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The father of all lies...

Scarecrow

Scarecrow

Member
A few days ago I had a thought and wondered...is it ok to lie inadvertently or because of ignorance? It seems to me that it would be an error not a lie. This being the case, most of those in the church demanding monogamy are simply in error...but what of those that do realize that polygyny is not sinful, yet participate in suppressing its practice; would they be considered liars and therefore sinful?

What brought this to mind was a pastor I met that admitted polygyny was not sinful or prohibited by the scriptures, but that he had to teach otherwise. I know some on this forum have revealed the truth and paid a high price for doing so...but is that justification for others to lie?
 
"lie" is a very strong word, but it does describe the opposite of the word "truth".

teaching what someone knows is not the truth would be very shortsighted. sacrificing what you believe on the altar of appeasing others will not move the kingdom forward and was Yeshua never practiced or condoned.

steve, the judaizing pharisee
 
This was one of the points that Robert (my husband) pressed our former pastor on...the fact that God would hold him more accountable for having the truth of plural marriage presented to him and refusing to acknowledge it as such.

Early on in the conversation, the pastor acknowledged that he would lose his congregation and his pastorate if he took the belief. He then patiently and conscientiously debated the issue with us for over a year, but eventually shut down the conversation after some other members who knew our beliefs and Robert's marital status got impatient. He gave a reasonable (from his viewpoint) defense of monogamy only, but ignored a plethora of evidence for polygyny.

The pastor is a good man in a difficult position, but sometimes God puts good men in difficult positions so that His truth can be known and His way can be followed. He has all the information he needs, and God will hold him accountable for ignoring the evidence presented to him.

So, can I say he is teaching a lie? I think he's ignoring the truth, which all of us do from time to time, unfortunately. If a pastor actually acknowledges the truth and still teaches the opposite, I would say that is definitely a lie.

Katie
 
A person can promote a lie in various ways. A friend of mine taught me recently that people are in error because they simply do not know (uneducated), or because they have been educated wrongly, or because they purposefully rebel.

The first two are wrong but do not carry as severe of a penalty as the last one does (see Hebrews 10:26 and following verses). In the Mosaic era we see that there were sacrifices for ignorance. Many do not know and they say or teach something that is untrue because of that. But then indeed there are those who have seen the other perspective and rejected it willfully.
 
sola scriptura wrote:
So, can I say he is teaching a lie? I think he's ignoring the truth, which all of us do from time to time, unfortunately. If a pastor actually acknowledges the truth and still teaches the opposite, I would say that is definitely a lie.
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Some of the discussion in this thread about Pastors who are afraid to teach the truth about marriage kind-of reminds me of the fable about The Emperor's New Clothes. Everyone pretended that His Highness was not strutting around naked, because (proverbially speaking) no one wanted to rock the boat.
Matthew 8:23-26 NKJV Now when He got into a boat, His disciples followed Him. (24) And suddenly a great tempest arose on the sea, so that the boat was covered with the waves. But He was asleep. (25) Then His disciples came to Him and awoke Him, saying, "Lord, save us! We are perishing!" (26) But He said to them, "Why are you fearful, O you of little faith?" Then He arose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm.
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The reason some of us have paid a high price for "coming out of the plyg closet" is because of people who do not want to rock the boat in spite of knowing truth. If more Pastors and other leaders were willing to risk rocking the boat, then pretty soon, we all would find that the boat simply can not be rocked beyond what God is able to handle. Maybe we need to wake Him up to calm the storm!

If God really placed a Pastor in the position he holds, then God is able to keep him there if everything he teaches is Biblical Truth. I have little or no respect for a supposed man of God who refuses to teach something that he acknowledges to be Biblical Truth because of his fear of losing position, especially when the eternal destiny of so many orphans depends on the adults in their lives hearing, believing, and acting on that Truth. ("Why are you fearful, O you of little faith?")

What's the difference between ignoring truth and telling a lie? Very little, in this case. In fact, most Pastors who acknowledge truth about plural marriage will still teach monogamy-only when they get behind their pulpit. That makes them false teachers and liars, regardless of any other truth they might teach. Yes, I know that those are strong words, but they are backed up by my own actions. I had the integrity to be honest about my beliefs, and it cost me everything I had in the denomination I was once part of, including ministerial credentials and church membership. I'm glad that God will balance the books someday.
 
I am very much convinced many people choose to be brainwashed and are therefor partially responsible for the lie.

Once someone in a false religion even told me in regard to his religious leaders, "they program me not to listen."

In my opinion he knew he was being programmed and very much wanted to continue to be programmed rather than accept the truth, so he realized he has living a lie.
 
Like it says in the bible. if you ask,seek, and knock you will find the answer. Thant's what I did and here I am now. God answered all my questions. I think people need to be reminded to ask rather than relying on someone else for what they can only get from God. If you make a judgement on something without first consulting God then you are in the wrong. Situation dependent you may not be sinning but there will be conseqences.
 
Kathrynf said:
Like it says in the bible. if you ask,seek, and knock you will find the answer. Thant's what I did and here I am now. God answered all my questions. I think people need to be reminded to ask rather than relying on someone else for what they can only get from God. If you make a judgement on something without first consulting God then you are in the wrong. Situation dependent you may not be sinning but there will be conseqences.
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Welcome to B.F., Kathrynf ! :)
 
"Situation dependent you may not be sinning but there will be consequences."

Good point!

Welcome to B.F. we look forward to interacting with you...learning and hopefully offering something of value in return.
 
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