"To lie is to speak or act against
the truth to mislead the person
who has the right to know it.”
Context
Do love and respect for the gospel truth still influence biblical teachings in the churches today? Some people ask this question
because it is ostensibly noticed that the word of God is falsely taught,
especially when the biblical teachings take another turn and make people lose
the notion of salvation, making them confused and making them lose all desire
to probe the Scriptures and specially to apply them. And if there is a trace of
truth, it is often manipulated through a bait of gain, money wrapped in a few
lies.
Far from being well informed like the Christians of Berea who, not being naïve, always sought to check whether what was taught to them was in conformity with the Word of God (Acts 17:10-11), most Christians today are inclined to listen to a rhetoric that is intended to be manipulative, which plays on their emotions from the circumstances. As a result, many Christians cling to anything that is the opposite of what the Bible teaches. For we draw the portrait of a God who is very different from God that the Bible presents to us. And these misinterpretations not only harm the understanding of the Scriptures that Christians read as if through a distorting glass, but worse, it directly affects their relationship with God, at the level of faith and hope.
It is this distorted interpretation, which most Christians are so accustomed to hearing, in which they fall by saying one thing and doing another. In other words, all the difficulties result from the method of interpreting the biblical texts. Almost imperceptibly, lying seems to be becoming a mark of evangelizing rhetoric, with a dramatically devastating reach within Christian communities.
Moreover, it is noted by all that lying, contrary to the biblical message, seems to become the substance of preaching.
The phenomenon is not new. Already in the Old Testament, prophet and false prophet clash without it being easy to distinguish one from the other. God Himself reproached the false prophets. It should be noted that in the Christian tradition, the term "false prophets" is used in various contexts to refer to the disseminators of false doctrines.
Nowadays, the same expression could be used to refer to the disseminators of fake news or those who manipulate the Word of God for their own benefit. For the Old Testament tradition, the presence of "false prophets" is the source of lies and false news. Therefore, it is the power of yesteryear (kings, judges, etc.) to discern true prophets from false and to fight false doctrines. Indeed, if some writers of biblical literature describe the "false prophets" as "dream-makers" and invite the people of God to be suspicious of them (cf. Dt 13:2-4), the prophets Jeremiah and Ezekiel call them respectively "[4]familiar with lies" (cf. Jer 23:14), "foolish prophets" (cf. Ez 13:3) "with illusory visions and false omens" (cf. Ez 13:9).
In this context, marked by the war of prophecies between true and false prophets, their visions contain promises that betray God's plan for humanity. Because, Yahweh observes, " this is the lie that these prophets prophesy in my name! I didn't send them, I didn't give them orders, I didn't talk to them. False vision, divination, nonsense and deception of their hearts, this is what they prophesy to you! (Jer 14:14). I have heard what the prophets say, those who prophesy in my name the lie, and who say: "I had a dream! I had a dream! "" (Jer 23:25).
In the NT, Jesus keeps on warning his disciples about false prophets: "Beware that no one deceives you. For many will come under my name, saying: I am the Christ. And they will seduce a lot of people... (Matthew 24:3-8).
In 2 Tim, 4.3-4, the Apostle Paul already foresees the time when ministry will be very difficult (v. 3). This period when Christians will not be able to bear the doctrine of the Word of God, nor those who proclaim it, but who will choose doctors responding to their carnal imagination. Obviously, turningaway from the truth and turning to fables is becoming more and more obvious nowadays. Indeed, some churches, instead of preaching the word of salvation, have the propensity to emphasize prosperity, which appeals to emotions. They[5] thus bet on the exacerbation of feelings, the emotional instability of many followers, the search for the supernatural, the sensational and the spectacular. In this perspective, it is no longer possible to speak of spiritual regeneration but of degeneration and perversions of the truth that are revealed in many religious counterfeits, each more abominable than the other.
Certainly, religious realities are diverse and complex in Africa, and we cannot claim to control the phenomenon of lies in all religious circles, nor can we talk about it exhaustively, but it is true that Christians today are locked in a culture of lies thus shaping the way they read, interpret and even apply biblical texts. This complex and disturbing reality spreads in a way of living, thinking, acting, or living. Some speak of the "pathology of lies", because the evil is so deep that it has reached an endemic dimension. And the question here is: What is the gospel likely to challenge this manipulative rhetoric that amounts to blasphemy against the Holy Spirit?
