Last week at my Bible study group we discussed John 10:22-42 where Jesus is asked by the Jewish leaders "How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly." In some translations, "Christ" is interpreted as "Messiah" and that got us discussing the historical context of what was expected of the Messiah. According to some scholars, the Jewish leaders of the day were expecting the "Messiah" to be a geo-political savior, not a spiritual savior. It is easy to see how the leaders back then could think that way. They were God's chosen people, they were supposed to rule their area as long as they were faithful, hence the Messiah was supposed to restore that kind of glory. I'm not trying to excuse them, Jesus provided plenty of evidence to the contrary. Sadly, there is a vocal sect of Christianity that is now like the ancient Jewish leaders. It is my belief that the supposed leaders of the Christian movement, the Religious Right, the whatever name the media is using this week are the modern day pharisees. What troubles me is that these are the people the majority of the population thinks of when they hear the word "Christian" even if they know others. I wish that more people would see this article from the Wall Street Journal editorial page about the "evangelical power elite". It's nothing amazing, it's just an article about leaders of companies or political figures that are active followers but do not make stump speeches about it. My hope/prayer is that people start to hear about these quiet followers than the loudmouth gasbags.