The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, and majestic in his radiant splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him today and what came to my heart and mind in Proverbs 26:4-5,
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!
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"Do not answer a fool according to his folly,
or you yourself will be just like him.
Answer a fool according to his folly,
or he will be wise in his own eyes."
Here is a fascinating pair of couplets that seem to directly contradict one another. Should we or should we not "answer a fool according to his folly"?
As many, I used to be confused by this pair of proverbs by what Merriam-Webster calls, "a proposition, statement, or phrase (in this case two couplets, two proverbs) that asserts or implies both the truth and falsity of something", "a statement or phrase whose parts contradict each other", and a "logical incongruity".
The two verses are separate statements but are listed together to communicate two different truths about responding to a fool that actually work well together. In the first, if we "play the fool's game" by entertaining his assertion, it makes us just as much a fool as he is. In the second, we should respond to the fool in a manner that exposes him for what he is: a fool.
Here is an example of this as provided by a genuine fool contemporary with us, Pope Francis, the current pope of the Roman Catholic Church. He is South American, a communist with a big bent toward "liberation theology", socialism, social justice and all the nonsense coming from "Team Cain" these days.
Several years ago a documentary was released in which he announced his support for civil ceremonies for same-sex couples to get married. He feels same-sex couples should get married, and, apparently, not repent of their sin and get right with God. In his argument for this he said, "Homosexual people have a right to be in a family. They are children of God and have a right to a family. Nobody should be thrown out or be made miserable over it."
To argue against his reasoning by entertaining his premise, by accepting his proposition, would violate Proverbs 26:4. Having a right to be in a family is not predicated on embracing homosexuality (through the official establishment of marriage for same-sex couples). Recognizing a homosexual as a "child of God" (in the generic sense) is not predicated on embracing homosexuality. Further, not providing for the acceptance of homosexuality through civil unions does not mean we are throwing them out. (Homosexuals are miserable people anyway, so I don't think they need to be made that way, they already are.) The proposition of his argument is foolish, it is faulty, it is built on false choices. To be in a family and to be recognized as a human being (what he means by "child of God") does not require us to make or accept same-sex marriages. Afterall, that sort of false choice/false logic works for murderers and rapists as well, doesn't it?
However, in Proverbs 26:5, the pope needs to be responded to and demonstrated to be the fool he is by rejecting his foolish arguments- demonstrate to him why his reasoning is faulty. In stating why we reject his proposition or premise, we demonstrate the right to be in a family or recognized as one of God's offspring doesn't mean we reject God's perspective on the matter. God instituted marriage, God condemns homosexuality. Don't argue against a false premise, but reject the premise out of hand. It is as if the problem isn't in the data, it is in the metadata so to speak.
or you yourself will be just like him.
Answer a fool according to his folly,
or he will be wise in his own eyes."
Here is a fascinating pair of couplets that seem to directly contradict one another. Should we or should we not "answer a fool according to his folly"?
As many, I used to be confused by this pair of proverbs by what Merriam-Webster calls, "a proposition, statement, or phrase (in this case two couplets, two proverbs) that asserts or implies both the truth and falsity of something", "a statement or phrase whose parts contradict each other", and a "logical incongruity".
The two verses are separate statements but are listed together to communicate two different truths about responding to a fool that actually work well together. In the first, if we "play the fool's game" by entertaining his assertion, it makes us just as much a fool as he is. In the second, we should respond to the fool in a manner that exposes him for what he is: a fool.
Here is an example of this as provided by a genuine fool contemporary with us, Pope Francis, the current pope of the Roman Catholic Church. He is South American, a communist with a big bent toward "liberation theology", socialism, social justice and all the nonsense coming from "Team Cain" these days.
Several years ago a documentary was released in which he announced his support for civil ceremonies for same-sex couples to get married. He feels same-sex couples should get married, and, apparently, not repent of their sin and get right with God. In his argument for this he said, "Homosexual people have a right to be in a family. They are children of God and have a right to a family. Nobody should be thrown out or be made miserable over it."
To argue against his reasoning by entertaining his premise, by accepting his proposition, would violate Proverbs 26:4. Having a right to be in a family is not predicated on embracing homosexuality (through the official establishment of marriage for same-sex couples). Recognizing a homosexual as a "child of God" (in the generic sense) is not predicated on embracing homosexuality. Further, not providing for the acceptance of homosexuality through civil unions does not mean we are throwing them out. (Homosexuals are miserable people anyway, so I don't think they need to be made that way, they already are.) The proposition of his argument is foolish, it is faulty, it is built on false choices. To be in a family and to be recognized as a human being (what he means by "child of God") does not require us to make or accept same-sex marriages. Afterall, that sort of false choice/false logic works for murderers and rapists as well, doesn't it?
However, in Proverbs 26:5, the pope needs to be responded to and demonstrated to be the fool he is by rejecting his foolish arguments- demonstrate to him why his reasoning is faulty. In stating why we reject his proposition or premise, we demonstrate the right to be in a family or recognized as one of God's offspring doesn't mean we reject God's perspective on the matter. God instituted marriage, God condemns homosexuality. Don't argue against a false premise, but reject the premise out of hand. It is as if the problem isn't in the data, it is in the metadata so to speak.
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!
If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just reply and let me know.
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