Without deceiving others, and without deluding oneself, the story of Ananias and Sapphira, which we chooseas the textual medium of our reflection, leads us to reflect on what lies are in the Église[6]. If, in No. 23:19, it is written: "God is not a man to lie, northe son of a man to repent... In the background, this biblical text refers us to the idea of saying that true Christianity is about knowing the truth. As Jesus himself says, "I am the truth." (John 14:6) and "you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free" (John 8:32). "Your Word is the truth." (John 17:17). To Pilate, Christ said, "Whoever is of the truth, listen to my voice." (John 18:37).
To this end, to clarify our approach, even if lying is a daily act in the life of man, it may be useful to ask from the outset the question of a definition: what is lying?
Because to speak of lies is to answer three questions: the first is that of its reality: what is lying? The second is on a moral level: is it permissible to lie? The third is on a social level: Is lying really necessary as a social lubricant to make life possible?[7]
DEFINITION OF "lying" [8]
Usually, "lying" is understood as "the opposite of truth." But, it should be remembered that the word "lie" is polymorphic in its constituents. Often it is defined as the most direct offense to the truth", "to lie is to speak or act against the truth to mislead the one who has the right to know it", in general terms. [9]
In the Hebrew language, the word shequer from shaqar translates to deceive, to lie, to lie, to violate the covenant, to betray faithfulness, to be unfaithful. Thus, in Jewish culture, any consciously false statement is a lie, but also the fact of ignoring or distorting the truth in order to deceive one's neighbor. [10]The Talmud condemns lies and deception: "The Holy One, blessed be He, hates him who says one thing with his mouth and another with his heart" (Pesahim 113b), as well as fraud in business: "As there is wrong in buying and selling, there is wrong with words. A man should not ask, "How much does this thing cost? if he does not intend to buy it" (Bava Metzia 4:10). The interesting point is that of Rabbi [11]Eliyahu Dessler who redefines "truth" as any statement that serves God and "lying" as any statement that harms God's interests.[12]
In Greek, the word lie translates to pseudos[13] which means: Conscious and intentional falsehood. In a broad sense, anything that doesn't seem to be true. But, the authors of Greek antiquity, make the difference between "lying" and "telling a lie". [14]
In the same vein, Plato, in the Republic, distinguishes two kinds of lies: the "true lie" and the "lie in words". The "true lie" is the deliberate lie that installs ignorance and error in the soul of the one being deceived. Such a lie is nothing but blasphemy against the gods. Also, Plato dismisses the possibility of believing that the gods can lie: a divine being can have neither the perversity nor the negligence to lie since the very idea of lying is in contradiction with that of divinity. Next to this true lie, there is what Plato calls the "lie in words." Unlike the former, this one does not harm others and cannot be considered a lie as such. In his definition of it, Plato insists on the notions of imitation and simulacrum: "[15]The lie in words is only an imitation of an affection of the soul, a simulacrum that occurs afterwards, it is not a lie without mixing". Such a lie, for Plato, is lawful because it can be useful. [16] Stobée writes: "Lying is not saying something false, but saying the false by lying and in order to deceive a loved one."[17]
Here we join the perspective of the Bible, where the truth appears as what determines the stake of all life, by the judgment of salvation to which everyone remains invited to acquiesce even in the act where he refuses to do so. At the same time, the Church discovers the need to learn missionary discourse imbued with truth: to encounter the concrete aspirations of man and to reveal to him in Jesus Christ the depth of his divine rootedness. And this is an appreciable contribution for the first Christians. But was this really the case in the Bible?
