“And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet.” Revelation 16:13

Pastor Doug Wilson of Christ Church in Moscow, Idaho, has developed a well-organized systematic on what he calls “lawful deception,” wherein he has identified three reasons for Christians to bear false witness with impunity:

1. Deception Against an Enemy During Wartime
2. Deception Against an Enemy in Culture War
3. An Overarching Exception

Previously, we examined the first two reasons Doug Wilson affirms lawful deception. Today we shall consider his third, which I call his overarching exception. Accordingly, Douglas Wilson has created a category of people whom he believes have “forfeited their right to the truth.” In his system, Mr. Wilson believes this forfeiture justifies him lying to them. Here are two quotations in full context where he states his doctrine (bold added):

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But in warfare, and in life, there is a little matter called the truth. And there is also an important question about whether or not there is a condition of war. Deception is in war what killing is in war.

DECEPTION AND WAR:
Saul sinned by believing lies about David. The wicked men who sought David’s life in this incident were characterized by their lies (v. 12). So how was it God’s deliverance that enabled David to get away by means of deception and trickery?

In a state of peace, lying is a great evil. The lake of fire is reserved for liars (Rev. 21:8). We are told not to lie to one another (Col. 3:9). We are commanded not to bear false witness against our neighbor (Ex. 20:16). But in this fallen world, some people so behave (by their lies) as to forfeit their right to the truth.

In a condition of war, deception is not the kind of lying we just noted. It is not a sin to paint your tank to look like a bush when it is in fact not a bush. But you are deceiving the enemy pilots. . . The Hebrew midwives lied to Pharaoh, and so God greatly blessed them (Ex. 1:17–19). Rahab hid the spies, sent them out another way than she said she did, and James tells us that this deception was what vindicated her faith as true and living faith (Jas. 2:25). In her case, faith without such a deception would have been dead. David pretended to be mad when he was not (1 Sam. 21:15). God told Joshua to deceive the soldiers of Ai with a fake retreat (Josh. 8:1–2). We could make a very long list if we wished. We want to be righteous, not over-scrupulous.

The issue is God’s law. Those who won’t deceive when God’s law requires it are likely to be the same ones who will lie when His law forbids it. (Blog & Mablog, Deception and War, November 13, 2010)

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The ninth commandment says not to bear false witness against your neighbor (Ex. 20:16). The Colossians are told not to lie to one another, seeing that they have put off the old man with its evil practices (Col. 3:9). The Israelites are told not to be false with one another (Lev. 19:11). And in Scripture, whenever deception is honored it is honored as an act of war — lying to the enemies of God who have forfeited their right to the truth. The midwives to Pharaoh would be one example, and Rahab protecting the spies is another. In time of war, you are not trying to develop unity with the enemy. (Blog & Mablog, True Glue, September 12, 2015)

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In both quotes Douglas Wilson fashioned a unique class of people “who have forfeited their right to the truth.” It’s unique because Scripture does not teach this doctrine, which accounts for the absence of proof texts. The Bible says many things about liars & evildoers, but it never says they have “forfeited their right to the truth” (including Romans 1:18–32). To be sure, Scripture never says anyone has “a right to the truth.” The Great Commission assumes this as a gift, or privilege, for all humanity. Regardless, the Bible never authorizes God’s people to unilaterally deceive anyone because they deem that person unfit. We infer from Holy Writ that in matters of life & death, Christians may bear false witness to evade participation in murder. This is consistent with “the whole counsel of God” (Acts 20:27). But Doug Wilson draws his conclusion without biblical warrant, citing two reasons why he believes these people “have forfeited their right to the truth.” He frames both in the context of warfare:

1. Their behavior: They “so behave (by their lies)”
2. Their enmity: They are “enemies of God”

“so behave (by their lies)”

Doug Wilson affirmed, “some people so behave (by their lies) as to forfeit their right to the truth.” Here we see Mr. Wilson arrogate authority to mete a specific punishment for a specific sin, which is preposterous because Mr. Wilson steps beyond the scope of any sinner’s expertise. The Bible does not grant him the right to judge the merit of others or the right to punish their sin. Indeed, the Lord Jesus warned against this (Matt. 7:2). But Douglas Wilson has determined that some people, by their behavior in general and their lying in particular, have forfeited their right to the truth. And in order to make this judgment, Mr. Wilson had to slip his readers a Mickey. Read it again in context:

In a state of peace, lying is a great evil. The lake of fire is reserved for liars (Rev. 21:8). We are told not to lie to one another (Col. 3:9). We are commanded not to bear false witness against our neighbor (Ex. 20:16). But in this fallen world, some people so behave (by their lies) as to forfeit their right to the truth.

