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Results from: Answered Bible Questions, Answers, Unanswered Bible Questions, Notes Ordered by Verse | ||||||
Results | Verse | Author | ID# | |||
1 | Is it always a sin to lie? | Ex 20:16 | ayano | 161844 | ||
is it always bad to lie? there are some extreme cases where lieing can save people's lives. If I lie for good cause (not only for myself but for others as well), would I still be considered as sinning? | ||||||
2 | Is it always a sin to lie? | Ex 20:16 | Makarios | 161845 | ||
Greetings Ayano, "Is it ever right for the Christian to lie?" "Yes- but I need to qualify what I mean. On the one hand, Scripture forbids lying (Exodus 20:16). Lying is viewed as a sin (Psalm 59:12) and is an abomination to God (Proverbs 12:22). God never lies (Numbers 23:19). Righteous men hate lying (Proverbs 13:5)." "On the other hand, there are Scriptures which indicate that under certain circumstances, lying is not condemned. For example, though the Hebrew midwives were commanded by the Egyptian Pharaoh to let newborn baby boys die, the midwives disobeyed the Pharaoh and lied to him when questioned about it (Exodus 1:15-19). To the Hebrew midwives, lifesaving was higher on the ethical scale than truthtelling. God not only did not condemn the midwives for lying, He was kind to them for their merciful act (see verse 20)." [Taken from "The Complete Book of Bible Answers", by Ron Rhodes, 1997 Harvest House Publishers, page 297] --Makarios |
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3 | Is it always a sin to lie? | Ex 20:16 | kalos | 161888 | ||
'White Lies and Other Deceptions' by Gregory Koukl ____________________ "...we're not obliged to tell everything we know." ____________________ 'Is lying ever right? Is trespassing? Is violence? Some thoughts to help you sharpen your ability to make ethical decisions. 'I think lying is wrong. However, we have to be clear on what constitutes lying, that is, immoral deception. It seems that not all deceptions are immoral. Did you ever make a fake while playing basketball? Isn't such a feint a deception? It is, but I don't think most people would consider it immoral, even though it was, in fact, deceptive. 'There are other examples. We dress to flatter our figures instead of being entirely truthful about our physical shape. We wear hairpieces if our hair is thinner than we'd like to show. There are times we're not forthcoming with all the truth. More could be said, but we withhold information. 'So it seems reasonable to say there are "deceptions" we wouldn't really consider immoral--faking in basketball, trying to dress in a flattering way, or not being forthcoming with all the information we might have. 'Incidentally, I don't think Jesus was always forthright. Take, for example, the woman at the well (John 4). Jesus had a goal He was not immediately forthright about. I don't see this as manipulation, though, but as sensitivity to the moment. If Jesus wasn't always entirely forthright in some cases, yet we know He never committed any sin, then that means it isn't necessarily a sin if you're not forthright about everything. 'Take this example. You come into a store and want to get the best price for something you intend to buy. You've done some research, but you don't let on up front. Instead, as a tactical move you play stupid. There is a kind of deception here, one could argue, but I think you'd be hard pressed to call it sinful. It seems we're not obliged to tell everything we know. 'On the one hand, there are blatant deceptions that are clearly sinful. Then there also seems to be a category of deceptions that don't rise to the category of sin. Then you have, in the middle, situations I would call moral dilemmas. These are more difficult judgment calls. 'A moral dilemma is when you must choose one of two things, but either thing would be wrong to do when taken on its own. Do you endanger a human life, or do you tell a lie? If you choose to tell the truth, you may do right by telling the truth, but it seems you do wrong by exposing a human being to serious harm. If you protect the human being by lying, well, you've saved a life, but told a lie. That is a moral or ethical dilemma. 'There are a couple of different ways Christians have approached this historically. One is to claim there really is no such thing as an ethical dilemma. Some will say you should never lie, you should always tell the truth, and let God worry about the consequences. 'What if you see a woman run into an alley to escape someone who's trying to kill her, and they ask you, "Where is she?" What do you do? Do you send them on a wild goose chase to protect the woman's life? Or do you lead them to their victim? 'Some would say you are morally obliged to tell exactly where she's hiding and let God take care of it. But that option can cut in both directions. Why not protect her by lying and let God take care of it by forgiving the lie? Which do you choose? This question is at the heart of all ethical dilemmas.' (To read the entire article, go to: www.str.org/free/commentaries/ ethics/lie.htm) Makarios: Thank you for posting an excellent reply to this question. In my opinion, when people choose not to lie and their choice leads to the murder of innocent men, women and children (as in the time of Pharoah or Hitler), these people are giving a higher priority to their own "righteousness" than they are to human life. These people have chosen to be as wise as doves and as harmless as serpents. Who says we are obliged to tell everything we know? Grace to you, Kalos |