Biblical characters To The Test of Lying
Biblical stories are, for the most part, punctuated by scenes of lies. There are more than one hundred and fifty occurrences in Scripture for lying, lying, lying, lying, not to mention situations where the term does not appear, but where reality is present, dressed with other words: cunning, deception, concealment. To this end, one can well browse the catalog of liars in the Bible: lie to usurp a property: Jacob deceives his father Isaac who is blind to obtain the blessing that rightfully belonged to Esau; lie to escape danger: Abraham, at the time of passing through Egypt, sensing that the beauty of Sarah may get him into trouble, says that she is his sister — which is true — but not that she is also his wife; lying to hide a crime: Joseph's brothers bring back his bloodied tunic and tell Jacob that a ferocious beast has devoured their brother; Lie finally to mislead someone: the serpent disguises the word that God had addressed to Adam and Eve, or Satan tempts Jesus in the desert by borrowing the words of Deuteronomy.
But there is lying that can also receive divine approval, as shown by the example of Jewish midwives who lie to the pharaoh and are rewarded by God (Ex.1:15-20).[24] Jesus even lies, as on the Jewish feast of the huts, when he begins by announcing that he will not attend, and finally takes part anyway (John, 7,2-10.) . True, God hates lies and cannot lie himself, but He nevertheless sends a "spirit of lies" to King Ahab to mislead him and make him lose a battle (1Rois22:22). And the famous eighth commandment does not command, as is usually believed: "Thou shalt not lie," but "Thou shalt not falsely testify against thy neighbor" (Exodus, 20,16,). The eighth commandment therefore does not condemn lying as such, but its use to harm others, for example during a trial.[25]
Nevertheless, when one takes a closer look at the biblical texts , it turns out that the Bible itself is far from categorically rejecting lying. Certainly, many passages condemn him, but the Holy Scriptures show him the same ambiguity as today's society. Thus, in many places, the Old Testament tells lies without comment or judgment, especially when these lies are due to characters in principle positive, considered moreover as men of faith.
In the NT there is this singular situation where lying, taking a very subtle form, is detected only by the Spirit of God. It is the lie of Ananias and Sapphira in Act 5:1-11 that appears as the unexpected coming to break the communion and unity of the Church which, however, " had only one heart and one soul " (4:32) and whose " witness " was forcefully given by the apostles (4:33). In other words, this lie is seen as a violation of the integrity and communion of the Church. [26]As a result, the way the scene unfolds implies the moral value of the rhetoric tested, for the first time, in a Christian community.
It should also be noted that in the context of the struggle against heresies of the first centuries, the moral interpretation of punishment also drifts towards a call for the immediate punishment of heterodoxes by the Church, to prevent other people from adhering to it.[27]
1. Lying as an obstacle to christian fellowship
It is important to emphasize that Christian history begins with the lie, hypocrisy and avarice of Ananias and Sapphira told in 5:1-11 but which, as said above, contrasts with the unanimity of intentions of "common goods" of the first Christian community in Jerusalem (4:32-37). Indeed, the story gains in gravity by a dramatization marking the tragic death of Ananias struck by the denouncing word of Peter, his early burial, then the arrival of Sapphira ignorant of the drama, who will then suffer the same fate for having publicly accepted the lie of her husband (5:9b).
The narrator speaks of "chorion" a "piece of land, field" sold in v. 3 and gives, in full agreement with his wife, only part of the sum obtained. This Greek verb enosphisato (to hold for oneself) of which Ananias is the subject, also means " to appropriate, to set aside for oneself, to subtract, to defraud". It would be, according to some commentators, the echo of Jos 7: 16-26 which tells the fraud of Akân. The latter confessed to Joshua: "Truly, it was I who sinned against the Lord... I had seen in the booty a shinéar cape of unique beauty, two hundred silver sicles and a gold bar... I have coveted them and I have taken them—here they are hidden in the earth in the middle of my tent and the money is underneath" (Jos 7:21). The parallels can hardly be denied.
