To Lie Or Not To Lie.....That Is The Question

To Lie Or Not To Lie.....That Is The Question

Socrates exposes very well the conflicting moral issues with telling the truth or not. For the sake of argument, we will claim that lying is evil and therefore immoral.

At this point, suppose a sane man lends a gun to a friend. Over time, the sane man becomes mad, ever impulsive and violent. He then inquires his friend as to the whereabouts of his gun. The friend has a choice to make.He can produce the gun and give it back knowing full well the likelihood something terrible will happen as a result. Or he can simply lie to him and say the gun is lost.

We might say by giving the gun back, he promotes morality by not lying.On the other hand, if he lies, he promotes peace insofar as the mad man not being able to do anything violent with the gun. Which choice is "right"?

If he gives the gun back knowing full well the likelihood that harm will be done, how will he sleep at night? On the other hand, if he lies to avoid complicity in a future crime, then it is not imperative to tell the truth. In other words, immorality seems to be called for. But then how must we distinguish "right" lying from "wrong" lying? How can it be anything but arbitrary based on a single perspective which can not in itself point to anything absolutely true?

At this point, we have established that it is not wrong to lie. Or we could just as well say it is not imperative to promote peace if one feels compelled to avoid lying at any cost. What do you think? What might God think?

The following clearly illustrates where right and wrong/good and bad seem to conflict with honesty. Must God always be honest or are there reasonable exceptions even HE can justify? If one declares God to be free from these kinds of dilemmas more commonly associated with us mere mortals, how then does one discern God would want him to respond?

As an example, assume the following unattractive girl will not suspect being patronized in the least. Telling this ugly girl she is pretty when she clearly is not might seem to be wrong (because it is a lie) but good, as it will likely make her feel good or at least better about herself. Conversely, not telling this ugly girl she is pretty might seem to be right (because at least it is not a lie) but bad, as she will not be made to feel good or at least better about herself. Why should she be made to feel good or better about her appearance if she really is ugly? Why does it seem to be a virtue in our society to pay bogus compliments?

In any case, there is something unsettling about this to me. Maybe we should not lie to her by telling her she is pretty when she is not but rather find a compliment that is true, perhaps her superlative loyalty, something or other? Which response is right? Once again, what would God do or at least what would God want you to do in this situation? There does not seem to be an absolutely "right" answer! For that matter, neither does there appear to be an absolutely "wrong" answer! Might any answer be right? Or perhaps wrong? To lie or not to lie.....that is the question.

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