Karina Sanchez

Haha, so in other words, ‘I’m starting to grow a tad bit weary of wrangling over this topic and would appreciate it if someone would start a new one’. I feel for you, believe me.
But allow me to clarify one thing: my question was not does God use such people, since duh, obviously He does, but is it somehow okay (morally right) for them to lie…[Read more]

No typos, victory! Seriously, I stopped studying spelling at seven and have only been improving by seeing the corrections on spell check a million times in a row.

Does God permit unrighteous people to do what righteous people cannot, so that His will may be fulfilled? Well, it would appear so. That’s all I have to say.

Thanks for the great discussion.

Oh boy, and here I was thinking all along that we were mainly trying to determine whether spying was right, as it is a form of deception! Well, that clears up a lot. What other ways are there to lie in war? I can’t think of any off the top of my head.
Nevertheless, Daeus, some of the points you made above in your last really long comment (I am…[Read more]

Hello Hope,

I think there can be such a distinction. Granted many spies doubtless lie, but I don’t think this is a necessity of spying. Often times when a system (like spying) relies on something we might consider immoral, such as lying, it is not because it is necessary, but because it has become ingrained in the tradition of the practice. It is…[Read more]

Alright, I’m back. I’ll reply in order of the posts starting with Kate.

Seeing as you had so much to say, I will reply point by point to keep things as organized as possible.

Point 1: To lie in war is the same as to kill in war. It is acceptable by the same logic.
To this point I would have to disagree. While some translations say, “You shall…[Read more]

For me, I believe the line would be drawn between what is right and wrong in war as soon as any act departed from self defense. Taking spoil is a necessary part of war if you are in a foreign country and desperately in need of supplies, but I would not defend it if it was simply for the sake of gathering ‘stuff’ that you could grow rich on or…[Read more]

Supposing that the background information is a historical event, it may actually be best to have one of your characters recount the historical event in great detail to another character in one long explanation. If it is family history, it depends. Sometimes you will want to reveal the whole history at once and other times you will want to reveal…[Read more]

One way to do this is to introduce a gossipy character who has profound interest in all types of background information, and introduce a curious stranger who will then ask this gossipy person questions. One thing you have to remember though if you take this approach is that gossipy people often get the narrative slightly wrong or exaggerate the…[Read more]

Okay, no problem. I know what it’s like to have weird, troublesome computers and bad connection!

Yes, that’s how I was leaning when I read and typed out the passage, but I wanted to post it just in case I was missing something.
That being said, I do not agree that it is wrong to lie in war. Let’s think about it for a moment. Lying in war is not lying for your own personal gain or even on a personal level in any way. Yes, it is lying, but war…[Read more]

Thanks for all the great feedback. Hope, I will respond to you first.

You bring up an interesting passage in 2 Samuel. This is one case of a man of faith spying. You make a good point that he did lie, but was it commended? I don’t think it ever was. If we were to accept everything any man of faith did in the bible, even when they were trying to…[Read more]

An opera on the book of Job? Sounds awesome. I’m very impressed. Let me know when it is showing in the theaters.

Daeus, you asked for other instances of lying in the Bible. I found one that you missed, and maybe it will shed some light on this. 2 Kings 10: 18-30. I do not pretend to have all the answers or even understand this perfectly myself, but I am seeking truth, and I believe one of the best ways to do so would be discussion. Here is the passage for…[Read more]

Hi Hope,

I can only think of two cases in the bible where people lied in war like situations. Granted, neither of these were strictly war situations, but to a degree they were. The first was when Rahab lied about the spies. The second was when King David fled from Saul to Ahimelech the priest. The first instance resulted in the escape of the…[Read more]

Wow. Thanks— that will be so helpful. Is there anything you guys don’t think of?

The only outward signs of such conversations I ever seem to exhibit come in the form of wide, silly grins plastered all over my face whenever one of my characters says something particularly witty or unexpected. My family calls it to my attention all the time, but so far, I don’t think any have actually caught me in the act of speaking aloud. But…[Read more]

Sounds great!