Moreover, as it was for Abram and Sarai in Gen 12:10-20, Ananias and Sapphira give in to the temptation to lie for the sake of well-being. If, in the account of Gen 12:10-20, Abram exposes to Sarai a situation that he perceives as perilous for his own life, in the case of Ananias and Sapphira, the Lucanian narrator does not tell us who was at the origin of this Machiavellian plan causing the tragic death of the couple. Only we know that they have sold their property but divert part of the price before depositing it at the feet of the apostles; when Peter noticed the deception, he struck them, each in turn, with an immediate death. Indeed, three elements are enough to justify the drama: first their greed, which generates fraud; second, their lie, which violates the sacred; finally, their hypocrisy imbued with an apparent piety to deceive God. In fact, it must be clarified, as Pierre Gibert expresses it better when he writes: "In their case indeed, what is serious is not to have kept a share of the price of the sale of their property, but to have lied to God"[28]
This means that, in the early Church, the fact of being in fraternal communion was not based on the sharing of goods but on the "fear" of God. In this perspective, the lie of Ananias and Sapphira became a factor that disturbed and broke the constituted divine order, disintegrating the structures and certainties on which the life of the community was based. As a result, the punitive deaths of Ananias and Sapphira, while severe, apparently disproportionate, served to restore the order violated by reaffirming the values on which this community was based.
Also, the text emphasizes to us, on the one hand, the lie that has a destructive scope because it undermines the faith and unity of the community, on the other hand, the extreme divine reaction with which this fault is punished. If this lie has a satanic dimension, there is something divine about its punishment in v.3. If we see that their fault lies in "the false declaration", we must also note their hypocrisy. It seems that this couple wanted to pass in the eyes of the community and its leaders for better, more generous than they were in fact. They lacked righteousness. Their fault is a sin against fraternal trust, mutual clarity in the community but above all against the Holy Spirit.
And one wonders if using a half-truth to display an apparent piety, how serious is it in the end? For God, every deviation from the truth belongs to the lie, to the Enemy whom Jesus will say is a liar and the father of lies and that he is a murderer from the beginning (John 8:44). A half-truth out of fear led this couple to suffer divine wrath, to find themselves in a certain confusion and face death.
As, as has been pointed out above in the African tradition, lying (because it is a violation of the virtue of truthfulness), is a real violence against others. He attains it in his capacity to know, which is the condition of all judgment and decision. It contains in germ the division of minds and all the evils that it arouses. The lie of Ananias and Sapphira is fatal for the whole Church; it undermines the trust between the early Christians and tears apart the fabric of community relations.
2. Lying as a blasphmatory act against God
In this account of Ananias and Sapphira,we are faced with what Plato calls a "true lie." That is, a lie that is nothing but blasphemy against God. Thecontext of ananias and Sapphira's lie is punctuated by a series of falsehoods aimed at deceiving God. For lying to the apostles is tantamount to lying to God. In other words, one can lie to a man, but to lie to God would be to say that he does not see the depths of man's heart. It is therefore blasphemy because we bring God back to the idea that he is unable to see the truth, or that he is not all-powerful. Of course, there are men who do not realize this, but in the case of Ananias and Sapphira, they were fully aware of their lie. Moreover, the beginning of v. 3 makes it possible to underline the diabolical inspiration of the lie of Ananias, put on the same level as Judas and Eve, two archetypes of liars at the instigation of the devil.
3. Lying as a rejection of Christian doctrine
The violent death of Ananias and Sapphira is a moral reading that exhorts Christians not to lie to one another as the apostle Paul points out: "Do not lie to one another, you are stripped of the old man and his works" (Col.3,9). In this perspective, the counter-model of the couple also seems to be addressed to Church leaders, to push them to abandon the lures of which they are authors quite regularly. Indeed, hidden sin, as well as public iniquity, are followed by God's judgment. By marking the sacredness of this community, which is now called the Church for the first time, this account of judgment was thus placed at the forefront of its history. At the first appearance of the sin declared within the Church, the first imposition of the discipline of the Church is the first time.
This dimension results from the words of Peter (5:3-4) who twice evokes the lie of Ananias, as an act committed not towards men, but towards the Holy Spirit, and then towards God. The partial act of giving is interpreted as a negation of the initial promise of gift, since Ananias, wishing to enter the Christian community, had undertaken to sell and give away all his property.
This subject is not morality but a matter of Christian doctrine. The truth about lying is a course of the Christian life. Since the Christian loves God and Jesus Christ, he wants to know the truth about various realities and especially about lies. The believer longs to know what God says about lying. More than any man, the Christian must love the truth and hate lies. (John 18:37).
