A culpable passion is an impulse of the soul that is contrary to nature. Dispassion is a peaceful condition of the soul in which the soul is not easily moved to evil. (Maximos the Confessor)

Tomorrow I will vote against a candidate for Attorney General of Virgina. I don't know much about his opponent.

But the candidate against whom I will vote has said, "My view is that homosexual acts, not homosexuality, but homosexual acts are wrong. They’re intrinsically wrong. And I think in a natural law based country it’s appropriate to have policies that reflect that. ... They don’t comport with natural law. I happen to think that it represents (to put it politely; I need my thesaurus to be polite) behavior that is not healthy to an individual and in aggregate is not healthy to society.”

There are several parallel narratives and sub-plots in the gospels. But certainly one of the most prominent is the effort Jesus makes to reform the Pharisees, the natural law party of his day.

There is some evidence that Jesus emerged from among the Pharisees. At the very least he was deeply familiar with their doctrines.

Jesus was explicit that he did not intend to change any point-of-law. But he sought to fulfill the law by infusing it with love.

Love can be tough. Jesus was not always kind or patient with the Pharisees. But what made Jesus furious was the self-righteousness of the Pharisees, especially their confidence in using God's law to condemn others and justify themselves.