The Deception of Projection

Reformation Church Blog

“Accuse your enemy of what you are doing…”

This quote (often attributed to Karl Marx, Joseph Goebbels, or Saul Alinsky) describes a common strategy of propaganda referred to as projection.

First labeled by Freud, projection in psychological studies is when someone attributes their negative qualities, thoughts, actions, or experiences onto another person. In layman’s terms, it is when you accuse others of what you yourself are doing. The idea is that you assume that the mirror reflecting your own shortcomings is actually a window to others. Therefore, in such cases, “if you spot it, you got it.” Related to gaslighting, projection manipulates the truth by deflecting criticism from yourself and projecting it onto others.

We’ve all seen this. For example, it occurs all the time in politics. In particular, the left is very adept as leveraging this tool. Consider how often this come up in that realm:

  • The left claims that the right is plagued by racism, but they attempt to eradicate so-called racism by promoting actually racist policies under the banner of DEI.
  • The left speaks of social justice which is often anything but just by biblical and reasonable standards.
  • The left accuses the right of a war on women, but it is the left who murders hundreds of thousands of little girls every year, attempts to eradicate the very boundaries and concept of gender, and removes protections for women in sports, bathrooms, and so forth.
  • The right is accused of fascism while the left suppresses news and desires to censor free speech.
  • The right is called a threat to democracy while the left seeks to expand the court, disband the electoral college, suppress voter identification, prosecute political rivals, etc.

But this isn’t a blog about politics in particular. These examples simply seek to show the strategy and how commonly employed it is in our culture. And it isn’t just our culture. This tactic has long been observed throughout history. Here are a few examples:

  • The Babylonian Talmud says, “Do not taunt your neighbor with the blemish you yourself have.”
  • The ancient Greek philosopher, Epictetus, said, “When you are offended at any man’s faults, turn to yourself and study your own faults.”
  • As mentioned earlier, Sigmund Freud commented on it in his collected letters to Wilhelm Fleiss.
  • Psychologist Carl Jung theorized that everyone has a darker side (called a “shadow”) that engages in psychological projection such that we can’t recognize our own flaws in ourselves, but instead project them onto others.
  • Joseph Goebbels (chief propagandist of the Nazi Party) utilized the “accusation in a mirror” approach to impute to enemies what they themselves were planning to do.

As you can see, this is not a modern phenomenon, but has a long history in various cultures and contexts. Such an exploration of culture and history can be helpful in highlighting this tendency of the sinful heart, but it is even more important that we see this principle in Scripture. So where do we find it in in the Bible?

“Projection” in the Bible

Obviously a term that was first coined in the late 19th century doesn’t occur in Scripture. But the question isn’t whether or not a particular term is used, but rather whether the concept is there. After all, Jesus never explicitly mentions idols or idolatry and yet His entire life and ministry is predicated on His passionate hatred of false worship. And the word “trinity” never occurs in Scripture and yet God’s trinitarian nature is a foundational truth upon which the Christian faith is built.

So is something conceptually akin to projection found in Scripture? Of course! After all, Scripture would hardly be sufficient if it didn’t speak (at least in general) to a particular area of sin.

Consider the following passages that touch upon the concept at least implicitly:

Therefore you have no excuse, O man, every one of you who judges. For in passing judgment on another you condemn yourself, because you, the judge, practice the very same things. (Romans 2:1)

In context, this is a critique of the hypocrisy of legalism. Like David’s condemnation of the rich man in Nathan’s parable (2 Samuel 12), so the hypocrite often condemns others for that of which they themselves are culpable.

When Ahab saw Elijah, Ahab said to him, “Is it you, you troubler of Israel?” And he answered, “I have not troubled Israel, but you have, and your father’s house, because you have abandoned the commandments of the LORD and followed the Baals. (1 Kings 18:17-18)

Notice how Ahab accuses Elijah of troubling Israel when he himself is actually the one who brings about God’s judgment.

To the pure, all things are pure, but to the defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure; but both their minds and their consciences are defiled. (Titus 1:15)

This passage helps to see some of the roots of projection. To those who are defiled, everything seems impure. This is one of the noetic (related to the mind) effects of sin. It blinds us to reality. We neither view ourselves nor others correctly. We accuse others while excusing ourselves.