4. Lying as a means of seeking vain glory
The conservation of the goods highlights another reading with a more ethical emphasis. It is understood as the challenge to a system of exchange that is based on the redistribution to the poor of the wealth that God has provided some men. It is further presented as the result of three vices: the fear of lack, the search for vain glory (akin to pride) and, above all, greed.
The couple is thus condemned, not only for having confiscated what is destined for the communion of property, but also for having violated a prohibition, that of lying.
In other words, it is seen as a violation of the integrity and communion of the community. Philippe Bossuyt and Jean Radermakers put it so well in these terms: "The lesson of this text of Acts is not to highlight divine mercy, but to emphasize the gravity of sin that kills koinônia, poisons the community and leads it to death[29]".
We note here that those who have the will never to willingly admit the lie (pseudos), but to hate it on the contrary and to cherish the truth of the Gospel, must continually meditate on the truth in the Word of God. For this, in an era plagued by the relativism of ideas, the Word of God must remain the foundation of Christian doctrines, values and convictions. Truth is not plural. It is inherently universal, that is, unique and valid for all.
thes "false prophets"[30] as figures of lies and seductions in the church
The tendency of today's society is not to take into account the authenticity ofspeech, but to know if it is really interesting to believe in it. This situation seems to work essentially in favor of the Church, in the face of which the usefulness of truth is losing more and more importance, especially as she (Church) experiences a revival of favor and respectability because she tells people what they want to hear other than the truth of the Gospel. The lie thus essentially becomes an intention to manipulate or seduce, therefore, to distort the Gospel at the whim of those who listen to it. And one wonders, why this need to disguise thetruth of the Gospel?
In other words, lying here becomes a way offleeing the reality of one's "experience", a way of changing it to relieve one's conscience. It also involves interpreting what others expect to hear; say what we think they want to hear or what we think will give us a good image. And here we arrive at another reality of lying: the need to please, the need to match to a model that we have defined ourselves. Fear of disappointing others in addition to accepting one's own difficulties or weaknesses.
This raises many questions. Why does the Church condemn so radically what she also practices? That lying is sometimes useful, few will dispute it. Is it morally justifiable? Can we invoke, under certain conditions, a moral right to lie? Those are all other questions.
In any case, as in others, especially in the account of Ananias and Sapphira, the question "is there a moral right to lie?" seems difficult to resolve in itself, perhaps we can at least choose between two possibilities: should we consider the consequences , for oneself and for others, the choice to lie or not, or should we, without thinking about the consequences, make this question a "matter of principle"? Often, in most churches today, one lies on principle without thinking about the consequences that will result. As was the lie of Ananias and Sapphira. We are witnessing the revelations of false prophets who have no source but themselves. This is similar to the art of divination, where many Africans resort to this practice to solve their problems. Victims of all kinds of violence, poverty, illiteracy and many other evils are the most deceived by charlatans who abound in African society.
Charlatans are like those "false prophets" who claim to have had visions or gifts to predict the future. They often play prophets of happiness, while so many others claim to know what leads to unhappiness and death, to know what well-being, happiness and life depend on. Thisis often done with venality[31].
Yet in Dt 18:20 God gives them this warning: "... the prophet who will be proud enough to speak in my name words that I have not commanded him to say or who will speak in the name of foreign gods, this prophet will die." However, despite this divine warning, the desire to exploit the faithful is rampant today and constitutes the basis of this phenomenon, which consists in concealing evangelical principles for material profit. The following testimony is obvious: "I gave money because I wanted a husband. The pastor prophesied that we would be blessed if we sowed the seeds," says Jeannette M., a member of the Pentecostal Church of the Revival, who is looking for a husband. She firmly believes that she will have her husband if she submits to the injunctions of the prophet of their community. For her, paying for a prayer is not a problem. On the other hand, Claude M., who joined a Pentecostal Church five years ago, is a very disappointed man. He confesses that it has been prophesied that he should sell many of his possessions in order to be able to respond to all of God's injunctions. "By the words of our prophet in the Church, I sold my mobile phone, clothes, and I even borrowed money from friends because the father had insisted that giving money would keep my problems away... Now I know it's not working, and I've given up," he concludes.