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4 | Is it always a sin to lie? | Ex 20:16 | mark d seyler | 161897 | ||
Hi Kalos, You mentioned people placing their own righteousness over the lives of others, and that it is ok to lie if the consequence of telling the truth is worse than the lie is. Where does God rank these sins from lessor to greater? What if I am not concerned "with my own righteousness", but I am rather intent on merely obeying my Lord's command? Can I rightfully justify breaking the Law of God because I think that the outcome will be bad? Is this not second-guessing God's purposes, and even declaring that I don't believe that God can make things come out right, and according to His purposes? If I say that it is ok to lie, because I can prevent a greater evil from happening by lying, don't I put myself over God, in saying "I know what needs to happen here, and it's not going to happen by obeying God!" Let's look at the argument offered: "'What if you see a woman run into an alley to escape someone who's trying to kill her, and they ask you, "Where is she?" What do you do? Do you send them on a wild goose chase to protect the woman's life? Or do you lead them to their victim?" This overlooks a great number of options, as all of these arguments do. This presents us only two choices, each engineered to lead one into a corner. The truth is that I could ignore the question, and say nothing at all. I could say "I'm not telling you." I could simply call for the police, or for the help of bystanders, or attempt to restrain this person who I know to be dangerous. I could distract them with inane conversation, allowing the woman more time to escape. Why not protect her by lying and let God forgive the lie? If the lie is ok to tell, why must God forgive it? And if the lie is not ok to tell, then who among us should teach another that it is? Love in Christ, Mark |
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5 | Is it always a sin to lie? | Ex 20:16 | DocTrinsograce | 161899 | ||
Hi, Mark... Jumping in to the conversation on my lunch break: The idea that "it is ok to lie if the consequence of telling the truth is worse than the lie" in philosophy is called the "teleological suspension of the ethical." It isn't a rule of thumb that one finds articulated in the Bible except in a couple of narratives. Even there, though, it isn't necessarily lauded as moral behavior. Where the teleological suspension of the ethical does come in handy, however, are under those circumstances where we make an exception with a rule that would normally apply in order to accomplish a greater good. (Teleology always refers to the "end state.") For example, as a rule I am careful to drive the speed limit. However, if my wife were to become ill, needing hospital care, I would violate the ethical rule of driving the speed limit in order to attain the greater good of my wife's well being. Our legal system even recognizes the necessity of this sort of thing. It is an interesting question. In Him, Doc |
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6 | Is it always a sin to lie? | Ex 20:16 | mark d seyler | 161902 | ||
Hi Doc, "Teleological suspension of the ethical" Hmmm, I like it! Its a good point that our legal system allows for the violation of certain laws in certain circumstances. This shows that our legal system recognizes that it is not the final word on right and wrong, and that there are circumstances that require the suspension of certain agreed-upon rules of behavior, in favor of what is right. My issue with those who apply that same thinking to the Bible is that we are no longer simply questioning the application of our agreed-upon rules, but rather seek to suspend God's decrees, and subject them to the judgment of man. I have no problem with man judging man's law. I have a big problem with man judging God's law. Thanks for the vocab! :-) Love in Christ, Mark |
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7 | Is it always a sin to lie? | Ex 20:16 | DocTrinsograce | 161927 | ||
Dear Mark, Of course the big problem with ethical teology is the presumption that we actually know what a better end state will be. Furthermore, it leans heavily on the very non-scriptural position made famous by Niccolo Machiavelli that "the end justifies the means." Such considerations are interesting in an academic way, perhaps... but it is much better to simply follow the dictates of Deut 13:4 than the philosophical meanderings of men! In Him, Doc |
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8 | Is it always a sin to lie? | Ex 20:16 | mark d seyler | 161931 | ||
Agreed! | ||||||