Judge not, that you be not judged. For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you. Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when there is the log in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye. (Matthew 7:1–5)

Imagine having a log in your eye, I’d imagine you’d have trouble seeing much at all. At the very least, you’d see little specks just about everywhere you look. Sometimes there actually is a speck in our neighbor’s eye that we need to help them to remove after repenting of our own issues. But other times, it is entirely possible that once we remove the log from our own eye, we’ll find that there was never actually was a speck in our neighbor’s in the first place.

And the scribes and the Pharisees began to question, saying, “Who is this who speaks blasphemies? Who can forgive sins but God alone?” (Luke 5:21)

Think about the projection in this passage. The religious leaders of the day accuse Jesus (God Himself) of blaspheming God. So they blaspheme God by accusing Him of blasphemy. This is a classic example of projection for we know that Jesus was absolutely not guilty of the sin of which He was accused. He was innocent of the charges and yet they projected their own blasphemy onto Him.

As you can see, projection (or whatever we want to call it), is a common problem of the sinful human heart. At the root of our flesh is a desire to cover ourselves from our shame. Thus, we can easily engage in self-defensive measures to distract ourselves from conviction by focusing our attention on others. That is just another form of hypocrisy or legalism, but a particularly insidious one at that. It isn’t just garden variety hypocrisy, it is hypocrisy which has been washed and gilded so as to look righteous and good; it is vice masquerading as virtue.

Imagine wearing sunglasses and thinking that every room was too dark. Or wearing rose colored glasses and thinking everyone was red. Or having a fever and thinking the room was too hot. That’s what Scripture is warning against, a form of pride in which you defend yourself by attacking others.

As a result, jealous spouses are often guilty of infidelity. Husbands or wives who accuse their spouse of being domineering are often themselves a bit authoritarian. Liars tend to think others are lying. Those who accuse others of partiality are often themselves guilty of partiality. Those who are anxious see others as anxious.

This makes sense as you think about it. After all, the person who habitually commits any sin has a vested interest in normalizing that sin. We think of sin as normal in order to avoid the responsibility of repentance. Rather than accepting the fact that we are broken and running to Christ, we turn our attention to others and run to self-righteousness and hypocrisy. 

The way of a fool is right in his own eyes... (Proverbs 12:15)

How to Spot and Avoid Projection

Sometimes projection could be a conscious and intentional strategy (as in the case of propaganda), but often it is much more subconscious and subtle and thus all the more dangerous. In fact, the very nature of the sin makes it difficult to see in yourself. After all, if resisting conviction and refusing to look in the mirror is part of the strategy itself, then it stands to reason that you acknowledging this about yourself will be exceedingly challenging.

So, if this sin is so difficult to see, then how might we spot it?

Here are a few questions to help diagnose whether you (or another) are guilty of this kind of sinful projection:

  1. Do you somehow seem to always be the victim?
  2. Do you generally avoid offering apologies and instead make excuses?
  3. Are you regularly critical of others?
  4. When you are reproached, do you tend to respond with the tu quoque (“you too”) response?
  5. Is there a pattern of relational conflict between you and others?
  6. Are you regularly engaging in introspection and trying to own up to your own flaws and failures?
  7. When you are critiqued, do you try to genuinely give it due consideration? Do you ask others if criticisms against you are justified? Do you go through the hard work of trying to determine if even small aspects of accusations against you are somewhat valid?
  8. Do you go through the hard work of due process to determine if your criticisms of others are actually grounded in reality?
  9. When criticizing another, ask yourself if you are guilty of the same sins. If so, consider if you are justified in your concerns or if you might be projecting to avoid dealing with yourself.
  10. Ask yourself what tends to bother or trigger you. That feeling of annoyance could tell you more about yourself than you’d like to admit. Is that a trigger because it touches a sore spot in your own conscience?

There is no unique prescription to treat projection. Rather, as with all sin, all that is necessary is genuine conviction by the Spirit on the basis of the Word of God. So, where you see this tendency in yourself, repent, ask the Lord for forgiveness and help, ask others for accountability, and begin to walk in the freedom that comes in living in light of the gospel.

With his mouth the godless man would destroy his neighbor, but by knowledge the righteous are delivered. (Proverbs 11:9)