Lying

[minkymurph]

I am placing this question in this forum because I am of the opinion it is a moral issue.

I have read many threads relating to gay marriage, bikinis, and many other moral issues. I have yet to read a thread devoted to lying. There may be one, I have just never read it.

I am quite sure everyone here thinks lying is sinful. However, the question I ask is why is so little attention devoted to lying by comparison to other sins? My position is lying is a ‘closet sin.’ I say it is a ‘closet sin’ because despite being one of the Ten Commandments – not bearing false witness - lying receives little attention by comparison to, among others, homosexuality, adultery, and being modest. Why is that?

Revelation places lying in the same category as adultery, fornication and homosexuality. That being the case, why do we devote so little attention to lying than, for example, dressing modestly? I think it is worse to tell lies about someone than wear a short skirt.

Thoughts? Why do we devote so little attention to lying?

 

[theCrow]

Maybe because so many different “types” of lying exist?
A little white Lie. A half Lie. A Full Lie. A stretching of the truth.

An “if your significant other asks if she looks fat in these jeans” type of lie.

There are simply too many individual cases to say “All LIES are bad or equally bad.”

What if you are lying to someone who is about to die/sick, but this lie will warm their soul and bring them peace/joy?

 

[Ad_Orientem]

What if you are lying to someone who is about to die/sick, but this lie will warm their soul and bring them peace/joy?

It would be wrong, and a disservice to that person. It would be wrong because lying is intrinsically disordered, an offense against truth; and it would be a disservice because you’d be depriving that person of the truth and making them believe something false. This is not kind, but unkind. Even if they would be in some sense happier for believing the lie, the end does not justify the means.

That said, honesty does not always have to entail full disclosure, and according to the principle of mental reservation, for a just reason one can give ambiguous or potentially misleading information to those who have no right to the knowledge they seek (e.g. the Nazis at your door looking for the Jew in your basement scenario).

Regarding the OP, I don’t know the answer, but it is an excellent question.

 

[thistle]

I am placing this question in this forum because I am of the opinion it is a moral issue.

I have read many threads relating to gay marriage, bikinis, and many other moral issues. I have yet to read a thread devoted to lying. There may be one, I have just never read it.

I am quite sure everyone here thinks lying is sinful. However, the question I ask is why is so little attention devoted to lying by comparison to other sins? My position is lying is a ‘closet sin.’ I say it is a ‘closet sin’ because despite being one of the Ten Commandments – not bearing false witness - lying receives little attention by comparison to, among others, homosexuality, adultery, and being modest. Why is that?

Revelation places lying in the same category as adultery, fornication and homosexuality. That being the case, why do we devote so little attention to lying than, for example, dressing modestly? I think it is worse to tell lies about someone than wear a short skirt.

Thoughts? Why do we devote so little attention to lying?

Do a search. There have been many threads on the topic of lying.