Dr Paul Allen

By Duane Garrett Speaking up for biblical principles is a dangerous thing. People may abuse you or accuse you, saying that you are a fool or even that you are evil. But Proverbs 9:7–8 gives us wise counsel in the face of such hostility: Whoever corrects a scoffer gets himself abuse, and he who reproves a wicked man incurs injury. Do not reprove a scoffer, or he will hate you; reprove a wise man, and he will love you. The fool The “scoffer” in Proverbs 9:7–8 is a step beyond the “fool.” The fool in Proverbs is not a gullible, easily swindled person, as in “a fool and his money are soon parted.” Rather, “folly” describes actions or words that go against the rules that God established when he made the world. Folly can be immoral, undisciplined behavior (Ps 38:5; 69:5; Prov 5:23; 24:9), and it often shows itself in anger (Prov 14:17, 29). Fools are quick to speak, supposing themselves to be wiser than they really are (12:23; 13:16). They are a danger to those around them (17:12). In short,

Sometimes people struggle with the Bible and Christianity because it’s so real. How can Christianity be founded on hope when so much of the story is violent, oppressive, and bleak? I mean, have you ever read the Bible? It contains plenty of tragedy, trauma, and treachery. You might think that flipping through biblical stories would make you more cynical, not less cynical. When one of my boys was little, his favourite Bible story featured Samson and Delilah. I started to get nervous when he asked me to read it night after night. After all, the story has almost no redeeming qualities. God gives a man a gift of strength, and the man falls madly in love, stupidly squanders his gift, and gives the secret away . . . lying through his teeth all the while. Then he goes out with a bang, killing thousands of people and himself in one spectacular feat of brute strength as he demolishes a temple. And nobody lived happily ever after. Amen. For years, it bothered me that Scripture has so many vio