Is the Noble Lie morally acceptable? (hell, sin, religion, cross)

[Comprehend]

Is the Noble Lie morally acceptable? Why? (not Plato's lie specifically but the idea in general).



Do/will/would you lie to your children?

What about if you were a politician?

[Radio Frequency X]

Originally Posted by comprehend

Is the Noble Lie morally acceptable? Why? (not Plato's lie specifically but the idea in general).



Do/will/would you lie to your children?

What about if you were a politician?

A Noble Lie is a moral decision predicated upon choosing the lesser of two evils. If honesty causes unnecessary harm, then a Noble Lie (dishonesty) becomes the lesser of two evils, where no alternative is present.

[PureX]

I think sometimes people confuse the "letter of the law" with the spirit of God's love and forgiveness. And it's this confusion that creates the appearance that some "sins" are acceptable, as long as they have noble motives. But in fact, the "sin" is NOT a transgression of any moral or religious laws or dictates. Sin is a transgression against God's love and forgiveness as it is being expressed in and through us to ourselves and each other. "Sins" are transgressions against God's spirit within us, NOT against God's dictates or mandates via religion.

Once we understand this, we'll understand a couple of things. One, is that it's often difficult to be certain whether we're "sinning" or not, as it's often difficult to recognize the true motives of our own hearts. And secondly, we often have several motives for our actions and they are often even at cross purposes with each other. In which case we can be BOTH sinning and NOT sinning at the same time. This is all very confusing, of course, especially for those folks among us who abhor relativism, and want very badly to see the world and themselves in "black and white/good and evil" kinds of oversimplifications. And who want to be able to judge others by these as well.

But the truth is that "sin" is a complicated business, and we don't have the depth of understanding to clearly recognize our own sins, let alone be able to accurately pass judgments on other people regarding their sins. In the end, such judgments regarding our sins must be left to God, as the only entity capable of accurately grasping them.

But we often don't want to hear this, and so will ignore it, and go on passing judgments, anyway. It's just how we are.

[Comprehend]

anyone else?

[astarath]

No, a lie is a lie. Liying is a sin, a sin is deemed wrong in God's eyes.

[Reverend Rick]

Originally Posted by PureX

I think sometimes people confuse the "letter of the law" with the spirit of God's love and forgiveness. And it's this confusion that creates the appearance that some "sins" are acceptable, as long as they have noble motives. But in fact, the "sin" is NOT a transgression of any moral or religious laws or dictates. Sin is a transgression against God's love and forgiveness as it is being expressed in and through us to ourselves and each other. "Sins" are transgressions against God's spirit within us, NOT against God's dictates or mandates via religion.

Once we understand this, we'll understand a couple of things. One, is that it's often difficult to be certain whether we're "sinning" or not, as it's often difficult to recognize the true motives of our own hearts. And secondly, we often have several motives for our actions and they are often even at cross purposes with each other. In which case we can be BOTH sinning and NOT sinning at the same time. This is all very confusing, of course, especially for those folks among us who abhor relativism, and want very badly to see the world and themselves in "black and white/good and evil" kinds of oversimplifications. And who want to be able to judge others by these as well.

But the truth is that "sin" is a complicated business, and we don't have the depth of understanding to clearly recognize our own sins, let alone be able to accurately pass judgments on other people regarding their sins. In the end, such judgments regarding our sins must be left to God, as the only entity capable of accurately grasping them.

But we often don't want to hear this, and so will ignore it, and go on passing judgments, anyway. It's just how we are.

I'm not sure if this old saying applies here, "The road to hell is paved with good intentions".

[astarath]

How we condone the lie is inconsequential.