This passage of Scripture has indeed puzzled many people. Proverbs 26:4 reads: “Do not answer a fool according to his folly, Lest you also be like him.” Verse 5 adds: “Answer a fool according to his folly, Lest he be wise in his own eyes.”

When trying to understand these two verses, we need to realize that the Bible does not contradict itself. God’s entire Word is truth, as Christ said in John 17:17: “Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth.” This is a strong statement of Jesus’ confidence in the truth of the entirety of Scripture. Christ also said in John 10:35: “the Scripture cannot be broken…” There are no contradictions in God’s Word–no passage of Scripture “breaks” or contradicts another passage. Jesus’ response made the truth of His argument rest on the absolute trustworthiness of all Scripture.

Rather than being contradictory, the two statements in Proverbs 26:4, 5, complement each other. The last part of each statement shows the sets of circumstances or scenarios under which each of the two statements is to be applied. In every case, before deciding whether or not to answer, we need to consider the questioner’s motives–where the questioner is coming from–the content of his question, and his attitude!

Proverbs 26:4 tells us not to answer a fool according to his folly, lest we be like him. In this situation, the fool is not there seeking to learn anything. He is just argumentative, wanting to quarrel and debate. To answer the fool’s specific allegation or even accusation would end up in a meaningless discussion. In such a case, both parties would end up being foolish or behaving foolishly. Luke 20:1-8 gives us one example. When Christ was teaching the people in the temple and preaching the gospel, the Pharisees confronted Christ and asked Him: “Tell us, by what authority are You doing these things? Or who is he who gave You this authority?” (compare verse 2). Christ understood the wrong motives and intentions of the Pharisees. He did not answer their question. Rather, He asked them a question that He knew was impossible for them to answer without condemning themselves (compare verses 3 and 4). As Christ expected, the Pharisees refused to answer the question. As a consequence, Christ stated that He would not answer their question either, and the discussion ended (compare verses 7 and 8).

On the other hand, Proverbs 26:5 tells us that there are selective times when we are to answer a fool according to his folly, lest he be wise in his own eyes.

This approach is well illustrated by Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ, in his second letter to the Corinthian Church. Certain men at Corinth falsely pretended to be apostles of Christ. In order to protect the Church and not to give the impression of approving their claim through silence, Paul had to speak up. Therefore, Paul said in 2 Corinthians 11:23: “Are they ministers of Christ?–I speak as a fool–I am more: in labors more abundant, in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequently, in deaths often.” Paul answered these false apostles’ claims, by showing, in a “foolish way,” who was really an apostle of Jesus Christ, so that they would not appear wise to themselves and to others in the Church, thereby causing great damage.

Another example can be found in Job 2:9, 10: “Then [Job’s] wife said to him, ‘Do you still hold fast to your integrity? Curse God and die!’ But he said to her, ‘You speak as one of the foolish women speaks. Shall we indeed accept good from God, and shall we not accept adversity?’ In all this Job did not sin with his lips.” In this case the expressed folly is answered with reproof, as well as with a brief statement of the true facts and circumstances, exposing it in the manner deserved.

In conclusion, the two passages in Proverbs 26:4,5, do not contradict each other, but taken together, they explain different methods of handling the questions and statements of foolish people. In verse 4, we are told not to answer a fool, “…Lest you also be like him.” We are admonished to avoid a pointless argument, wasting fruitless time and energy on foolishness, and to avoid responding approvingly by like folly. However, in verse 5, we are told to answer a fool, “… Lest he be wise in his own eyes.” There is a time when we cannot give tacit approval by silence. There is a selective time to stand up, and not close our eyes to damage. We need godly wisdom to know just when and how to apply these principles, and this wisdom comes from God. James 1:5 tells us: “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him.”

Lead Writer: Bill Grams

The Ten Commandments are listed in Exodus 20:1-17 and Deuteronomy 5:6-21. There is universal acceptance that the number of the commandments which God gave to us, is ten. In fact, the Bible calls this set of commandments from God, “…the Ten Commandments” (Exodus 34:28; Deuteronomy 4:13; 10:4).

There is, however, disagreement as to HOW to number the Ten Commandments. Many professing Christians count the Ten Commandments differently today than the Jews do–and the early New Testament Church did.

For instance, the Jews count Exodus 20:2-3 as the First Commandment, which reads, “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. You shall have no other gods before Me.”

