A Christian had just won a debate against an atheist, but now the atheist is misrepresenting what happened. Of course, this is nothing new. The following is a revised and expanded version of an email message. In it, I refer to a character from Chinese literature to illustrate what many non-Christians do after losing a debate.

I have mentioned the Chinese classic The True Story of Ah Q several times in my books. It was written as a satire. Ah Q would get beaten up by someone, but then he would turn around and convince himself that he had won. In its historical context, the satire referred to the Chinese people, who would get beaten by foreigners time after time, but then they still thought that they were superior, probably because of their philosophy of Confucianism (which prides itself in non-violence). The Chinese calls this type of self-deceptive thinking the "Ah Q spirit" or the "Ah Q attitude." This is analogous to how many unbelievers behave after losing a debate. Just as China was "Ah Q" in terms of its politics, the non-Christian is "Ah Q" when it comes to philosophy and debate.

The following is taken from the Ah Q Performance Project, explaining part of what it means to be Ah Q.

Ah Q is a loser in real life but he can always create for himself psychological advantage. In essence, his psychological advantage is self-deceptive. He doesn't have money at all, but when he meets the rich, he says, "I was much richer than you were before, or, my son will be richer than you." But he ignores the reality that he is even too poor to marry. He has a scar on his head. Actually, it is ugly and itches all the time. But when others make fun of him, Ah Q says, "Do you have it? You don't deserve it!" Ah Q invents psychological advantage because he doesn't want to lose face.

Then, here are some relevant excerpts from The True Story of Ah Q:

Chapter 2: A Brief Account of Ah Q’s Victories

…It so happened, however, that after Ah Q had taken to using this furious glare, the idlers in Weichuang grew even more fond of making jokes at his expense. As soon as they saw him they would pretend to give a start, and say:

"Look! It's lighting up."

Ah Q would rise to the bait as usual, and glare furiously.

"So there is a paraffin lamp here," they would continue, not in the least intimidated.

Ah Q could do nothing but rack his brains for some retort: "You don't even deserve…." At this juncture it seemed as if the scars on his scalp were noble and honourable, not just ordinary ringworm scars. However, as we said above, Ah Q was a man of the world: he knew at once that he had neatly broken the "taboo" and refrained from saying any more.

If the idlers were still not satisfied, but continued to bait him, they would in the end come to blows. Then only after Ah Q had, to all appearances, been defeated, had his brownish pigtail pulled and his head bumped against the wall four or five times, would the idlers walk away, satisfied at having won. Ah Q would stand there for a second, thinking to himself, "It is as if I were beaten by my son. What is the world coming to nowadays…." Thereupon he too would walk away, satisfied at having won….

He never knew who started the fight, nor for what reason. Curses, blows and footsteps formed a confused medley of sound in his head, and by the time he clambered to his feet the gambling tables had vanished and so had the gamblers. Several parts of his body seemed to be aching as if he had been kicked and knocked about, while a number of people were looking at him in astonishment. Feeling as if there were something amiss, he walked back to the Tutelary God's Temple, and by the time he regained his composure he realized that his pile of dollars had disappeared. Since most of the people who ran gambling tables at the Festival were not natives of Weichuang, where could he look for the culprits?

So white and glittering a pile of silver! It had all been his . . . but now it had disappeared. Even to consider it tantamount to being robbed by his son did not comfort him. To consider himself as an insect did not comfort him either. This time he really tasted something of the bitterness of defeat.

But presently he changed defeat into victory. Raising his right hand he slapped his own face hard twice, so that it tingled with pain. After this slapping his heart felt lighter, for it seemed as if the one who had given the slap was himself, the one slapped some other self, and soon it was just as if he had beaten someone else–in spite of the fact that his face was still tingling. He lay down satisfied that he had gained the victory.

Soon he was asleep.

Chapter 3: A Further Account of Ah Q’s Victories

….All Ah Q's scars turned scarlet. Flinging his jacket on the ground, he spat and said, "Hairy worm!"

"Mangy dog, who are you calling names?" Whiskers Wang looked up contemptuously.

Although the relative respect accorded him in recent years had increased Ah Q's pride, when confronted by loafers who were accustomed to fighting he remained rather timid. On this occasion, however, he was feeling exceptionally pugnacious. How dare a hairy-cheeked creature like this insult him?

"Anyone who the name fits," said Ah Q standing up, his hands on his hips.

"Are your bones itching?" demanded Whiskers Wang, standing up too and putting on his coat.

Thinking that Wang meant to run away, Ah Q stepped forward raising his fist to punch him. But before his fist came down, Whiskers Wang had already seized him and given him a tug which sent him staggering. Then Whiskers Wang seized Ah Q's pigtail and started dragging him towards the wall to knock his head in the time-honoured manner.

"‘A gentleman uses his tongue but not his hands!’" protested Ah Q, his head on one side.

Apparently Whiskers Wang was no gentleman, for without paying the slightest attention to what Ah Q said he knocked his head against the wall five times in succession, and gave him a great shove which sent him staggering two yards away. Only then did Whiskers Wang walk away satisfied.

As far as Ah Q could remember, this was the first humiliation of his life, because he had always scoffed at Whiskers Wang on account of his ugly bewhiskered cheeks, but had never been scoffed at, much less beaten by him. And now, contrary to all expectations, Whiskers Wang had beaten him….

Now this "Imitation Foreign Devil" was approaching.

"Baldhead–Ass–" In the past Ah Q had cursed under his breath only, inaudibly; but today, because he was in a bad temper and wanted to work off his feelings, the words slipped out involuntarily.

Unfortunately this "baldhead" was carrying a shiny, brown stick which Ah Q called a "staff carried by the mourner." With great strides he bore down on Ah Q who, guessing at once that a beating was impending, hastily braced himself to wait with a stiffened back. Sure enough, there was a resounding thwack which seemed to have alighted on his head.

"I meant him!" explained Ah Q, pointing to a nearby child.

Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!

As far as Ah Q could remember, this was the second humiliation of his life. Fortunately after the thwacking stopped it seemed to him that the matter was closed, and he even felt somewhat relieved. Moreover, the precious "ability to forget" handed down by his ancestors stood him in good stead. He walked slowly away and by the time he approached the wine shop door he felt quite happy again.

The next time you encounter one of these deluded non-Christians, feel free to call him "Ah Q," and then send him to this page for the explanation.

For those who are interested, I am making available the full text of The True Story of Ah Q at:
http://www.vincentcheung.com/files/html/ahq.htm

A bilingual paperback edition is available at:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/7119026933/

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