached particular importance to the spiritual unity of people around religion. To this end, they tried in every possible way to bring religious institutions in line with the living conditions of the Jews. At the same time, the Pharisees started from the truths given in the Holy Scriptures. One of the characteristic demands of this trend is the abolition of the death penalty. The Pharisees believed that the life of any person, no matter how inveterate a criminal, should be left to divine will.