It should also be noted that unfulfilled prophecies sometimes undermine the credibility of these "false prophets." David S., a member of a charismatic community, confirms this: "Until now, I have always sought the Lord by myself, received the word that comesfrom him and then I compare it to what the prophets say."[32] As it is written in" (Jer 23:16): "Do not pay attention to the words of the prophets who prophesy for you, they deceive you: vision of their imagination, what they say; it does not come from the mouth of the Lord."
It is like the Church of Corinth, where those who prophesied had to evaluate each other's words (1 Cor 14:29); the Spirit makes this evaluation possible (1 Cor 2:13–16) with the sole concern of avoiding false prophecies or lies.
But is it possible to recognize the true prophets without a work of discernment, which remains carefully on guard against the values imposed bysociety: the insatiable thirst for novelty, the obligation of efficiency and profit, etc.?
Unfortunately, even today, authentically prophetic voices are rare. The opposite would be surprising. It seems difficult today to find a true prophet whose profile could echo that well described in the AT: the true prophet is an isolated man whose word disturbs to the point that many would prefer to see him silenced. Even if the partial and partial nature of the biblical testimonies makes it difficult to appreciate, the voice of the prophet seeks to be heard in the midst of the cacophony of discordant voices that never fail to rise, especially in times of crisis. Thisword of the "true prophet" is at the service of a truth that is difficult to make heard, because it questions the evidence with courageous and uncompromising lucidity, even if, in essence, it aims at the happiness of all and their fulfillment in a universal justice based on the covenant.[33]
Conclusion
In a study of Acts 5:1-11, we have learned that truth appears to determine what is at stake in all life. At the same time, the Church discovers the need to hold a discourse of truth which consists in encountering the concrete aspirations of man and revealing to him in Jesus Christ the depth of his divine rootedness. And this wasan appreciable contribution for the first Christians.
For lying in the Church is an opposition to God's plan. Itis not the fact of having sold the land that is accused of Ananias and Saphira. He was not even obliged to give the money for the sale (5, 4). The deception was not simply a lie to God or the Spirit (5:3,4), but it was a true test of God's Spirit. "Tempting" God or testing Him has a Old Testament background (Ex 17:2; Nb 20, 13.24; Ps 106:32).
The Church, made up of sinful members, may never attain this ideal of perfection, but she does not have the right to settle into practices contrary to the evangelical aim of the union of hearts and fraternal sharing. Similarly, sin had two intimately linked characters: lying to the Holy Spirit, from whom nothing can be hidden, and at the same time tempting him, trying to see if he would ignore their act. The story of this couple must, however, make those who advocate lies in the Church think. Uncompromising, the Holy Spirit does not tolerate being deceived. "When the word is perverted," comments Charles L'Eplattenier, "when hypocrisy creeps in through lust and vanity, the provoked Holy Spirit can react by consuming troublemakers with his fire[34]"
And what does the Lord except from the Church? He excepts sincerity and truth from His Church. Truth means all that is true. Hypocrisy is what seems to be true. The hypocrite seems to be a lamb, he presents himself under a lamb disguise, but in it he is a kidnapping wolf. Hypocrisy can creep into our lives, into the Church of Jesus Christ, and it often creeps in.[35]
Jimi ZACKA, PhD
[1] In antiquity, the term "rhetoric", derived from the ancient Greek "rhetorike", was used to describe "the art of handling words". The "art of eloquence" is an even more appropriate term. Lrhetoric is interpreted more as a game with language in order to express more of one's own personality and messages. Thus, it is necessary to trigger a certain feeling or actions in others. It is not exclusively the level of a speaker's monologue in front of an audience. In addition, rhetorical skill is also advantageous in everyday dialogues and is now seen as a means of do strengthen self-confidence, guide conversations or speeches in the desired direction.
[2] The manipulation, in the abstract sense, refers to the control exercised by one or more persons over one or more others for the purpose of controlling their actions or feelings. It is considered a deceptive or even perverse maneuver and has a strong pejorative connotation.
