Answer a fool…do not answer a fool
Prof. Cory Griess addresses the ethical principles governing how church leaders should respond to false accusations and attacks, using Proverbs 26:4-5 as a framework. The article argues that the ninth commandment remains binding even in church conflicts, and that strategic silence or rhetorical excess cannot be justified as necessary for the greater good, offering practical guidance for PRC ministers facing contemporary disputes.
Answer not a fool according to his folly, lest thou also be like unto him. Answer a fool according to his folly, lest he be wise in his own conceit. Proverbs 26:4-5 "All is fair in love and war." And in church battles? But the phrase is not true. All is not fair in love and war. Jehovah still thunders His ninth commandment from Sinai, overcoming the whir of the grinder's wheel and the clanging of the swords below.1 When a husband or a wife twists his/her spouse's words to win an argument, it...
Full article available on sb.rfpa.org