INTRODUCTION
Before I begin this discourse, I’d like you to picture me raising my hand. My objective is to participate in turn, share some musings, and encourage my brethren in a dialogue that will and should remain open. Thus, this article may be more cavalier than usual, since I prefer to avoid the posture of teaching on this one. Not that such expectations need to be managed, but I do not have all the answers; and I would do better to build up to a mic pass rather than a mic drop.
Matt Walsh’s film “Am I Racist?” has stirred up a controversy just as important as its titular one, namely the use of deception. In the film, Mr. Walsh goes undercover as a radical leftist and exposes the shenanigans of those who peddle white guilt for profit. As many even on the left have conceded, the result is revealing as well as hilarious. But the question, especially for Christians, is whether the end justified the means.
THE RAHAB PROBLEM
Almost all examples of lying in the Bible were directly requited by God with significant ramifications—some good, some bad. When the midwives lied to Pharaoh about being beaten to the scene by the baby boys, God dealt well with them (Exodus 1:19-20). But we should be careful about getting our own ideas, as Ananias and Sapphira did in Acts 5. Perhaps they rationalized their own lying by saying, “you know, I’m something of an Israelite midwife myself,” and assumed God would deal the same with them. Spoiler alert: He didn’t.
This should tell us that if we are considering a strategy that employs falsehood in any way, we had better be very, very sure that we are not tempting God. It is no light matter to seek personal application from mere historical records such as Jonathan’s lie to Saul to save David (1 Samuel 20:6), Jeremiah’s lie to the princes to keep the king’s confidence (Jeremiah 38:24-27), or most famously, Rahab’s lie to save the Israelite spies.
Joshua 2:3-6
So the king of Jericho sent to Rahab, saying, “Bring out the men who have come to you, who have entered your house, for they have come to search out all the country.” Then the woman took the two men and hid them. So she said, “Yes, the men came to me, but I did not know where they were from. And it happened as the gate was being shut, when it was dark, that the men went out. Where the men went I do not know; pursue them quickly, for you may overtake them.” (But she had brought them up to the roof and hidden them with the stalks of flax, which she had laid in order on the roof.)
When considered in context, this passage renders quite a broad coverage to the issue of deception. The Israelites were already on the inherently deceptive mission of spying, and Rahab’s lie should not be isolated from this. It is often argued that the most elaborate schemes of trickery are permissible, but the line is crossed when the tongue speaks one simple falsehood. Yet no Biblical principle suggests that Jacob’s sons were less guilty of lying because they didn’t tell their father outright that Joseph had been killed by a wild animal (Genesis 37:31-33).
An oft-overlooked example of lying occurs a few chapters later, when Joseph tests his brothers with false accusations in Genesis 42 through 44. This ruse went on for a substantial amount of time at the expense of his own brothers, both in the flesh and in the Lord, and was ultimately rewarded. I have occasionally heard the contention that the people in these examples were telling the truth, either in thought or in fact. But a logical reading of the texts proves this to be more of a stretch than the idea that their deception was righteous.
Nevertheless, when I hear such passages invoked by Christians, I often want stand up in Matt Chandler fashion and shout, “You’re not Rahab!” Although Hebrews 11:31 commends Rahab for what she did, it also assumes repentance for any sin facilitated in her dwelling place. I don’t hear these Christians saying, “Rahab did it, so how does a hundred bucks sound?” It’s worth remembering that we don’t know the fine details of Rahab’s conversion. While her lie is implied to fall on the righteous side of the line, it does fall close to the line; and the spies didn’t tell her to do it.
We must never forget that there are no exceptions to God’s law; so if these lies are justified, it is not due to arbitrary nuances. God’s law also makes provisions for killing that are not murder, but these should never be desirable nor the norm. Deception requires an exegetical defense, not an anecdotal excuse. An easy or convenient justification of lying is probably not a valid one.
THE WIGGED WARRIOR
Matt Walsh’s antics in “Am I Racist?” have more in common with spying out the enemy than with lying lips, but his methods are performative enough that the two often come hand in hand. It never could have been accomplished without an indefinite potential for misleading. Mr. Walsh is not unaware of this, and was quick to respond when people started talking about it:
“After all, deception is used by undercover journalists all the time. That’s the only way we know about Planned Parenthood selling aborted baby parts, for example. Deception is used by undercover cops; it’s used to catch pedophiles and murderers and drug traffickers.”
— Matt Walsh
Granted, this is not an argument from Biblical exegesis. As Christians like Pastor Jeff Durbin have previously pointed out, Mr. Walsh’s general silence on the Gospel premise (not to mention his Roman Catholicism) are issues that need their own sorting out. Still, this is a needed call to consistency. If you condemn Mr. Walsh for lying as a preemptive strike, then you must also condemn people such as Edward Snowden, Chris Hansen, and probably your own local sheriff who keeps narcotics off your streets as we speak.
In cases like these, no human lives are immediately at stake. But the question is: must we really wait until it escalates to that point? If we see a war coming a mile away, is it not our duty to engage in proportionate acts of war now? Or do we leave it to our grandchildren to use acts of war that will inevitably involve bloodshed?
Some have argued that Mr. Walsh’s comedy romp accomplishes no such thing, but these folks may be surprised if they spent a little more time reading. “Am I Racist?” has had a spectacular cultural impact, causing even prominent voices on the left to recommend the film for the truth it exposes. And remember, between his turbulent film “What Is A Woman?” and the other content he produces for The Daily Wire, Mr. Walsh is anything but a liked figure in mainstream circles. Yet here we are.
PASSING THE MIC
I haven’t withheld the strength of my own opinion because it isn’t there, but because, as I said earlier, I am not here to pretend that I can settle this debate. I will answer to God for my words, so it’s important that I judge when to be dogmatic and when to quit while I’m ahead. Mr. Walsh will also answer to God for his words, as will you and everyone else who participates in this discussion.
So by all means, let’s keep the discussion going. It’s an important one to have in these times, and I’m glad Mr. Walsh has opened it up. But please, let’s not debate war tactics in a way that turns into a verbal war all its own. As members of the Lord’s army, we must indeed see to it that our methods are righteous; but this must start with speaking righteously to one another.
Ephesians 4:15-16
but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ—from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.