Lie: Definition
*** Insight, Volume 2 pp.244-5 Lie ***
LIE
The opposite of truth. Lying generally involves saying something false to a person who
is entitled to know the truth and doing so with the intent
to deceive or to injure him or another person. A lie need not always be verbal. It can
also be expressed in action, that is, a person may be living a lie.
[…]
Especially serious have been the religious lies, as they have endangered the future life of persons deceived by
them. Said Jesus Christ: "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because you traverse sea and dry land to
make one proselyte, and when he becomes one you make him a subject for Gehenna twice as much so as yourselves." (Mt
23:15) The exchange of God's truth for "the lie," the falsehood of idolatry, can cause a person to become a
practicer of what is degrading and vile.-Ro 1:24-32.
[…]
While malicious
lying is definitely condemned in the Bible, this does not mean that a
person is under obligation to divulge truthful information to people who are not entitled
to it.
[Emphasis Added]
*** Watchtower 1976 July 15 pp.447-8 Questions from Readers ***
Questions from Readers
•If a Christian must testify in court, is it proper for him to place his hand on the Bible and
swear to tell the whole truth?
[…]
When the courtroom procedure is that of raising a hand or of placing a hand on the Bible
when swearing, a Christian may choose to comply, having in mind the Bible examples of
accompanying an oath with a gesture. But more important than whether a person makes a certain
gesture with his oath is the fact that he is swearing before God to tell the truth. Such an
oath is serious. So if a Christian feels that he can and should answer a question put to him
in such circumstances, then he is under oath to tell the truth.
[Emphasis Added]
*** Aid to Bible Understanding (1971) pp.1060-1061 ***
LIE. The opposite of truth. Lying generally involves
saying something false to a person who is entitled
to know the truth and doing so with the intent to
deceive or to injure him or another person. A lie need
not always be verbal. It can also be expressed in
action, that is, a person may be living a lie.
[…]
While malicious lying is definitely condemned in the
Bible, this does not mean that a person is under
obligation to divulge truthful information to people
who are not entitled to it. Jesus Christ counseled
"Do not give what is holy to dogs, neither throw
your pearls before swine, that they may never trample
them under their feet and turn around and rip you
open." (Matt. 7 :6) That is why Jesus on certain
occasions refrained from giving full information or
direct answers to certain questions when doing so
could have brought unnecessary harm. (Matt. 15 :1- 6 ; 21 :23-27 ; John 7 :3-10)
Evidently the course of
Abraham, Isaac, Rahab and Elisha in misdirecting
or withholding full facts from nonworshipers of
Jehovah must be viewed in the same light.
Gen. 12:10-19; chap. 20; 26:1-10; Josh. 2:1-6; Jas. 2:25; 2 Ki. 6:11-23.
Jehovah God allows an "operation of error" to go
to persons who prefer falsehood "that they may get
to believing the lie" rather than the good news about
Jesus Christ. (2 Thess. 2:9-12) This principle is illustrated
by what happened centuries earlier in the
case of Israelite King Ahab. Lying prophets assured
Ahab of success in war against Ramoth-gilead, while
Jehovah's prophet Micaiah foretold disaster. As revealed
in vision to Micaiah, Jehovah allowed a spirit
creature to become a "deceptive spirit" in the mouth
of Ahab's prophets. That is to say, this spirit creature
exercised his power upon them so that they
spoke, not truth, but what they themselves wanted
to say and what Ahab wanted to hear from them.
Though forewarned, Ahab preferred to be fooled by
their lies and paid for it with his life.—1 Ki. 22:1-38;
2 Chron. chap. 18.
[Emphasis Added]
*** Watchtower 1960 June 1 p.351 Questions from Readers ***
Questions from Readers
• From time to time
letters are received asking whether a certain circumstance would justify making an
exception to the Christian's obligation to tell the truth. In reply to these the following
is given:
God's Word commands: "Speak truth each of you with his neighbor." (Eph. 4:25)
This command, however, does not mean that we should tell everyone who
asks us all he wants to know. We must tell the truth to one who is entitled to know, but
if one is not so entitled we may be evasive […] As a soldier of Christ he is in
theocratic warfare and he must exercise added caution when dealing with God's foes. Thus
the Scriptures show that for the purpose of protecting the interests of God's cause,
it is proper to hide the truth from God's enemies.
[Emphasis Added]
*** Watchtower 1957 May 1 pp.285-286 Use Theocratic War Strategy ***
Use Theocratic War Strategy
A WITNESS of Jehovah was going from house to house in Eastern Germany
when she met a violent opposer. Knowing at once what to expect she changed
her red blouse for a green one in the very next hallway. No sooner had she
appeared on the street than a Communist officer asked her if she had seen a
woman with a red blouse. No, she replied, and went on her way. Did she tell
a lie? No, she did not. She was not a liar. Rather,
she was using theocratic war strategy, hiding the truth by action
and word for the sake of the ministry.
