[Biblemat] H:>The Old Testament And Lies

[Roger Blackwelder]

A Bible class teacher has recently created a stir by teaching that it is acceptable to lie in order to save the life of someone else or even yourself.  She listed the examples of Jonathan deceiving Saul when he warned David to flee and David's deception of the Philistines when he feigned insanity.  When pressed on the topic, she also cited the example of Rahab the harlot who lied to save the spies sent to Jericho.
   
  When the parents of the children in her Bible class learned what she was teaching, she was asked to step down, which she did.  Whether she realized it or not, she was essentially teaching situation ethics. In most situations it is wrong to lie, but in a few situations it might be okay.
   
  The incident does raise some questions about Old Testament morality.  There don't appear to be any New Testament examples of people who lied but were not condemned for it.  So what is your understanding of the lies that were told in the Old Testament?  
   
  If you have any thoughts, send them to me privately.
   
  Brotherly,
  Roger Blackwelder
  Chapman Acres church of Christ
  Huntsville, AL  35758

       
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