mask

The Hypocrisy Behind the Mask :: By Bill Wilson

History shows that authoritarian movements often present themselves as champions of equality, justice, and compassion while quietly rewarding allies, silencing critics, and dividing people into favored and disfavored groups. Two recent stories illustrate that pattern.

One reports allegations that a senior official connected with the Southern Poverty Law Center, which designates hate groups and says it opposes Nazism, the KKK, etc., diverted donor money to someone reportedly connected with neo-Nazi ideology. The other questions New York mayor Zohran Mamdani’s motives after shutting off power in a Jewish neighborhood in the Bronx. These events clearly expose the widening gap between public rhetoric and public conduct.

The Southern Poverty Law Center has spent years labeling many conservative and Judeo-Christian organizations as “hate groups,” a designation that has carried serious consequences for ministries, family organizations, and public figures. Those labels have influenced media coverage, corporate decisions, and public opinion.

If reports that donor money flowed to someone with neo-Nazi connections are accurate, the irony is impossible to ignore. Organizations claiming moral authority carry an even greater responsibility to demonstrate integrity. Likewise, leaders who promise to represent every citizen must apply equal concern to every neighborhood and every religious community. Public trust depends upon consistent principles rather than selective favoritism. A standard that changes according to ideology soon becomes no standard at all.

The deeper concern reaches beyond these individual stories. Socialist and Marxist political philosophies frequently promise fairness while concentrating authority in the hands of a political class that decides who benefits and who bears the burden. Throughout history, communist systems have often spoken the language of equality while creating privileged elites, suppressing dissent, and rewarding loyalty over justice.

Scripture reminds us that the human heart is the real issue. A political movement becomes dangerous when it places ideology above truth and power above principle. Christians evaluate leaders through the lens of God’s Word rather than campaign slogans or emotional appeals. A society built upon unequal justice eventually loses confidence in every institution entrusted with serving the people.

Jesus confronted this very spirit when He rebuked the religious leaders of His day for projecting righteousness while hiding corruption beneath the surface. His words in Matthew 23:25 remain just as relevant in modern politics:

“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you cleanse the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of extortion and self-indulgence.”

The lesson reaches beyond one party or one election. God calls His people to seek truth, practice discernment, and reject hypocrisy wherever it appears. Leaders earn confidence through honesty, equal justice, and humble service. When appearances become more important than character, the mask eventually slips, and what lies beneath becomes visible for everyone to see.

Sources:

 

The post The Hypocrisy Behind the Mask :: By Bill Wilson appeared first on Rapture Ready.

July 18, 2026 by Uncategorized 0

Oldest gospel found in a mummy mask

Media outlets have been abuzz this week with the news that the oldest fragment of a New Testament gospel — and thus the earliest witness of Jesus’ life and ministry — had been discovered hidden inside an Egyptian mummy mask and was going to be published.

The announcement of the papyrus’ discovery and impending publication was made by Craig Evans, professor of New Testament at Acadia Divinity College in Wolfville, Nova Scotia. Evans described the papyrus as a fragment of the Gospel of Mark. The discovery of a small papyrus fragment containing words from the Book of Mark could end up being the earliest copy of a Christian gospel on record, according to experts. The biblical text, which came from Egypt, was reportedly placed on a sheet of papyrus before the document was recycled and used to create a mummy mask.

Centuries later, researchers found it after carefully dismantling that mask. They used carbon-14 dating, studied the handwriting and analyzed related documents, dating the text to the first century. Perhaps most interestingly, scientists found a way to undo the glue on the mask without damaging the centuries-old ink, allowing the text to be read, though the masks that go through this process are essentially destroyed — a fact that leaves some experts more than uncomfortable with the tactic.

“We’re recovering ancient documents from the first, second and third centuries,” New Testament professor Craig Evans said. “Not just Christian documents, not just biblical documents, but classical Greek texts, business papers, various mundane papers, personal letters.” Evans, a professor at Acadia Divinity College in Wolfville, Nova Scotia, told the outlet that one mask could yield up to 12 possible texts, offering up a fascinating lens into the past.

1. What is the actual text on the papyrus?
We are told that it is from Mark, but, after all, no one has seen it. Which part of Mark?

2. Is the handwriting consistent with the supposed dating?
Brice Jones, a papyrologist at Concordia University, told us that dating a text by handwriting, or paleography, “is not a precise science, and I know of no papyrologist who would date a literary papryus to within a decade on the basis of paleography alone.”

3. Is the ink or papyrus itself consistent with the supposed dating?
According to Jones, if paleography is inexact, “radiocarbon dating is equally (and perhaps more) problematic, since one must allow for a time gap of a century or more.” They say that these lab tests have all been done, but as no one has actually seen the reports, they are less than confirmatory.

4. Who owns the papyrus, or the mask from which it was taken, and from whom was it purchased, and when?
The time and place of a text’s discovery, known as its provenance, are crucial for verifying its authenticity, especially in a period of extensive looting of archaeological sites and museum theft. According to international law, if the mask was taken out of Egypt after 1970, it is officially “unprovenanced,” and is effectively prohibited from being sold or published. Evans told us “I do not know the specifics” about the provenance of this mask.

January 28, 2015 by #ourCOG 0

Get #ourCOG News