Would you lie to.....

Would you lie? Are you a habitual liar? Do you think lying is a sin? Do you just oppose lying? Well in regardless of your views on lying let's just say we are all Christians(Obvious hypothetical) and we all followed the Commandment 'Thou shalt not lie', okay so in what case do you believe it is okay to lie?

I am going to give you a few examples just answer whichever ones you want, all of them or just post a response on what you think.

1. Would you lie if the Nazi's came to your house and asked for Ann Frank?
2. Would you lie if someone told you that your son has dodged the draft and they need to find him although he doesn't want to go?
3. Would you lie if your child was going to be killed by a murderer and he said he would spare your life if you tell him where your kid is?
4. Would you lie if you hit a dog with your car and the owner of the dog went to all the homes in the neighborhood asking where his dog was whilst crying and then came to your house and asked you?
5. Would you lie to save anyone that you loved if it meant your life?

I know they are rather hard questions but I just want to know what people think.

By your standards Im a baldfaced liar.

I wouldnt call it lying though. I´d call it contextual-common-sense.

Originally posted by Skyfloating
By your standards Im a baldfaced liar.

I wouldnt call it lying though. I´d call it contextual-common-sense.

You're a very bad person.

Those are very hard questions and by those standards I'm a baldfaced liar too.

reply to post by Misoir


By use of those examples you outlined.....not guilty for lying!

reply to post by Misoir


i like the "thou shall not bear false witness against...." reading of "thou shall not lie." it makes a lot more sense. telling someone they look good when they don't or hiding the whereabouts of a jew to a nazi guard isn't bearing false witness against anybody.

i think "lying" only becomes a sin when you use it as violence against an individual. bearing false witness to help the law criminally punish someone, bearing false witness to hurt someone's reputation, bearing false witness to hurt somebody's business.

1. Would you lie if the Nazi's came to your house and asked for Ann Frank?

Yes.

2. Would you lie if someone told you that your son has dodged the draft and they need to find him although he doesn't want to go?

Yes.

3. Would you lie if your child was going to be killed by a murderer and he said he would spare your life if you tell him where your kid is?

I wouldn't tell the killer, I would offer my life up.... not sure if that's lying or not.

4. Would you lie if you hit a dog with your car and the owner of the dog went to all the homes in the neighborhood asking where his dog was whilst crying and then came to your house and asked you?

If I knew the owner and knew it was his dog, I would go to him just after it happened.
Dogs run into the road all the time, It's an accident.... It's upsetting and harsh to have killed his dog but I'm sure he'll understand.

5. Would you lie to save anyone that you loved if it meant your life?

Yes.
I would lie and offer my life up for a range of people.
If you were in a hostage situation and the gunman was going to shoot a kid, I'd ask him to take me and let the kid go.

Plenty of people who I'd trade lives for.

I might just lie in everyone of those situations.

Who decided telling a lie was immoral or bad, anyway?

I do not think it is sinful to lie so I am quite adept at the practice.

In certain situtions being a smooth liar is warranted.

It could mean self preservation.

My mother n the other hand won't even lie to bill collectors who call about our disabled relatives bills from time to time. Do I admire her for telling th truth no matter what?

No. I find telling the truth in all situations to be a nasty habit ingrained into my mother by strict religious upbringing.

There are situations in which a lie is perfectably acceptable.

reply to post by Misoir


Impossible to answer.

I HOPE I'd be brave enought to lie to Nazis etc etc. I hope so. It would be easy for me to sit here and say that I would. But when the time comes, you never know what you'd do. All I can do is say ... I HOPE i'd be brave enough to lie in the face of evil, etc etc.

Answering from the perspective of being myself then YES to every question apart from 4

Answering from the hypothesis that you propose, i.e. following Thou shalt not lie I guess I would only be able to lie if it stopped a bigger sin from being committed, so then it becomes

1. Yes
2. Yes
3. Yes
4. No
5. It depends if in the hypothesis suicide is also considered a sin as it would be suicidal so I don't know

Originally posted by Misoir

1. Would you lie if the Nazi's came to your house and asked for Ann Frank?

Silence may be a virtue.

2. Would you lie if someone told you that your son has dodged the draft and they need to find him although he doesn't want to go?

Silence may be a virtue.

3. Would you lie if your child was going to be killed by a murderer and he said he would spare your life if you tell him where your kid is?

Silence may be a virtue.

4. Would you lie if you hit a dog with your car and the owner of the dog went to all the homes in the neighborhood asking where his dog was whilst crying and then came to your house and asked you?

