Results 1 - 6 of 6
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Results from: Answered Bible Questions, Answers, Unanswered Bible Questions, Notes Ordered by Verse | ||||||
Results | Verse | Author | ID# | |||
1 | Are | 1 Sam 16:2 | gregorygan | 139444 | ||
I know it is not God's character to lie or deceive. But as Samuel was fearing for his own life, God had to tell Samuel to go to the House of Jesse on the pretext of making an offering, which Samuel complied. But that was not the main reason for Samuel to go there. He had a mission to anoint the next King of Israel. That remains the sole and main purpose of his visit. Not the offering. If you leave the lights, TV and even the radio on during the night when no one is in the house, would that constitute deception, if your main purpose was to tell potential burglars that someone is in the house? If you are invited to a dinner party and the host ask you whether you like the food she painstakingly prepared for the whole afternoon, would you tell the truth when you actually did not like the food one bit? In the many wars that Israel fought, some strategies involved deception. The Ten Commandments instruct us not to bear false witness against thy neighbors. It does not say that we should not bear false witness against thy enemies. Remember the account of Rehab, when she had to lie in order to save the lives of the Jewish spies? Rehab's life was spared because of this act and God blessed and used her in the genealogy of Christ's birth. So I still believe that God told Samuel to deceive King Saul in order to preserve the life of Samuel in order that the next King of Israel can be chosen and anointed. Saul was no longer a servant of God and he was rejected as some kind of an "enemy" of God. Can someone shed more light on this issue? In Christ's love, Gregory |
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2 | Are | 1 Sam 16:2 | Searcher56 | 139453 | ||
First ... it is not needed to ask the same question more than once. Second ... I think Tim answered this situation with excellence. Third ... Didn't Samuel offer a sacrifice? So would he had to lie if confronted? (See Tim's post). The Bible does show that His servants were not perfect, and didn't cover it up HOWEVER God never justified their actions. Read Matthew 5:37. |
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3 | When can we lie? | 1 Sam 16:2 | gregorygan | 139461 | ||
You have not signed off with a name, so I cannot address you. You have not answered my question and neither did Tim. I still do not have any clear Biblical guidelines on this issue. Sorry that I triplicated my mail by mistake. I have said that it is not God's character to lie or deceive, and I know this is also confirmed in the Bible. But I havve given explicit examples of situations that call for us to lie. Rehab for one. And what about the burglars and the dinner party? Will you be so honest as to harm someone's life by telling where they are hiding, or are you going to make it known that no one is in the house so as to invite burglars into your home or are you going to offend your dinner host by telling the truth? Can I recap what you have said in another way. Let us say that a Christian missionary would like to go to Saudi Arabia to share the gospel for at least 3 years. He knows fully well that if he was to disclose the real reason for his visit to Saudi Arabia, he will never get his visa stamped, right?. This is because Christianity is forbidden to be preached in this holy land of Islam. As such, he has to resort to deception or lie by conjuring that he is there to enrol as a student of language. He consequently enrols with an institution and gets his student visa and in his spare time, he shares the gospel with non-Christians. After a year of doing this, he was caught by the religious police and charged with the crime of preaching Christianity and obtaining a visa by deception. This Christian missionary knows and admits this to be the truth. Tell me what should this person have done before he applied for his visa? Tell the truth and he will never get his visa. Tell a lie and he may get his visa, but at great risk. Samuel faced the same dilemma. Tell the truth and surely Saul will kill him. Conjure something up and he may accomplish his mission to anoint the next King of Israel. I hope I have made myself clear. Please share your further thoughts on this matter. In Christ's Love, Greg |
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4 | When can we lie? | 1 Sam 16:2 | DocTrinsograce | 139463 | ||
Hi, Greg... This is an interesting topic. Frankly I've pondered the same thing myself. The example of Samuel is a good one. Rahab hiding of the truth is another. Even Christ seemed (operative word there!) to misdirect on occasion. I believe part of the answer rests in an area that Calvin used to emphasize: "God uses secondary causes." You might look around on the net for some of what the Reformers had to say regarding secondary causes. Another aspect of this question can be found in an area of philosophy called ethics. I'd encourage you to look up the phrase "teleological suspension of the ethical." In particular look at what Soren Kierkegaard has to say on this subject. (Of course, I do not view Kierkegaard as infallable nor do I fully agree with him, but what he has to say on this topic seems sound enough.) Now, all that written, I'd say that truthfulness is a virtue that should not be compromised. The narratives of scripture are there to help us understand the redemptive work of God. The behaviors of the frail humanity that are in these histories are not necessarily to be emulated except where we are commanded to do so. Furthermore, we are specifically commanded to speak the truth. Therefore, if your conscience bothers you on a point of misdirection, deal with it and speak as honestly as you are capable of doing. I hope this will help a little bit. In Him, Doc |
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5 | When can we lie? | 1 Sam 16:2 | gregorygan | 139510 | ||
Hi Doc, Thank you very much for your brief but measured response. I am much encouraged that there are Christians who have also pondered over this topic. I thought I was the only odd one. I will surely do some more research as per your suggestion. In Christ's love, Greg |
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6 | When can we lie? | 1 Sam 16:2 | DocTrinsograce | 139511 | ||
Oh no, Greg... you are not the only odd one. There are at least two of us! :-) | ||||||