Topical Studies
What the Bible says about
Pragmatism
(From Forerunner Commentary)
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Joshua 9:3-15
Gibeon, a sizeable city located in the area later allotted to Benjamin, lay a short distance from Jebus (Jerusalem; see Judges 19:10). The people of Gibeon were Hivites, descendants of Canaan, the grandson of Noah whom God cursed on account of his sexual perversion. God promised Abraham the land the descendants of Canaan had settled in, of which the Hivites owned a significant part. God's will concerning the land's inhabitants is unambiguous. He states multiple times that He would drive them out and require the Israelites to participate (Exodus 23:22-24, 27-32; 34:11-12; Deuteronomy 7:1-2; 9:1-5; 12:2-4; 20:16-18; 25:17-19). In Deuteronomy 7:1, God lists the Hivites among the seven great nations He judged should be utterly destroyed. He explicitly forbids making a covenant with them or even showing them mercy. This latter command is a significant point by itself—that the God of mercy would say, "Show them no mercy." God knew that these nations' influence would result in idolatry among the Israelites, and subsequently, their destruction. For their part, the Gibeonites were simply trying to save their skins. Wanting to live, they pursued this end more pragmatically than the other Canaanites, who chose to go down fighting. The Gibeonites fashioned masterful disguises and played their parts exactly right to achieve their goal. Because the Israelites judged by appearances, everything appeared legitimate. The Gibeonites deftly answered the Israelites' minor inquiries, producing false evidence to support the story. The subterfuge worked, and the Gibeonites got what they were after. God frequently warns us about deception in its various forms because it works. The serpent twisted God's words, making them seem reasonable to Eve—it worked. Bribery also works—it causes one to turn a blind eye instead of dealing righteously. Proverbs 31 concludes that "charm is deceitful" (Proverbs 31:30)—yet charm also works. Solomon failed to heed this truth, and his charming wives led him astray. Evoking pity works, as the Gibeonites proved, as does playing to other emotions. Flattery likewise succeeds. Even when someone knows he or she is being flattered, it still works because it is pleasing to the ego, and those satisfying feelings dull the mind to the deception taking place. Careers and fortunes are frequently supported by, if not forged in, dishonesty because deceit is a pragmatic way to achieve desired ends without putting in patient and honest work. Today, euphemisms like "fake it 'til you make it" describe how people misrepresent themselves to get what they want. Yet God does not operate this way. Neither is He glorified when His people misrepresent themselves using such methods. Deception can be quite effective in achieving aims, but it is a polluted spring. What may start as a shortcut or easier way to accomplish a goal cannot end with peace or fulfillment because sin cannot deliver on its promises—sin itself is deceitful (Hebrews 3:13)! God not only says do not deceive, but He also strongly cautions about being deceived because, in doing so, we will join the deceivers in drinking of that poisoned spring. Jesus advises us to judge with righteous judgment (John 7:24), which begins with seeking the all-knowing God and acknowledging our limitations. Only God sees all that is happening, and often, far more is at stake than we realize.
David C. Grabbe
Joshua and the Gibeonites (Part One)
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Joshua 9:3-15
Deception is so tricky and commonplace these days that we can lose sight of what it even looks like, so here are some things to consider: » If we must disguise ourselves or our intentions, are we doing God's will? Jesus Christ never operated this way. » If we must approach a matter from the side instead of the front gate or front door, are we doing God's will? Jesus calls someone who climbs in some other way a thief and a robber—someone who is out for what he can get, not what God wants (John 10:1). » If we use or manipulate others to get something done, it indicates that something is rotten. » If we do things for appearance's sake instead of reality, we should recognize that what we are doing is not of the holy God. At best, we are doing the will of a carnal person—ourselves. At worst, we are doing the will of someone even more unscrupulous. Jesus has good reason to name Satan the father of lies and liars (John 8:44). Notice what John writes in Revelation 22:14-15: Blessed are those who do His commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter through the gates into the city. But outside are dogs and sorcerers and sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and whoever loves and practices a lie. (Emphasis ours.) These verses serve as a final bookend and mirror of that fateful day in the Garden of Eden. Satan practiced his lies, and Adam and Eve loved them. They had the truth from God, but Adam knowingly chose to listen to someone else, loving what was false. As a result, God drove humanity from His presence, and they lost the right to the Tree of Life. Thus, God decries both sides of this worthless coin of deception. On one side, He commands us not to bear false witness, which covers all forms of dishonesty. But on the flipside, He urgently warns us not to allow ourselves to be deceived, taken in, hoodwinked, or used by others in their schemes, machinations, or manipulations. Jesus counsels us to "be wise as serpents but harmless as doves" (Matthew 10:16). We likely lean toward one or the other. Some have the "wise as serpents" part down but lack a dove's gentleness and harmlessness. Others are dovelike, but they turn a blind eye to the fact that evil is real and end up ensnared. The right balance is to do what Joshua neglected to do about the Gibeonites: earnestly seek God. In this way, we can keep from planting the seeds that will bear bitter fruit for ourselves and others. Deception may work, but in time, it always proves the law of unintended consequences—both for the deceiver and the deceived.
David C. Grabbe
Joshua and the Gibeonites (Part Three)
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1 Kings 12:26-27
The man possessed a real fear, but his behavior was motivated by a selfish regard for his life and his position as king and a disregard of the promise that God had made to him. God had already told him, "Obey Me, and I will establish you as king." Obviously, Jeroboam was not walking by faith because he was more concerned about the people leaving him. Down in Jerusalem was the Temple and the brazen altar where the sacrifices were made—Jerusalem was the central location of the worship of God. What could he do to keep the people from returning to Jerusalem and shifting their loyalty back to King Rehoboam through religion? Jeroboam was no dummy when it came to political things; he was politically astute, a real man of the world. He was as pragmatic as one can get, a practitioner of situation ethics.
John W. Ritenbaugh
Deception, Idolatry and the Feast of Tabernacles
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Psalm 81:4-5
Asaph points out that God ordained the law of which he speaks. Law is inseparable from sovereignty. The god of any system can be identified by locating the source of its laws. From this principle, Herbert Armstrong concluded that the church is the only place on earth where the government of God operates. In the beginning of the United States, our system of law and our standards of morality were lifted in principle—but sometimes almost verbatim—from the absolutes of the Bible. After the Civil War, the basis of our laws gradually switched from the absolutes of the Bible to human relativism, which claims there are no absolutes. It asserts that every system's values, indeed everyone's values, are as good as the next. This philosophy began as mere advice to be tolerant, but as it became more popular, its adherents urged people to be pragmatic, that is, to adapt, to make compromises in values, to do whatever needs to be done regardless of its conflict with others' values. Concurrently, situation-ethics systems arose so that even churches eventually looked upon the Ten Commandments as mere suggestions. God was gradually erased from our public schools. Relativism has crept into every area of life so that it now dominates our moral and ethical thinking in education, religion, childrearing, marital relations, economics, agriculture, health care, social programs, etc.
John W. Ritenbaugh
The First Commandment
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