[3] Jimi Zacka is a Professor of NT, Researcher in cultural and religious anthropology in the Centre for Research and Intercultural Studies in Francophone Africa CREIAF, consultant in religious facts and Author of several books and articles.
[4] Cf. Is 4,9-11; 43,14- 21; Jr 31; The 11,8-11; On the 9,11-15.
[5]The sermon of many pastors and leaders denotes the link between salvation and physical or material goods in a vein that is sometimes reminiscent of the "theology of prosperity." In this type of rhetoric, the validation criterion is less about reason than about feeling and direct emotion. This emotional and therapeutic dimension is often highlighted during liturgical rites. Read to this effect, Jimi Zacka, Possessions démoniaques and exorcismes dans les églises pentecôtistes d’Afrique Centrale: Relecture du "ministère de délivrance" à partir de l’Évangile by Marc Yaoundé :CLE 2010
[6] Christian life in the Church reveals a Vital difference between the mind and the way of life the Christianity in two points: 1) Imitate Christ, but not live it according to the Spirit. 2) Calling yourself a Christian, and know nothing about the spiritual power of Christianity.
[7] Alongside the pernicious lie (that of fraud) are a series of unofficial or legitimate lies, which range from pious lies (that of etiquette, politeness, propriety... operated as a social lubricant) to the lies of attack or defense, through the "true lie" of politics, mythomania or lying to oneself (cognitive dissonance) to lead to the "spiritual lie").
[8] It is not in the spirit of our Article to tackle all aspects lies.
[9] Read to this effect Simpson, D., Lying, liars and language, Philosophy and Phenomenological Research, 1992, vol. 52, no. 3, pp. 623-639; Sweetser, Eve E., The Definition of « Lie »: An Examination of the Folk Models Underlying a Semantic Prototype. In Cultural Models in Language and Thought. Dorothy Holland and Naomi Quinn, eds. p. 43-66, Cambridge University Press.
[10] On the other hand, the principle of saving a life is, for Jewish law, a reason to lie to save a life, such as denying a diagnosis to a critically ill patient. Read Resnicoff, « Lying and Lawyering: Contrasting American and Jewish Law », Notre Dame Law Review, theft. 77, 2002; Durandin, Guy, The Fondements of the lie, Paris, Flammarion, 1972.
[11] Louis Jacobs, « Truth and Lies in the Jewish Tradition » The Jewish Religion: A Companion, Oxford University Press, 1995.
[12] Resnicoff 2002, op,cit, p. 966.
[13] There is a word found in the Greek original of the New Testament, which has been translated as lie in our French versions of the Bible, it is the word pseudos. It is a term that is not foreign to us, and that we use regularly in everyday language, sometimes without realizing it. It is used as a prefix to describe something that is false. It is said, for example, a pseudo-prophet to refer to a person who pretends to be a prophet, but who in reality is not.s.
[14] Respectively. II, 382a-382b ;
[15] For example, it was generally accepted to think that it was not a lie to say something wrong to a child or a foolish person. The reason given was that children and fools, not having the freedom of judgment, could not be harmed in this regard. For children in particular, it was a widespread opinion that one could "deceive this impudent age" (Lucretia, Of nat. rer. I, 935) and "make them believe many things for their profit" (Quintilian, Inst. Orat., XII, 1). Xenophon My. IV, 2, 16-17 also gives the example of the father of the family who, seeing that his son is reluctant to take a remedy that is necessary for him, makes him take it as a food.
[16] Cf. M. Broze, « Lie and justice in Plato », International Journal of Philosophy, vol. 40, no. 156-157, 1986, pp. 38-48
[17] To see J. Cousin, « Études sur Quintilien, t. 1, Contribution à la recherche des sources de L'Institution oratoire, Paris, 1935, p. 755-757. p. 756, which gives the following translation: " It is not in the fact of telling a lie that lies the fact of lying, but in the action of telling a lie by design and with the intention of deceiving the entourage ». See also
[18] Cf. A . Hampaté Three, "The Living Tradition", pp. 191-200, J.Ki Zerbo General History of Africa, Methodology and African prehistory, unesco, 1980 served as a source of inspiration for us.
