Thursday, 02 April 2009
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How Comfortable Are You With Telling Lies?
There was an 18th German philosopher named Immanuel Kant. He believed that the world would be a better place if the truth were told all the time, no exceptions. And to prove his point he often told the story of the inquiring murderer. Basically it goes like this:
I am your friend and one day I rush into your house and I scream "He's chasing me - you have to hide me!" You see that I am all scraped up and very scared. And then I run upstairs to your room and hide under your bed. One minute later your doorbell rings and there's a madman with – I don't remember, a bloody axe or something – asking you if you have seen me. You are then obligated to truthfully answer, "Yes, she is upstairs in my room, hiding under my bed". Or you could say, "Yes I know where the person is but refuse to tell you..." and deal with the consequences of that.
This is an extreme example, but it is what Kant used to illustrate his point. That lying is never okay under any circumstance - even to deceive a murderer in search of his prey is wrong. A moral action (truth) is the right action regardless of the intended or unintended outcome.
There are 4 types of people that I can think of:
- Those (like me) who would agree with Immanuel Kant: Those who believe truth should always be told.
- Those who do not normally tell lies as a matter of habit, but who also feel that every situation is not always black & white.
- Those who tell "white lies" to spare another persons feelings.
- Those who have no problem with telling lies.
Which type of person are you?
- Those (like me) who would agree with Immanuel Kant: Those who believe truth should always be told.
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- From: Kristenmomof3@xanga
- Name: Kris
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- About Me: It's not about surviving. It should be about love. When you know love...that's what makes this life worth it. When you live with it everyday. Wake up with it, hold on to it during the thunder and after a nightmare. When love is your refuge from the death that surrounds us all and when it fills you so tight that you can't express it. — Carrie Ryan
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Comments (73)
There are many people out there that have been hurt and abused
and lied to. It is very hard for them to trust people. They will not
trust you about G-d and other things if you lie to them. They find it
hard to trust people and lie to them once and you have blown it...you
will never have their trust again. You have lost your ability to
witness to them.
To save someone's life like in the example above? I would lie. But in most other cases, I would tell the truth.
"Truth" isn't always black and white, either; sometimes what we think is the truth is in fact wrong... we just think it's right.
I'm the type of person who says you're a murderer for letting the madman killer her, and should be punished accordingly. We are all responsible for our actions, hiding behind the guise of morality is no excuse for committing sin.
So what is that, no. 2?
@Lynnjynh9315@xanga - you could say, "Yes I know where the person is but refuse to tell you..." and deal with the consequences of that.
That is not just allowing the person to kill her.It is standing up and saying I wont tell you. It is still honesty
Uh. I probably wouldn't say anything. Cause if there's a murderer in my midst, I'm probably gonna hit him in the head with something. If he's trying to kill my friend, he'd probably try to kill me too.
@Fairywife@xanga - the whole point of the question is "Are you a liar?" Do you feel of is ok to lie? Do you feel it is ok to tell "white lies?" etc
@Kristenmomof3@xanga - I know. BUT I'm just telling the truth! Hahaha. I would say "yes, but I won't tell you" then hit him in the head.
@Fairywife@xanga - make sure you hit him hard then tie him up for the cops...
I would probably try to lie, do it very badly, and end up with an ax in my skull or if I am very lucky I could take surprise him and take him out. I am a pretty good fighter but I am a terrible liar. Probably because I think that lying is always wrong. Of course I don't always do the right thing either.
In The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom she recounts a time when they were hiding Jews under a trap door in the kitchen, over which a table had been placed.
The Nazis of course came and asked where the Jews were. One of the women cracked under the pressure and finally said "Under the table!" The Nazis looked under the tabcloth, and, annoyed at not finding any Jews, left.
I read this as a 12 year old, and despite the good outcome and being raised to always tell the truth, knew from that moment that lying to save someone was something I accepted.
Is it right or wrong? I don't really care. If it's wrong, I'll pay for it later, gladly.
