Posted on 08/18/2018 10:09:46 AM PDT by Salvation
The Bible and the Church never praise lying, even when there are good intentions behind the act Msgr. Charles Pope
Is lying always wrong?
Question: We are told not to lie, but the Bible says Rahab the prostitute lied to protect the Jewish spies. The Bible later praises her as being justified for doing this. Does Scripture praise lying, which is a sin? — Tamarah E. Jones, La Plata, Maryland
Answer: No. We should be careful to recall that the Bible records many things that are not praiseworthy. There are murders, rapes, theft, polygamy, adultery and the like. The mere reporting of these behaviors is not approval of them. In many cases, such behavior becomes an object lesson to illustrate what happens when such bad behavior ensues. In other cases, the sinful behavior simply goes unremarked. But silence is not the same as approval.
It is true that Rahab lied. Here is the account of it: “So the king of Jericho sent Rahab the order, ‘Bring out the men who have come to you and entered your house, for they have come to spy out the entire land.’ The woman had taken the two men and hidden them, so she said, ‘True, the men you speak of came to me, but I did not know where they came from. At dark, when it was time to close the gate, they left, and I do not know where they went’” (Jos 2:3-5).
The incident is simply recorded. And while the two Hebrew spies benefit from her lie and even promise her reward for her protection, there is no explicit praise in the text for the lie itself.
Later in the Scriptures there is praise of Rahab, but there is no mention of her lie, only her act of receiving the spies and sending them out by a protected way. Here are those texts: “By faith Rahab the harlot did not perish with the disobedient, for she had received the spies in peace” (Heb 11:31). “And in the same way was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works when she welcomed the messengers and sent them out by a different route?” (Jas 2:25).
Hence we should be careful not to say that the Scriptures affirm lying in this matter. There is a care in the sacred text to focus the praise on her overall benevolence, not the lie. St. Augustine affirms this stance: “That therefore which was rewarded in them was, not [her] deceit, but [her] benevolence; benignity of mind, not iniquity of lying” (“To Consentius, Against Lying,” 32).
We have no way of knowing all the consequences of our decisions. Perhaps your truth telling kept the business from folding sparing dozens of families. Perhaps the person you refused to lie to/for had a seed planted that changed their lives years later. Lying is always wrong as it causes us to deceive others and to misrepresent objective reality to others. It is also an ideal that no human has ever lived up to, because sometimes, in this impefect world we find ourselves in positions where we have to choose lesser evils.
A classic philosophical/theological conundrum was, "The Gestapo comes to your door and asks if you are hiding Jews in your attic. Is it still a sin to lie, knowing the fate that awaits the Jews if you tell the truth?" Lying is wrong. In this case telling the truth is by far, the greater evil.
You will receive your reward in heaven, though.
...google the catholic difference between mortal sin and venial sin. You are referring to mortal but are describing venial. It’s well thought out actually and you will see that even should you disagree.
I'm well aware of Rome's non-Scriptural man-made contrived "mortal" sin requirements.
Your wife asks if the dress makes her look fat and you lie....it's a "mortal" sin.
Rome has tried to minimize some sins compared to others.
“. . . against your neighbor.”
“Are you hiding Jews in your attic?” ...you would NOT answer truthfully!
“Honey, does this dress make my butt look fat?”
“Of course not.” What goes unsaid is: “What makes your butt look fat is all those hot fudge sundaes, cake, and candy.”
one can lie to protect one's own life and the life of loved ones. One has a divine natural duty to preserve and protect right to life.
A lot of people don’t seem to understand what a lie is. A lie requires intent to tell a falsehood. One can also tell a falsehood because one is mistaken or in delusion.
One way to raise the sleeping giant in a person is to accuse them of telling a lie when they are merely mistaken and think they are telling the truth.
That dress looks great on you
No that doesnt make you look fat
Of course I love your mother dear
Is the questioner entitled to an answer or the truth?
If not, is it still a lie?
Thank you for your excellent post!
I have another example for people who may not understand the Scotch-Irish culture. When someone apologizes, the appropriate response is, “There’s nothing to forgive.” It means all necessary apology obligations are satisfied and the apology is accepted. It is not correct to follow up by protesting, “No I really was wrong and I want to hear you say that you forgive me.”
Now when some Yankee apologizes, you must look into the eyes and say, “Yes I accept your apology, and I fully, freely, and frankly forgive you and I promise I will with God’s help never speak of it again.” You may go on like that for a while and it may help to say that you have never heard such a gracious, humble, and Christian-like apology and you will have greater respect and eternal admiration because of it.
...Wait a minute.
...Did I just say,
“...Yankee apologizes?!”
Norm MacDonald, on not lying (edited):
I thought of a way of not lying, and I’ll… I’ll share it with you, if you like? You can tell the truth, word for word, absolutely true, but when you do it… You use a sarcastic accent. So I’ll give you an example.
Your wife goes, “Hey, I noticed at dinner you were looking at my sister.” You’re… You’re not attracted to my sister, are you?” And then you go, “Oh, yes, I forgot to tell you, I’m attracted to your sister.” She’s like, “All right, Henry. Never mind.” You go, “No. Why? It’s true. I…” “Hey, the only reason I married you is your sister, right?” She’s like, “No, I shouldn’t have brought it up.” “No! Why wouldn’t you bring it up? I mean, you’re the victim in this whole thing.” “I remember at the vows, I kept thinking,” I am going to seduce “every member of my wife’s family.” “Then, afterwards,” I’m going to invite them over to the house “and set it on fire, killing them all.” “And then I’m going to move on to the next town, where I do it again.” It’s like, “All right, Henry. We don’t need to hear it.” “You don’t have to be like this.”
“Why? Why?” “You’re the good person in this scenario.” “I’m the guy that goes from town to town…” seducing and murdering entire families… “And leaving conflagrations of ashes that used to be human beings.” “I’m the most savage” and prolific serial killer that ever was… and I’ve just never been found out yet, “that’s all.”
“Just go to sleep.”
“Yeah, I’ll go to sleep, or maybe I’ll buy kerosene all night.”
So, that’s just an example. You don’t have to do that one. I’m just… I’m just saying, that’s all.
“If you ask me no questions, I will tell you no lies.”
Beer for the first person who gets the reference.
5.56mm
No, Mr. Pollster - there are no guns in my house. I hate guns.
“My A: “Yes, but you can’t hide a pig in a hamster cage.”
Obviously you survived.
You must be bulletproof.
I’m impressed.
5.56mm
Honesty is a high value, but not the highest.
Good point. It is very annoying when people say something is “a lie,” when it’s really a different opinion or an honest error.
LOL! “Yankee apologizes” is like “Yankee uses his turn signal.”
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