[19] Ibid, p. 200
[20] Cf. Paulette Roulon-Doko 2009 (1977), ≪ The words pilée : accès to symbolism among the Gbaya ’bodoe from Central African Republic ≫, Litt notebookséoral erasure, 66 : 217-231.
[21]Read Jimi Zacka "Anthropology of the Word in two figures of rhetoric" in ,https://www.academia.edu/30099965/Anthropologie_de_la_Parole_dans_deux_figures_de_rh%C3%A9torique_Oralit%C3%A9_Africaine_et_Discours_de_Milet_en_Actes_20_17_37,academia.edu, accessed 08/07/ 2022.
[22] In fact if the wise man is so respected in Africa, it is because he respects himself first. Internally in order, since he must never lie, he is a man" well tuned ", master of the forces that inhabit it. Around him things are ordered and the troubles subside.
[23] We refer here to the griots Genealogists, historians or poets (or all three at once) who are also generally storytellers and frequent travelers, and not necessarily attached to a family. Tradition gives them a special status within society. Indeed, unlike Horon (nobles), they have the right to be shameless and enjoy a very great freedom of speech. They can show themselves without embarrassment, even cheeky, and sometimes they joke with the most serious or sacred things without it taking any consequences. They are not bound by discretion or absolute respect for the truth. They can sometimes lie with aplomb and no one is justified in holding them to it. Cf. A . Hampaté Three, « Public animators or "Griots", on. cit., p .214.
[24] Jochen Mecke, "A Critique of Lying Beyond Good and Evil", Cahiers etudes Germaniques, 67 /2014
[25] Cf. Luc-Thomas Sum, "The Truth of Lies", Journal of Ethics and Moral Theology, 2005, HS, n° 236, p. 33-54.
[26] Highlighting a particular dimension ofAnanias and Saphira, at a given time and in a particular type of text, represents a choice among other aspects of the figure. Such a choice is often made according to other discourses that can be defined as competitors.
[27] Therefore, thehe couple is also associated with other biblical figures, punished like him. It's Elymas who most often appears at his side, since this mage (magus) had been blinded by Paul for preventing apostolic preaching.Act 13, 8-12). This means that theThe example of the punishment of the couple thus participates in the turning point initiated by the repression of heresys.
[28] P. Gibert, " The first Christians according to the Acts of the Apostles », 223.
[29] P. Bossuyt Hotels and J. Radermakers, Witnesses of the Word of Grace. Reading of the Acts of the Apostles, Theological Review of Leuven Year 1998 29-3 pp. 381-382
[30] The denunciation of false prophets that is probably the most vigorous in Scripture is expressed by a true prophet, Jeremiah. "If a prophet has made a dream, let him tell of that dream. And he who has a word from me, may he communicate my word according to the truth. What does the straw do in the middle of the wheat? asks the Lord. (Jer 23:28).
[31] To see Me 3.5 and 11; This 13,19. This defect precludes the characteristic free of charge of true prophecy (I R 13,7-8 ; II R 5,14-15).
[32] We specify thatin contrast to the inveterate defenders of prophecy, there are those who are tempted to reject it completely, and neglect the baby in the bathwater. Yet when Paul exhorts us to examine everything, he also warns us not to despise prophecy (1 Thess 5:19–22). When He encourages us to evaluate prophecies (1 Cor 14:29), He also exhorts us to continue the exercise of the gift that corresponds to them (1 Cor 14:1, 39).
[33] Cf. Wenin,A. , "Beware of false prophets," https://www.cairn.info/revue-etudes-2004-3-page-351.htm
[34] Charles L'Eplattenier, The Acts of the Apostles (Coll. "The Bible, spokesman"). Geneva, Labor and Fides, 1987, p.70
[35] Valentine Ntumba Kapambu, "The Death ofAnanie and Saphire : Does the God of the Bible condone the death of a human being? From the necessity to read better And 5, 1-11 », Teresianum 57 (2006/1) 115-134
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