In Kant's scenario, saying "I know and won't tell you" will probably wind up bad for all the innocent parties. The murderer will probably kill you for being insolent and then rightly assume the victim is hiding in your house, search it, find the victim and kill them too. Granted the same thing could happen even if you lie, but at least you tried. At least you were't complicent to murder.
its never okay to lie, corrie ten boom never lied even when she was hiding jews from nazis, and yet she never gave them over to the nazis either
@Lynnjynh9315@xanga - So is someone like Gandhi or Martin Luther King Jr. responsible for those who followed their non-violent ideals and were killed in the process?
When you say that someone shouldn't hide behind the "guise of morality," you're actually espousing a moral stance - utilitarianism. You're simply advocating a different view of morality, that the "morality" of any action is determined by the outcome. Murder isn't morally wrong. It depends who you murder, why you murder them, and whether society benefits from it.
I used to be #3, but I feel strongly that God changed my heart...and am now #1.
I think it depends on the intent of the person's heart. Obviously someone who lies for the sake of impressing others and making themselves seem more interesting than they really are is wrong, but in the case of "white lies" the intentions of someone saying they like their best friend's haircut even if it looks like a hatchet job is just trying to do good by not hurting their feelings. So while I strongly agree with #1 I also feel that 2 and 3 are important and should not automatically be dismissed as wrong.
Was rahab wrong when she told the people of her city that she did not know where the Hebrew spies were? Because if it is the writer of Hebrews definently should have left her out of the list. Or When God told Abraham to lie was that wrong? there are several stories in the bible where God tells people to tell a lie so is God wrong in doing that? yes the ten commandments says dont bear false witness but it does not say dont lie, those are two completely diffrent things. I do agree that you should not lie as an every day thing, but if its God's will then obviously its all right. and to save someones life is an all right lie.
i'm not going to write another novel on the same blog again. lol. but i rec'd this. look forward to the comments on it dearie. <3
@squanto_07@xanga - Yes, Rahab did lie What does the Bible have to say about lying? Of the Ten Commandments, the ninth forbade lying (Exodus 20:16). Telling falsehoods is condemned (Leviticus 19:11;
Proverbs 6:16-19; Ephesians 4:25; Colossians 3:9). The spies never
asked Rahab to lie for them. The writer of Hebrews placed Rahab in the
great "hall of fame of faith" (Hebrews 11) because "she received the spies with peace" (vs. 31). James acknowledged that she was "justified by works when she received the messengers" (2:25). Nowhere in Scripture is Rahab's sin of lying spoken of approvingly. She was a heathen, not yet even converted to Judaism…. She was saved in spite of her lying, and not because of it. She was a prostitute but we don't use that to say prostitution is ok. We also can't use it to say lying is ok.
@YouTOme@xanga - thanks
Number 2 and able to lie almost too easily. It's something even I don't think is a good thing about me.
@Kristenmomof3@xanga -" make sure you hit him hard then tie him up for the cops." you're crackin' me up again. this has to stop. lol/j/k =P
@YouTOme@xanga - well, if you let him loose he might wake up before the cops come :) It's called making a citizens arrest Hehehe
plus if you are little and he is big...you better hit him hard enough the first time or you got problems :)
@Kristenmomof3@xanga - how is it that we always manage to get sidetracked. remember how we got onto bacon (?) lol. =)
@Kristenmomof3@xanga - you ignored my abraham quote.
and Exodus 20:16 says "Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour" that does not say anything about lying that is talking about lying when you are going before a judge in a trial. that is the connotation.It does not say do not lie, it says do not bear false witness.
@YouTOme@xanga - because bunny trails are fun....Speaking of Bacon. I looked today to see if our store carried the beef bacon and they do not. The only Kosher bacon they have is turkey. They do have the kosher beef sausage though. And we tried that and it is good.
Blessings and Shalom
@squanto_07@xanga - Can I please have the scripture for G-d telling Abraham to lie. Thank you.
Shalom