Is It Ever Right To Lie Like Rahab?

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Christian Living
Ethics
Lying
Truth
Honesty

“Was she right to lie? What does that say to us about our own relationship with truth? Can we ever tell a similar lie? There are other instances in the Bible where similar lies are told.” - Don Johnson

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Discussion

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josh p
Wed, 01/24/24 12:14 am

Helpful article thanks. Something I think about from time to time. It feels inconsistent to affirm the second position but it’s hard to affirm any other option.

A similar passage I think about often is the situation with David and Abigail/Nabal. The scriptures don’t really affirm good on her part there but they certainly don’t condemn her either. It seems like her actions were sinful but it’s usually taught that she was a good woman. OT narrative can be tricky to work through.

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M. Osborne
Wed, 01/24/24 10:29 am

Don,

Good contribution to the discussion.

I've tended toward the 3rd option.

  • I think it was Kevin Bauder who used the term "apsuedes" (Titus 1:2) to argue that whatever the hierarchy of values and contextual elements involved in other ethical decisions, there is something absolute about never lying.
  • I have tended to take a hardcore, "When confronted with the Nazis looking for the Jews, tell them where they can go, and take the consequences" approach. They are not entitled to the information; but I am not authorized to lie outright. (Admittedly, I will probably end up dying for that, and the Jews will die too.)
  • I do make a distinction between telling a lie, complete with subject and predicate; and letting someone infer what is false, e.g. by me creating some kind of "montage" effect that causes them to fill in the gaps incorrectly. This would apply in times where we have no obligation to provide true information, e.g., times of war, protecting the innocent.

Another elder at my church was urging the 2nd option to me. He argued that the events with Rahab, the Hebrew midwives, etc., are included in the Scripture precisely to reveal the sort of circumstances in which we should prioritize life over telling the truth. I think your concerns about the possible "blank check" of open-ended greater good can be addressed this way. If we stick closely to biblical precedent, we won't wind up with Joseph Fletcher, arguing that it's OK for an imprisoned lady to let a sympathetic prison guard impregnate her so that she's released to go home to her husband.

Michael Osborne
Philadelphia, PA