Charlatan: “A person who
pretends or claims to have more knowledge or skill than he or she possesses;
quack.” An “imposter, mountebank, fraud,
fake, phony.”
A picture of Robert Preston
dressed as Harold Hill should accompany this dictionary entry. He was the salesman in The Music Man who sold band instruments about which he knew
absolutely nothing. In order to assure
his dupes he knew what he was talking about, he took on the phony title of
professor, and convinced them all of their sons could learn to play using his
“think method.” Or perhaps a picture of
Sinclair Lewis’ Elmer Gantry played by Burt Lancaster. Gantry pretended to be an evangelist in the
1920’s, using his position to garner money and to satisfy his womanizing urges. Imposters.
Recently, I heard about a guy
who claimed to know how to tell if a sheep is pregnant without wasting any time
doing one of those pesky blood or urine tests or doing an ultrasound. His method was much simpler. He just asked the sheep, “Are you
pregnant?” The ewe blinked once at him,
thus signaling that she was, indeed, with lamb.
“That’ll be $60, please.” Whether
or not he believes he has actually communicated with the sheep is irrelevant,
according to the Dictionary.com definition.
Whether or not he is correct in his assessment is just as
irrelevant. Some casual observation of
the ewe in question would have led anyone to believe she was most likely
pregnant. He could simply make an
educated guess (which he did) and be about 90% sure he was correct. But I could do that, and I wouldn’t charge
$60. A professional with a testing kit
would have done a scientific test for about the same cost. The man claimed to have more knowledge or
skill than he actually possessed, and attempted to bilk people out of their
hard-earned cash by convincing them he was a skilled professional. Charlatan.
Even before states began talking
with people about signing up for Obamacare, crooks were busy offering their
services for coverage that doesn’t exist, or coverage that can be gotten for
far less through legitimate channels.
With the universal confusion that currently exists concerning a 1,000
page document that hasn’t been read by more than a dozen or so people, and has
been interpreted in a dozen different ways, the pasture is full of eager
uninsured and uninformed sheep (many of them elderly) ready to be sheared. Frauds.
Unscrupulous people continue to
use websites, emails and phone calls to convince people they have won something
special or are rightful heirs to someone else’s fortune. In spite of all the warnings, U.S. dollars
are flowing into places like Jamaica and Nigeria to help put deposed princes
back in power or aid them in transferring their riches out of the country
before the bad people get it. Phonies.
Throughout history there have
been religious charlatans preying upon the unsuspecting, the trusting, the
faithful yet uninformed. They claim to
have special knowledge unavailable to anyone else. Just trust them and they will take care of
you. They have a power source the rest
of us could never tap into, but they are compassionate and will share that
power with us…for a price. The Apostle
Paul warned of these people who worm their way into homes and take advantage of
those who are “always learning but never able to acknowledge the truth.” These imposters, he writes, will go from bad
to worse, deceiving and being deceived.
There is a defense against such
frauds. The truth. However, the truth must be learned, accepted,
assimilated into our thoughts and actions, and used as a defense when
necessary. That truth is the scriptures,
God-breathed and useful for teaching the uninformed, rebuking phonies,
correcting imposters and training all to be righteous. The best defense against spiritual charlatans
is a sure grasp on the truth.
By the way, while scripture
speaks a great deal about sheep, never do they indicate any of them are able to
communicate with humans, by speaking or blinking an eye. The only talking animal in the Bible is a
donkey. And it turns out the rider was
the real ass because he was attempting to mislead God’s people. Charlatan.
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