"Is lying always wrong?"

[sharonvinchrist]

You shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free

[Guest]

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.

James 1:17

Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.

Matthew 5:48

[ColleenLovesMischief]

We are tp speak the truth in love.

[Rick-Parker]

Just one question.......if I five year old ask his mum or dad where he came from? Do you tell him the whole truth, a half truth or do you tell him he was found on the door step?

I would tell a 5 year old that they came from God. No lie.

It's not the whole truth, though, is it. God created Adam and Eve and their offspring were a result of copulation. What about the more inquisitive five year olds that want you elucidate?

When he/she says "but Dad....." then I answer their next question truthfully. I let the complexity of the question direct the depth of the answer, always telling the truth. I've raised 2 young ladies with this technique and have a 5 year old grandson. Thankfully, he hasn't asked me anything like this. Wheew!

[Openly Curious]

Before clicking on the link below, would you answer that question:

1. Yes

2. No

3. It all depends

or some other way?

Then, what would you believe that The Holy Bible teaches?.

http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/1999/may24/9t6068.html

I do not believe Rahab did anything wrong, and if she did, it seems funny that God gives his seal of approval to her for her actions. If it was a similar situation, and I was in a position to protect someone from being killed, and they were innocent of wrong doing, I would lie to protect them. Just to give an example, had someone been hiding Terri Schiavo out in my home to protect her from being starved to death, I would have lied to the authorities and said she was not there.

I agree with you Butero to me it comes down to a matter of right and wrong. Rahab acted on her faith and hid the messengers and then lead them out another way saving them by what she done.

James 2:25--"Likewise also was not Rahab the harlot justified by works, when she had recieved the messengers , and had sent them out another way?"

It says Rahab was "Justified by works" she was looked at in God's eyes as if she had never done it but commended Rahab for what she done instead

OC

[alianza_sansalvador]

Surely this depends to some extent.

If, for example, a man or woman 'lied' to members of the German SS during the Second World War when they were rounding up Jews and taking them to concentration camps then their intentional deception would have surely been morally correct.

[HAZARD]

One thing is for sure, there will be no liers in God's eternal Kingdom after all rebellion and sin is finally put away.

"Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city. For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie" (Rev. 22:14-15).

Haz.

[ParanoidAndroid]

During the holocaust many Christian men and women took into their hearts to lovingly hide those Jews who were being systematically executed in their homes (at great personal risk). When the Nazi guards banged on the door and pointed a gun and said "Are you hiding any Jews", how would you respond?

I look to Jesus for my answer. Jesus stated that Love was the greatest of commandments - Love first for God, then Love for our neighbours. ALL the law and prophets hang on those two commands. When I weigh up the difference between obedience to the law (do not lie) to the result of lying (protecting the lives of innocent Jews), my answer is simple, based in Love - No, I am not hiding any Jews.

Naturally I don't live in that era, and so that specific example does not apply, but the principle does. If it is more loving to another to lie rather than tell the truth, I would lie, and I would feel it totally Just and Right in God's eyes. However, in the vast majority of cases, lying is wrong! Most of the time, lying is for personal gain, or to protect someone you love (not necessarily the same as keeping them from harm) and there is no justification for it.

[ParanoidAndroid]

Oh, as an aside, there are two issues I would like to address:

1 - this may seem innocuous, but is quite insidious if you think deeper about it. You pass a friend on the street, and they ask "Hey, how are ya", the natural response, "I'm great, thanks". This response is standard, whether we feel great or whether we are in great pain and turmoil. It is a "lie" to say "I'm great, thanks", but it's the way of things. During my university career, I have (and still do, until I get a qualified job) a job working at a supermarket checkouts. I serve hundreds of customers each day. I always start, "Hi, how are you today", their response is "good. How are you". Most of the time, I'm good, so I can truthfully say "Great, thanks", and then ahve a discussion. But sometimes I'm not good. I may be a little sick, or may have some personal issue, be swamped over with university studies, yet still I respond "I'm fine, thanks".

Technically, during these days, I lie hundreds of times in the one day, yet think nothing of it. Why? Because it is a social expectation that when someone asks how you are, they don't really want to know how you're feeling (the old adage "no use complaining, no one will listen anyway" comes to mind). So is this wrong?

2 - Santa Claus, Tooth Fairy. How many Christian parents teach their children that Santa brings them presents on Christmas Eve? I was brought up not believing in Santa. So was a friend of mine's child. One day on the bus, roundabouts Christmas time, someone asked this kid "What do you want Santa to bring you this year", to which she innocently responded, "Santa isn't real". There were audible gasps from the people on the bus. They were shocked that a parent would tell a child Santa did not exist.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Anywho's those are my two points. The second one is a mere curio, the first question is the one I'm really interested in hearing answers to.

[Resting in Christ]

Always wrong. Do you ever lie? Is omitting a fact that might be relevant equivelant to telling a lie?