In a condition of war, deception is not the kind of lying we just noted. It is not a sin to paint your tank to look like a bush when it is in fact not a bush. But you are deceiving the enemy pilots. . . The Hebrew midwives lied to Pharaoh, and so God greatly blessed them (Ex. 1:17–19). Rahab hid the spies, sent them out another way than she said she did, and James tells us that this deception was what vindicated her faith as true and living faith (Jas. 2:25). In her case, faith without such a deception would have been dead. David pretended to be mad when he was not (1 Sam. 21:15). God told Joshua to deceive the soldiers of Ai with a fake retreat (Josh. 8:1–2). (Deception and War)

Here’s the dope: In the first paragraph Douglas Wilson listed lying to those who “so behave (by their lies) as to forfeit their right to the truth” as a typical violation of the Ninth, which it’s not. This line of thought belongs to Mr. Wilson.¹ It’s his pretext for his deceptions. Now notice that in the second paragraph Doug Wilson asserted liberty to deceive as an act of war and simultaneously asserted liberty to deceive someone because of their behavior, as an act of war. He didn’t need both. The first does the job. If deception is a permissible act of war, then he needs no other reason to bear false witness in warfare. But he blurred the two together in the fog of war.

Now to be clear, lying to an enemy in wartime is a different cause of action than lying to someone because you determined they forfeited their right to the truth (on account of their behavior). Deceiving someone in a matter of national security is different than deceiving someone because you deem them unworthy. But Douglas Wilson included lying to those who “so behave (by their lies) as to forfeit their right to the truth” as an act of war to account for his behavior. He created this special category for deception that allows him to decree if someone has forfeited their right to the truth. Sure, this is transparently self-serving, but there it is. Count the number of falsehoods he has advanced in public for the past 15 years. A pattern is evident. And do not forget that Doug Wilson affirms the use of deception in culture war, which is his bailiwick. Last week we saw him wrest Scripture to approve deceit in sting operations. Here he enlarges the scope of deception to include deceiving those whom he declares “have forfeited their right to the truth.” This is his overarching exception to the Ninth Commandment.

“enemies of God”

First he declared them unworthy of the truth because of their behavior; five years later he extolled the virtue of lying to these unworthies, whom he identified as “enemies of God”:

“And in Scripture, whenever deception is honored it is honored as an act of war — lying to the enemies of God who have forfeited their right to the truth.”

However, Scripture does not instruct believers to make this judgment. We are to love our enemies and pray for those who mistreat us (Matt. 5:44). The Bible instructs no one, including culture warriors, to lie to the “enemies of God” — let alone identify them as such. And let’s be real. This is not a battlefield and we are not at war. No one has to hide any spies from danger in the USA, and no one faces a life-or-death situation that requires them to bear false witness. These circumstances don’t even exist in Moscow, Idaho, where Doug Wilson fights his culture wars. But he has to make these arguments to rationalize his deceit, because he is at war.

In 2007 Mr. Doug Wilson channeled Sir Winston Churchill when he told The New York Times Magazine, “We are trying to save civilization.”² And I’m pretty sure that no one could save civilization without a war or two against the enemies of God. He also poached Cotton Mather’s line to use as NSA’s epigraph: “Numquam bella piis, numquam certamina desunt” — “For the faithful, wars shall never cease.”³ He is in a perpetual state of war and you can’t have a war without an enemy, which brings us back to Douglas Wilson’s stated objective of taking Moscow & Pullman:

In the 60s, my father wrote a small but enormously influential book called The Principles of War. In it, he applied the principles of physical warfare to what he called strategic evangelism. This idea of warfare is necessary in order to understand a central part of what is happening here, and by this I mean the concept of the decisive point. A decisive point is one which is simultaneously strategic and feasible. Strategic means that it would be a significant loss to the enemy if taken. Feasible means that it is possible to take. New York City is strategic but not feasible. Bovill is feasible but not strategic. But small towns with major universities (Moscow and Pullman, say) are both. (The State of the Church 2003)

It matters not what kind of war he may call it — culture war, political war, strategic evangelistic warfare — he believes that “lying to the enemies of God who have forfeited their right to the truth” is an honorable act of war. And according to the quote, he has identified an enemy on the Palouse: “Strategic means that it would be a significant loss to the enemy if taken.” He has lied and continues to lie to that enemy; he cannot save civilization without it.

Last, it’s worth noting that in all this warfare and falsehood, Douglas Wilson apparently has not calculated the role of self-deception. If by his standard others have forfeited their right to the truth, then what has he forfeited by his serial lies? Worse, he has not contemplated the possibility that, according to his standard, he may be an “enemy of God.” Nothing commends the man — neither his behavior nor his lies. How true are the Puritan’s words, “Self-deceit will be found the worst deceit at last.”⁴

Next, we’ll consider a couple of the high-profile deceptions that Doug Wilson perpetrated against his neighbors on the Palouse, to demonstrate his firm belief in “lying to the enemies of God who have forfeited their right to the truth.”

¹ This teaching reeks of the Federal Vision’s works-based salvation. The sinner earns access to the truth by his behavior.
² He didn’t say from what. So remember Ashton’s Law: “Whenever someone tries to do something for you, they usually end up doing it to you.”
³ This statement sets the table to affirm the consequent and Douglas Wilson eats there often. It may be true that for the faithful, wars never cease; but it is not true that when Mr. Wilson prosecutes his wars, he is therefore faithful.
⁴ Matthew Henry, Commentary Upon the Holy Bible From Henry and Scott; With Numerous Observations and Notes From Other Writers. Romans to Revelation. (London: The Religious Tract Society, 1811), 486.