Eliane, in a football blog I was reading the other night, one thread was about corruption at a rival team. One poster complained about the 'creative accountancy' of the other team, the retreat behind 'letter of the law' spin. He actually called them Pharisaeic.

The thought struck me that this notion, of the Pharisee, goes way beyond the religious world. It's used as common parlance in all walks of life by people who probably don't even know what a Bible is.

I fail to understand how people with an interest, even obsession, with religion just don't get it?

AL is a fairly easy to understand concept.

The football blogger went on to make his point, the other team are corrupt etc.. but he finishes by returning to the theme of the Pharisee, "If everyone had just looked at what was the intention behind the rules, instead of concentrating on the wordage in the rules, none of this need have happened."

And they say footballers' brains are in their feet.....

Your marital Armageddon? No.