The Jews count Exodus 20:4-6 as the Second Commandment, which reads:

“You shall not make for yourself a carved image–any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; you shall not bow down to them nor serve [margin: worship] them. For I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.”

Many professing Christians count the entire passage of Exodus 20:2-6, as quoted above, as just ONE commandment, believing that all these verses describe just the First Commandment. However, the early Church understood Exodus 20:2-6 as describing TWO commandments, not just one.

It was Augustine, a Catholic bishop of Hippo in North Africa, who, in the fourth century, combined the First and the Second Commandment as just ONE commandment, so as to allow the worship of images. In order to reach the number ten, he divided the last or the TENTH Commandment into two.

However, the Jews and the early Church correctly understood that the entirety of the TENTH Commandment reads: “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, nor his male servant, not his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor’s” (Exodus 20:17).

This is clearly just ONE commandment. Augustine, by dropping the Second Commandment and still wanting to reach the number “ten,” divided the Tenth Commandment into two, claiming that the first part of verse 17 (“You shall not covet your neighbor’s house”) constitutes the Ninth Commandment, and that the second part of verse 17 (“…you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor’s”) constitutes the Tenth Commandment.

Anyone should be able to see that this distinction is highly arbitrary. Why would God give one commandment against coveting our neighbor’s house–and another commandment against coveting our neighbor’s wife, his servants, his animals and ANYTHING that belongs to him?

For further proof that Augustine’s renumbering of the Ten Commandments must be rejected, please note that Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ, made no distinction between coveting our neighbor’s house or his wife. There is only ONE commandment against coveting, as Paul clearly explains.

He said in Romans 13:9: “For the commandments, ‘You shall not commit adultery,’ ‘You shall not murder,’ ‘You shall not steal,’ ‘You shall not bear false witness,’ ‘You shall not covet,’ and if there is any other commandment, are all summed up in this saying, namely, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.'”

He also wrote in Romans 7:7: “… for I would not have known covetousness [i.e., that it is wrong and a sin] unless the law had said, ‘You shall not covet.'” Again, no distinction is made between coveting our neighbor’s house and coveting our neighbor’s wife, servants or animals.

As mentioned, the reason why Augustine renumbered the Ten Commandments (by counting the First and the Second Commandment as just one commandment) was a strictly “political” one. It was done for the purpose of allowing the worship of images and statues as part of the worship of God. But THAT is EXACTLY what the Second Commandment prohibits. While the First Commandment prohibits the worship of anything else BUT God, the Second Commandment prohibits the worship of statues in connection with the worship of God. This means, it is wrong to bow down and worship in front of a statue which supposedly depicts Jesus Christ, the Virgin Mary or a “departed saint.”

The Bible is very clear that neither Mary, the mother of Christ, nor any of the dead Christians, such as the Apostles Peter, Paul and John, are alive today. Rather, they are in their graves, awaiting the resurrection from the dead. It is therefore useless, for that reason alone, to bow down in front of a statue allegedly representing or depicting them, and pray to them for help. It is also clearly prohibited in the Bible to do so.

In addition, Jesus Christ is GOD (Hebrews 1:8), and to make a statue of God and to worship IT is also in clear violation of the Second Commandment. This is even true apart from the fact that virtually all pictures or statues, which purportedly represent Christ, are in total opposition to every description given of Him in the Bible, when He was on earth in the flesh. For instance, Christ did not wear long hair (compare 1 Corinthians 11:14); and He was a carpenter, working outdoors (Mark 6:3), but virtually all statues and pictures portray Christ as a feminine looking man with long hair.

In conclusion, Augustine’s renumbering of the Ten Commandments, which has been adopted today by so many professing Christians, is in DIRECT CONTRADICTION to God’s inspired Word. Correctly numbered, here are the Ten Commandments in an outline format (for the complete presentation, compare Exodus 20:1-17 and Deuteronomy 5:6-21), as inspired by God Almighty:

1) I am the LORD your God. You shall have no other gods before Me.
2) You shall make for yourself no image to bow down to it and worship it.
3) You shall not take the name of your God in vain.
4) You shall keep the Sabbath day holy.
5) Honor your father and your mother.
6) You shall not murder.
7) You shall not commit adultery.
8) You shall not steal.
9) You shall not bear false witness or lie.
10) You shall not covet anything that is your neighbor’s.

