A faithful TOTT reader wrote, “If you would, please consider addressing the various uses of ‘fool’ in Scripture (OT and NT). Could you explain Matthew 5:22 in light of several Proverbs and Psalms where people are called fools? Are we not allowed to call people such as atheists and agnostics fools?” That request intrigued me because it immediately flies in the face of our post-modern culture. If everything,especially truth, is relative, who can say anyone is “a person lacking in judgment or prudence,” as Webster defines “fool”? Think about it. While most people would think it foolish to jump off a tall building, relativism demands that we conclude—that is, if a real conclusion about anything can actually be drawn—“That decision was right and wise for that person.” This article, therefore, delves into this question both exegetically and practically.
