Since I was a young boy, I have been fascinated by a pair of Scripture verses which, to me, didn’t pose so much a problem as they did a challenge. Some scholars have offered tedious explanations which, to my mind, are more questionable than helpful. However, my experience in ministry has helped me see them in a different light, and, I believe, understand the point they make. 

 

In Proverbs 26:4-5 we read, “Do not answer a fool according to his folly, Lest you also be like him. Answer a fool according to his folly, Lest he be wise in his own eyes.” (NKJV, emphases mine). A survey of other translations yields the same basic idea, though I think the Septuagint’s rendering highlights best some of the tension that seems to exist in these verses, “Answer not a fool...Yet answer a fool...”. A contradiction? No. A conundrum? Yes.

 

According to the Hebrew text, the vocabulary and grammatical structure of these two commands are absolutely identical, save for the obvious change of the verb “to answer” from positive to negative. While this particular negative may not be as strong as “Thou shalt not”, it still doesn’t appear to alter the ultimate meaning. It’s as if the author is saying, “Please don’t answer a foolish person according to his foolishness, because then you’re no different than he is. On the other hand, you must answer a fool according to his foolishness, otherwise he’ll think that he really does have wisdom”.

 

We have a saying in the United States (here modified for general reading), “You’re darned if you do and darned if you don’t!”. In other words, no matter what you do, you really can’t win. And, it appears from these verses that dealing with fools poses, in a sense, such a “no-win” situation for us. Words related to “fool” are not used lightly in Scripture, being found no less than 175 times. Of these uses, the vast majority are nouns, indicating the subject’s identity. The next largest usage are adjectives, describing one’s character as expressed in their actions, words, or attitudes. Clearly, while we must be careful not to use the term loosely, at the same time there are many people which the Bible itself characterizes as “fools” or “foolish”.

 

The Biblical definition of the word “fool” is rather broad, and extends beyond borders of mere stupidity and dull-ness and includes arrogance, shameless impropriety, and the most extreme expressions of wickedness. The book of Proverbs alone uses words relating to “fool” more than 80 times and provides quite an education about a fool’s nature and activities. Truly, only a fool would want to be a fool! As I minister to people in a skeptical world, I have often had to keep in mind the basic description of a fool found twice in the book of Psalms: “The fool has said in his heart, ‘There is no God.’” (14:1 & 53:1). In Isaiah 32:6, we see the same theme expanded upon, “For the foolish person will speak foolishness, And his heart will work iniquity: To practice ungodliness, To utter error against the LORD...” (emphasis mine). Those who promote ideas opposed to the existence, character or activities of God do not really display an educated, objective and unbiased intellectual pursuit. Rather, as Paul says in Romans 1, they confirm that they “suppress the truth in unrighteousness”, are “futile in their thoughts”, their “foolish hearts (are) darkened” and “professing to be wise, they (are) fools” (emphases mine). In other words, as I often say in my lectures, mankind’s problem is not ignorance, but rebellion - it’s not that they can’t see the truth, but rather that they won’t see the truth.

 

How, then, should we deal with such people? I remember the outrage from the Christian community in 1988 when Martin Scorsese released his film, The Last Temptation Of Christ. And I also distinctly remember that in those areas where the protests were the loudest, the film received the best attendance. It was as if our best efforts simply backfired. Perhaps it would have been better if we had done nothing!

 

Having learned a lesson back then, I wondered how I should respond to the  more recent phenomena of Dan Brown’s “DaVinci Code” book and film. His claims are so outrageous they are laughable, and I can hardly imagine that people actually believe them. So then, should I make a big issue of it and vigorously expose their fallacies in my teaching? Or, should I just ignore them, and hope that, like all fads, they would eventually fade away?  It was while I was pondering this question that I recalled those two verses in Proverbs. I sensed in them the same exasperation I was feeling. I knew that if I “answered the fool”, I would be giving weight or credibility to an otherwise silly idea. But, if I “didn’t answer the fool”, many innocent people might be swayed and influenced by it’s teaching.

 

When dealing with “fools”, there are simply no easy solutions, and no matter which course we take we must proceed with caution. For that reason, I am not writing this article with the intention of providing a clear, definitive answer to this dilemma. Rather, I wish to emphasize a few key points to help us avoid some very common pitfalls:

 

Guard Your Heart. Dealing with folly can be very seductive. Error, under the spotlight of truth, can be almost humorous, and there’s great satisfaction in showing it to be what it is. However, we must be careful that as we do so we don’t get sucked into the game of trying to “out-maneuver” or “silence the opponent” with our slick use of logic or evidence. While I do believe that it is necessary at times to engage people’s minds in this way, there’s a very real danger of unwittingly adopting the root of folly - a denial of God’s authority in favor of man’s intellect - and in so doing lose the war though we may win a battle. The antidote to foolishness is wisdom - and wisdom comes from first having a fear of the Lord. It is imperative that we cultivate, in ourselves and in our “opponents”, this reverence towards our Creator and His revelation.

 

Be Ready Always. The famous verse in I Peter 3:15, the “theme verse” for apologetics, is actually more focused on the “readiness” rather than on the “answering”. The context strongly teaches that how we live before the unbelieving world must and will cause them to ask questions. Only then is what we say of any value. Sometimes, I fear that over-zealous Christians may behave in ways that are counter-productive. Jesus was full of “grace and truth”, a perfect balance between life and word. 

 

Trust The Spirit. This last point is by far the most important. I don’t simply mean by this that we trust Him to give us the right words we need for the moment, though He surely does and we ought to ask Him specifically to do so. However, my main emphasis is to remind us that a “fool’s” spiritual blindness and deafness is not going to be overcome by our words, but by the Holy Spirit if He chooses to work in them in such a way. It is the Spirit that makes alive, not us, and we must not wrongly apply to ourselves the responsibility of convincing and converting.

 

At the risk of being almost too simplistic, I must remind us all that battles against falsehood will be with us from now until the end of time. We should not get overly worked up over them. If appropriate, give answers. If not, withhold. But, all the while, let us model before the world the consistency of godly character that comes with true wisdom and godly fear. And let us not foolishly look to ourselves, but to the Lord, for His work to be accomplished in the lives of the people around us.

 

In His Service,

Stephen P. Tecklenberg
President / Executive Director