Proverbs 18:17

Proverbs 18:17 is a verse that every apologist ought to know by heart, because it describes a phenomenon that often occurs in apologetics. Here is how it goes:

"He who states his case first seems right,

until the other comes and examines him."

It's another way of saying that first impressions aren't always accurate. There can be more to a situation.

This principle also applies in other areas, like politics.

Take the current situation in Honduras, for example. The Miami Herald has a very interesting piece on the subject.

EXCERPT:

The greatest tourist attraction in Central America has always been politics. Diplomats stop by every few years, take a couple of snapshots of what's going on at the presidential palace, and then profoundly declare their opinions, devoid of context or history. This week's favorite diplotourism destination is Honduras, where the army Sunday arrested President Manuel Zelaya and booted him across the border to Costa Rica. In the Polaroid analysis, it's pretty clear what happened: ''A return to barbarism in our hemisphere,'' as Argentina's president Cristina Fernández put it.

She had plenty of company. ''The action taken against Honduran President Mel Zelaya violates the precepts of the Inter-American Democratic Charter, and thus should be condemned by all,'' said Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. “We call on all parties in Honduras to respect the constitutional order and the rule of law.''

The OAS Permanent Council voted ''to condemn vehemently the coup d'etat staged this morning against the constitutionally established government of Honduras.'' U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon demanded “the reinstatement of the democratically elected representatives of the country and full respect for human rights.''

Here's a question for all these new-found defenders of Honduran democracy: Where were you last week?

GET THE STORY.

Author: Jimmy Akin

Jimmy was born in Texas, grew up nominally Protestant, but at age 20 experienced a profound conversion to Christ. Planning on becoming a Protestant seminary professor, he started an intensive study of the Bible. But the more he immersed himself in Scripture the more he found to support the Catholic faith, and in 1992 he entered the Catholic Church. His conversion story, "A Triumph and a Tragedy," is published in Surprised by Truth. Besides being an author, Jimmy is the Senior Apologist at Catholic Answers, a contributing editor to Catholic Answers Magazine, and a weekly guest on "Catholic Answers Live."

9 thoughts on “Proverbs 18:17”

  2. One who opens mouth before finding out the facts often firmly inserts foot therein.
    If I were a politician, I might consider hiring a few competent people to provide me with accurate information that I needed to know.

  3. Why is it that I’m not surprised that most of the MSM is not fully covering this case of a Chavez puppet attempting to emulate the socialist greats?

  4. BillyHW,
    That could be shortened to “Never trust a POLITICIAN that doesn’t believe in term limits.”
    Or even, “Never trust a politician!” 🙂

  6. I understand that this man is a despot in the making, but I have a concern about the use of force to remove someone from an elected position, which is why we have the impeachment process. I don’t know the rule of law in Honduras, but that would be the most ethical way to rid yourself of a despot. The courts as I understand were supportive of this action, and it was done without assassination, but the whole pajama thing was a little undignified.

  7. Impeachments and due process often get the major backers unexpected visitors at 2:00AM.

  8. Shmikey, the military was ordered by the Court to arrest the President and escort him safely out of the country, I believe. And, he was legitimately removed by the Congress.
    The military has acted in an amazingly restrained manner during this whole ordeal. Honduras had a military government prior to 1982, and I’m sure there are forces who would like to return to that, but even when a mob of Zelaya’s supporters attempted to steal ballots being guarded by the military, the military commanders ordered that they be allowed to take the ballots, so as to avoid bloodshed.
    Many Hondurans in Congress, the courts, the military, and the general population, are fighting hard to preserve a free constitutional democracy. It is a crime that they do not have the support of the United States.

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