The Pharisee stood and prayed about himself: God, I thank you that I am not like other people — robbers, evildoers, adulterers — or even like this tax collector — the Pharisee stood and prayed about himself (pros heauton, to himself — or about himself): the prayer that is self-directed rather than God-directed. God, I thank you: the prayer begins with gratitude that is actually self-congratulation. Not like other people — robbers, evildoers, adulterers — or even like this tax collector: the self-definition by comparison, the definition of holiness as superiority to others.

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