Biblical Concept:
Projection
Projection – “PSYCHOLOGY
the unconscious ascription of a personal thought, feeling, or impulse to
somebody else, especially a thought or feeling considered undesirable”
(Encarta).
The Biblical mental attitude sin of projection is an
unconscious, or conscious, effort to assign unwarranted qualities to another
person.
The Biblical mental attitude sin of projection is a
background sin supporting other sins such as: judging (we all judge, so you
judge), lying (we all lie, so you lie), gossip (we all gossip, so you gossip),
hypocrisy (we all act hypocritically, so you are a hypocrite).
Biblical Examples:
·The
liar Satan projects lies to God (John 8:44b compared to Genesis 3:1-5).
·The
wicked lower God to their standards (Psalm 50:16-21).
·The
religious hypocrite projects his/her low standards to God (Romans 2:4).
·Non-Christian
religious intellectuals project images to God (Acts 17:29).
·The
religious project their low standards on themselves (2 Corinthians 10:12).
·For
days, Elihu listened to Job, Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar project false notions
about
God (and
Job) (Job 34:10, see 35:2 and 42:8).
Closely related to the Biblical mental attitude sin of projection, is the
mental attitude sin and logical fallacy of projecting a non-sequitur (Description:
An argument in which the conclusion is not a necessary consequence of the
premises. Another way of putting this is: A conclusion drawn from premises that
provide no logical connection to it.*)
Example: Men commit murder, you are a man, you are a murderer.
Closely related to the Biblical mental attitude sin of projection, is the
mental attitude sin and logical fallacy of projecting a sweeping
generalization (Description: Also known by the Latin term "DICTO
SIMPLICITER", a Sweeping Generalization occurs when a general rule is
applied to a particular situation in which the features of that particular
situation render the rule inapplicable. A sweeping generalization is the
opposite of a hasty generalization.*) Example: Blonds are dumb, you
are blond, you are dumb.
(Hyperlinked from above.)
NAS John 8:44 “You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature; for he is a liar, and the father of lies.”
NAS
Genesis 3:1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field which
the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman, "Indeed, has God said,
'You shall not eat from any tree of the garden'?" 2 And the woman said to
the serpent, "From the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat; 3 but
from the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden, God has said,
'You shall not eat from it or touch it, lest you die.' " 4 And the serpent
said to the woman, "You surely shall not die! 5 "For God knows that
in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God,
knowing good and evil."
NAS
Psalm 50:16 But to the wicked God says, "What right have you to tell of My
statutes, And to take My covenant in your mouth? 17 "For you hate
discipline, And you cast My words behind you. 18 "When you see a thief,
you are pleased with him, And you associate with adulterers. 19 "You let
your mouth loose in evil, And your tongue frames deceit. 20 "You sit and
speak against your brother; You slander your own mother's son. 21 "These
things you have done, and I kept silence; You thought that I was just like you;
I will reprove you, and state the
case in order
before your eyes.
NAS Romans 2:4
Or do you think lightly
of the riches of His kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that
the kindness of God leads you to repentance?
NAS Acts 17:29
"Being then the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Divine
Nature is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and thought
of man. (Paul to
the polytheistic religious intellectuals of
NAS 2
Corinthians 10:12 For we are not bold to class or compare ourselves with some
of those who commend themselves; but when they measure themselves by
themselves, and compare themselves with themselves, they are without understanding.
NAS Job 34:10
"Therefore, listen to me, you men of understanding. Far be it from God to do
wickedness, And from the Almighty to do wrong.
NAS Job 35:2
"Do you think this is according to justice? Do you say, 'My righteousness
is more than God's'?
NAS Job 42:8
"Now therefore, take for yourselves seven bulls and seven rams, and go to
My servant Job, and offer up a burnt offering for yourselves, and My servant
Job will pray for you. For I will accept him so that I may not do with you according to your folly, because you have not
spoken of Me what is right, as My servant Job has."