No. The individual deserves to know that his dog was hit, and that it was an accident. You didn't mention, though I assume, that the dog has died. It would be best for the owner to be able to bury his dog. Provide him with the information to where he can find the corpse. Tell him you're sorry if you mean it, and take whatever comes your way.

5. Would you lie to save anyone that you loved if it meant your life?

Until I can see this as an actual possible situation, I refuse to answer.

Buddy I lie all the time...

"Honey does this dress make me look fat?"

with a big happy grin I reply, "Not at all!"

But silently I'm hoping that dress came with one of those back up horns

Everyone lies especially parents when we say things like "I'll think about it." and if we cant think up a good lie on the spot we do this tag deal where we say "Go ask your mother." and pray she has a good lie to offer or the kid will be right back...

I'm one of those people that takes his personal integrity very seriously. Although I would normally make no apologies for being truthful to a fault, all but #2 and #4 of your questions I would indeed compromise my own integrity and conscientiously lie.

I suppose it is because I value human life higher than I value my own integrity, which is not necessarily a bad thing. To protect the life of another, even when it comes at the expense of one's own life, should be more important than personal integrity.

However, if my son was dodging the draft, I would hope that he had the foresight to get himself to somewhere that would not extradite him so that I could, in good conscience, tell the truth about his location ("Why yes Mr. MP, my son is currently living in Toronto and has applied for Canadian citizenship...that is probably why he didn't show up to his enlistment.").

Likewise, if I had accidentally hit and killed a dog, I would not cowardly hide behind a lie to protect myself or to give false-hope to the owner that he may still be alive. I would be honest to the owner and show compassion, as even though the truth may hurt them, it will give them the closure they need to grieve and move on with their life.

However, in all the other scenarios, when it was a matter of life and death involved for an innocent, I would lie to protect a life, just as I would intervene in whatever capacity I can to help or save an innocent life in need.

Yes, I would lie in all of those instances. I hold honesty in a very high regard, however, second to loyalty.

2nd line.

reply to post by lambs to lions


You would lie to someone about killing their dog?
Where does your loyalty lie there?

reply to post by lambs to lions


I'll be honest, I didn't see that one. I read what I thought was the gist of the thread, and overlooked that question. I've been up way too long, bed time.

Originally posted by DaddyBare
"Honey does this dress make me look fat?"
with a big happy grin I reply, "Not at all!"

Everyone lies especially parents when we say things like "I'll think about it." and if we cant think up a good lie on the spot we do this tag deal where we say "Go ask your mother." and pray she has a good lie to offer or the kid will be right back...

The premise that everyone makes little white lies is patently false.

Even as a child, I never lied to avoid punishment or the disapproval of my parents or peers. I never lied by omission (I never replied "Nothing" when asked "What are you doing?" or subscribed to the idea that what my parents didn't know wouldn't hurt them). My father taught me early on the value of Truth (and hearing the mythical fables about George Washington cutting down a cherry tree, and "Honest Abe" helped reinforce his lessons).

I for one don't hesitate to be brutally honest when my S.O. asks if a dress makes her look fat. Yes, she may get all prissy when I answer with a "Yes", but ultimately she values my opinion because of it and knows that I am going to give her an honest answer whenever she asks, rather than have me treat it like a rhetorical question. I am her next best thing to her having her own personal gay fashionista because of that kind of integrity (and yes, it means getting ready to go anywhere takes two hours because of my openness and honesty, but that is a small price to pay for integrity!).

Likewise, when I deal with my child, I treat her with respect rather than take an easy way out. I do tell her "I will think about it" often, and I do genuinely think about it and give her petition consideration. Sometimes, I change my mind and acquiesce or become open to compromise. Sometimes I am still set in my decision of "No!" However, I don't patronize her with an answer to blow off my parental responsibilities or to avoid giving a firm "No! This is non-negotiable!" (The word "non-negotiable" was the second word she learned as a child, right after "No!")

The only time I have openly deceived my child is in regards to Santa Claus (she's 13 and still believes in Santa despite her classmates laughing at her...but she feels she has demonstrable proof being that the Mall Santa she has gotten her picture taken with year after year has been the same person for the past 14+ years and remembers her and her name every single year). I feel guilty about it at times, but it brings her much joy to confidently believe in something none of her peers do. Eventually, when she comes to the decision on her own that Santa is not "real" we will have a long talk about lessons learned, and the difference between Faith and Truth, and why Myth may not be quantifiable as true in the traditional and literal sense, there is inherent truth in Myth as it conveys truths that would otherwise remain inexpressible in words.