In this she had good Scriptural precedent. Did not Rahab hide the Israelite
spies by both action and word? Did not Abraham, Isaac, David and others
likewise hide the truth at times when faced with a hostile enemy? They
certainly did, and never do we read a word of censure for their doing so.
Rather, we read of their being termed exemplary servants of Jehovah. Their
actions were in line with Jesus' wise counsel: "Look! I am sending you forth
as sheep amidst wolves; therefore prove yourselves cautious as serpents and
yet innocent as doves."-Matt. 10:16, NW.
Perhaps some will wonder as to where the line is to be drawn between use of
theocratic war strategy in hiding the truth and the telling of lies.
First of all, let it be noted that whenever one
takes an oath to tell the truth he is obligated to do so. By
dedicating himself to do God's will each Christian has taken a vow or made
an oath to do God's will and to be faithful to him. To this oath he
certainly must be true. Likewise, when a Christian is placed on a witness
stand he is obligated to speak the truth if he speaks at all. At times he
may prefer to refuse to speak and suffer the consequences rather than betray
his brothers or the interests of God's work. And, of course, there is no
occasion for use of war strategy when dealing with our Christian brothers.
In dealing with them we tell the truth or tactfully remind them that what
they seek to know does not concern them.
Lies are untruths told for selfish reasons and
which work injury to others. Satan told a lie to Eve that worked
great harm to her and all the human race. Ananias and Sapphira told lies for
selfish reasons. But hiding the truth, which he is
not entitled to know, from an enemy does not harm him, especially
when he would use such information to harm others who are innocent.
A great work is being done by the witnesses even in lands where their
activity is banned. The only way they can fulfill the command to preach the
good news of God's kingdom is by use of theocratic war strategy. By
underground methods the literature is brought into the country and
distributed. Would it make sense to hide this literature by one's actions
and then reveal its whereabouts by one's words when queried? Of course not!
So in time of spiritual warfare it is proper to
misdirect the enemy by hiding the truth. It is done unselfishly;
it does not harm anyone; on the contrary, it does much good.
Today God's servants are engaged in a warfare, a spiritual, theocratic
warfare, a warfare ordered by God against wicked spirit forces and against
false teachings. God's servants are sent forth as sheep among wolves and
therefore need to exercise the extreme caution of serpents so as to protect
properly the interests of God's kingdom committed to them. At all times they
must be very careful not to divulge any information to the enemy that he
could use to hamper the preaching work.
[Emphasis Added]
*** Watchtower 1956 Feb 1 pp.88-89 Cautious as Serpents Among Wolves ***
45 We dare not lie
against God's Word, adding to it or taking away from it, reading into it
what it does not say and denying, passing over or explaining away what it
does truthfully say. "Every word of God is tried: . . . Add
thou not unto his words, lest he reprove thee, and thou be found a liar."
(Prov. 30:5, 6, AS) We may not tell untruths in his name, for that puts
God in the light of a liar. "Let God be found true, though every man be
found a liar." (Rom. 3:4, NW) In Jeremiah's day
the false prophets prophesied lies in Jehovah's name and lied against his
purpose, foretelling in his name what he had not foretold. Therefore
Jehovah was against them. He executed judgment against them at
Jerusalem's destruction in 607 B.C. (Jer. 23:25; 27:15)
Religious liars like them today cannot escape a
like judgment but will meet a like end at Armageddon.
46 Never swear falsely in Jehovah's name. Jehovah declares that at his temple he
will be a "swift witness against . . . the false swearers." (Mal. 3:5, AS) Never take
an oath in his name and then tell lies as a sworn witness. Rahab of Jericho was under
no oath in Jehovah's name to tell the facts to the king's officers and hence was not a
false swearer or a false witness. "A faithful witness will not lie; but a false witness
uttereth lies." (Prov. 14:5, AS) A faithful witness does not love a false oath. So he
tells the truth as he swore to do. What he does speak will be the truth. If he speaks
at all he will tell the truth. To the extent that he chooses to talk he will state the
truth. If for conscientious reasons he refuses to tell everything he will be willing to
suffer the consequences if he be judged deserving of a penalty. He refuses to tell
everything, not to escape punishment, but facing punishment for conscientious reasons.
Even Jesus kept silent before Pilate, refusing to answer though knowing
Pilate's power.-John 19:8-11.
[Emphasis Added]
*** Reference Bible Revelation 22:15 ***
15 Outside are the dogs and those who
practice spiritism and the fornicators and the murderers and the idolaters and everyone
liking and carrying on a lie.
[Emphasis Added]
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