Cuando tu oponente hace trampas, ¿qué debes hacer?
By John D. Ferrer
You may have heard the phrase “fair play is trade.” If your opponent on the football or basketball field pushes and elbows you, it’s only fair that you push back, right? As they say, fair play is trade. And as long as it’s not against the law, immoral, or physically harmful to someone, that principle can work well, at least in ball and board games. But what about politics?
Frank and I had a podcast on this topic as well. You can check it out at:
When your opponent cheats, what should you do? | with Dr. John Ferrer
How far should we take this idea that “fair is unfair”? A gentleman from Nigeria named Austin sent us a question about this last week.
“Imagine you are in the boxing ring with an opponent who breaks all the rules and no one calls him out on it, would you still play by the rules? To be more concrete, this analogy is meant to capture the political power imbalance between the Muslim north and the Christian south of Nigeria. As I am sure you already know, the survival of Islam depends on political power and domination. Our Muslim brothers are extremely political while the Christians are mostly passive. But apart from the political docility of the Christians, our Muslims do not really play fair. For instance, the Muslims go to the extent of registering underage voters. This is one of the main reasons why the northern votes beat the southern ones in federal elections, not that the Muslims outnumber the Christians. There are many more of their misdeeds that I prefer not to name here. The situation is much uglier than I have chosen to portray at this point… So how do you see this? How do you play fair with an opponent who does not play fair?”
Austin is clearly concerned about more than just apologetics. He yearns for justice. Under the looming weight of political corruption and injustice, he faces one of the biggest militant fronts in modern Islam. He worries, and rightly so, that religious and political adversaries have rigged the system. Of course, he wants to do something about it.
If their opponents in the Muslim north are cheating and abusing the system to stay in power, perhaps Christians in the south can use the same tactics to oppose the expanding Islamic caliphate. The Christians would have good reasons. The others cheated first. So is it okay to lie and cheat if the other does?
In short, no.
While I sympathize with Austin in Nigeria, I cannot condone such behavior. He is raising a practical question, whether “the end justifies the means.” That axiom is the centerpiece of Utilitarianism [i] , a non-Christian ethical theory formulated by Jeremy Bentham. Sure, lying and cheating may help you win elections. And you may cheat in the same way as your opponents. But the end does not justify the means. The means must justify themselves.
Furthermore, lying and cheating will not preserve the integrity of the church or show the light of Christ to the world. We will discuss some exceptional cases later. But at this point, if you are not literally being forced to lie and cheat, then you should not lie or cheat.
Heart check-up
Perhaps the best starting point to understand this answer is to do some soul searching. Ask yourself: Do you fear and love God more than anyone else?
“Do you fear and love God more than anyone else?”
That is, do you fear God as your sovereign judge and king more than anyone else? And do you love God as your heavenly Father more than you love anyone else? When we can answer this heart check with a resounding “Yes!” then we are in a good position to face the difficulties and do the hard work of apologetics.
This heart-checking was Peter’s advice to first-century believers. Apologists love to quote it in 1 Peter 3:15b: “Always be prepared to give an answer.” But just before that classic call to defend the faith, Peter places it within a context of persecution. In verse 14 he says, “But even though you suffer for what is right, you are blessed. Do not be afraid of their threats; do not be terrified.” Responding to how to do this, Peter says to put Jesus first. “But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord” (vs15a). The surrounding passage, 1 Peter 3:9-17 [ii] reinforces this point by saying, “do not repay evil with evil,” “nor insult with insult,” “repay evil with blessing,” “keep your tongue from evil and your lips from deceitful words,” and “suffer for doing good” rather than “for doing evil.”
It’s easy for you to say it.
Of course, it is easy for me to say all this. My job, my family, my way of life, are safe. There are no political enemies or religious invaders knocking on our door. My church faces no real danger of conquest at the hands of radical Muslims, militant Hindus, or even sarcastic atheists. It is easy for me to tell people to endure persecution heroically when it is their persecution and not mine. That is why I do not speak on my own authority. The apostle Peter said it first. I only agree with him. If I am ever faced with persecution like that suffered by my brothers and sisters in Nigeria, I pray that I will have the courage to follow my own counsel, I pray that I will follow Peter in honoring Christ as Lord and suffering well.
“Love and honor Christ as Lord, and then suffer well.”
How do we do it?
At this point, you might be saying to yourself, “Well, be fair and don’t ‘stoop down to their level.’ I get that. But how do we do that?” That’s a great question. I’m glad you asked. Stay tuned for part 2, where I explain seven principles we should all follow when our opponent isn’t fighting fairly.
Recommended resources in Spanish:
Stealing from God ( Paperback ), ( Teacher Study Guide ), and ( Student Study Guide ) by Dr. Frank Turek
Why I Don’t Have Enough Faith to Be an Atheist ( Complete DVD Series ), ( Teacher’s Workbook ), and ( Student’s Handbook ) by Dr. Frank Turek
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Dr. John D. Ferrer is an educator, writer, and graduate of CrossExamined Instructors Academy. A diplomate of Southern Evangelical Seminary and Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, he is currently active in the pro-life community and his home church in Pella, Iowa. When not assisting his wife Hillary Ferrer with her Mama Bear Apologetics ministry, John can usually be found writing, researching, and teaching cultural apologetics.
Translated by Yatniel Vega Garcia
Edited by Jennifer Chavez
Original Blog Source: https://bit.ly/3U9AOYv