Lead Writer: Norbert Link

Centuries before Christ, the ancient Romans celebrated the evenings of February 14th and February 15th as an idolatrous and sensual festival in honor of Lupercus, the “hunter of wolves.” The Romans called the festival “Lupercalia.” In her book, “Customs and Holidays Around the World,” Lavinia Dobler states on page 172: “It was not until the reign of Pope Gelasius that the holiday became a ‘Christian custom.’ As far back as 496, Pope Gelasius changed Lupercalia on February 15th to St Valentine’s Day on February 14th.”

The Encyclopedia Britannica states on page 336 in its 15th edition, volume 10:

“St Valentine’s day as a lovers’ festival and the modern tradition of sending valentine cards have no relation to the saints but, rather, seem to be connected either with the Roman (sexual) fertility festival of the Lupercalia (February 15th) or with the mating season of birds.”

The Encyclopedia Americana states that “this pairing off was, of course, linked with sexual immorality.”

An article from the Internet (http://www.techdirect.com/valentine/origin.html) gives several descriptions of the origin of Valentine’s Day, including the following:

“The first interpretation has this celebration originating as a pagan tradition in the third century. During this time hordes of hungry wolves roamed outside of Rome where shepherds kept their flocks. The God Lupercus was said to watch over the shepherds and their flocks and keep them from the wolves. Every February the Romans celebrated a feast called Lupercalia to honor Lupercus so that no harm would come to the shepherds and their flocks. Also during Lupercalia, but in honor of the goddess Juno Februata, the names of young women were put into a box and names were drawn by lot. The boys and girls who were matched would be considered partners for the year, which began in March. This celebration continued long after wolves were a problem to Rome… As Christianity became prevalent, priests attempted to replace [or better: sugarcoat and cover with a Christian mantle] old heathen practices. To Christianize the ancient pagan celebration of the Feast of Lubercus, the church officials changed the name to St. Valentine’s Day.”

In his book, “Christianity–the Origins of a Pagan Religion,” French scholar and professor of medieval French literature, Philippe Walter, states the following on pages 76-78:

“.. the [Catholic] church invented the figures of saints–both men and women–who both borrowed the names of their pagan predecessors and possessed mythical attributes similar to those of their pagan models. This is why we cannot be surprised at worship devoted today to certain mysterious saints–including Saint Valentine. In fact, along with the time of year of his celebration, the initial syllable of his name–val–compels us to establish a potential link with the mythology of Carnival… It is curious that February 14 is celebrated in five regions to commemorate no fewer than five distinct saints all bearing the name Valentine… This phenomenon points to the camouflaging of paganism–most specifically, the rites and myths commemorated on this date in the pagan calendar–in several regions [namely, Rome, Italy; Terni, Italy; Toro, Spain; Puy; and Africa]…”

Alexander Hislop explained in his book, “Two Babylons,” that Valentine was a common Roman name. Roman parents often gave the name to their children in honor of the famous man who was first called Valentine in antiquity. That famous man was Lupercus, the hunter. Who was Lupercus? Why should he also have borne the name “Valentine” among the heathen Romans? The Greeks called Lupercus by the name of “Pan.” The Semites called Pan “Baal”–mentioned so often in the Bible–and this name was merely another name for Nimrod, the “mighty hunter” (Genesis 10:9). The hunter Nimrod was the Lupercus–or wolf hunter–of the Romans. “St Valentine’s Day” was originally a day set aside by the pagans in his honor.

Nimrod–Baal or sun god of the ancient pagans–was said to have been born at the winter solstice. In ancient times the solstice occurred on January 6th and his birthday therefore was celebrated on January 6th. Later, as the solstice changed, it was celebrated on December 25th and is now called Xmas. It was the custom of antiquity for the mother of a male child to present herself for purification on the 40th day after the day of birth. The 40th day after January 6th–Nimrod’s original birthdate–takes us to February 15th, the celebration of which began on February 14th–the Lupercalia or St Valentine’s Day. On this day in February, Semiramis, the mother of Nimrod, was said to have been purified and to have appeared for the first time in public with her son as the original “mother and child.”

Valentine’s Day is one of those pagan days that has become part and parcel of the fabric of today’s society. It is clear that Valentine’s Day–whichever way you look at it–has paganism written all over it. Paganism is not to be entertained by the people of God. God commands us not to worship Him in the way that the pagans worshipped their gods. Therefore, we are not to participate in the celebration of Valentine’s Day.

Lead Writers: Brian Gale and Norbert Link