And the Truth Will Set You Free

In a recent blog post at United Methodeviations titled Caught on the Ethical Horns of A Moral Dilemma, Dan Dick discusses the willingness of pastors to lie if they think it is necessary. In the article he tells about a recent seminar he attended where the question was raised, “When is it necessary for pastors to lie to people?” I agree with his response — “Never.” He was troubled by the reaction of his colleagues who then attempted to justify their untruthfulness. I am more than just troubled, I am appalled! Especially after reading some of the comments that followed the article.

I added my own comment. It’s reprinted below. What do you think? Did I get it wrong? Come on, tell me the truth.

If this is what “the church” of today has come to, then I want no part of it. Is there ANY situation in which you can imagine Jesus lying, stretching the truth, not telling the whole truth, or anything else you want to call it? If a person can’t find a way to communicate without telling a lie, then maybe they are talking too much. Maybe there are situations when a thoughtful response is necessary, but I can’t think of a situation where lying has made the situation anything but worse. If we can’t get this one right, we are in serious trouble. How are we ever going to get a skeptical unbeliever to believe we love them if they can’t even trust us? We may not be perfect, but we can be truthful. If you can’t, dont’ say anything at all.

In the interest of civility, and since it wasn’t my blog, I said “don’t say anything at all,” but what I really wanted to say was “keep your mouth shut.” Maybe I’m overreacting, but I say, if we can’t be anything else, we can at least be truthful.