Always tell the truth
When someone lies to you, they express contempt for your perceptions and allegiance to the truth.
When you believe the lie, you change your allegiance from a lover of truth to a lover of falsehood.
With this change in allegiance, you express contempt for the truth and those who speak it.
What you should have done is dishonor the liar and expressed contempt for their commitment to deceit.
Whatever you do, DONT LIE. Honor those who tell the truth. Fight for your fidelity to people who have integrity. Even if they make mistakes, if they are honest mistakes, they will learn and correct their errors.
Are there passages of scripture that you disagree with? Disagree with them. Admit that you think this passage is wrong, foolish, or misguided. Back up your belief with reasons. Seek to learn or reject the scriptures. It’s better to make an honest mistake than to lie. Honesty is the only path to truth.
Always tell the truth. Always. In every circumstance. Even if it costs you. ESPECIALLY IF IT COST YOU.
There is no shame in disagreeing with things, even with God himself, if it is does in the spirit of seeking the truth. There is great contempt for someone if you fake fidelity for the sake of appearances.
This is fundamentally why I have such an issue with the Protestant doctrine of Sola Scriptura and the Catholic doctrine of papal authority or any claim to absolute authority. If I am to honor a thing, I must first understand it. But to understand, I must be able to reject it. Anybody can express contempt for the truth by lying about understand and faking belief… What I want from people who seek to learn from me or teach me is a radical commitment to the truth, regardless of how it makes me feel or the consequences. Anything less is not only dangerous, it’s hateful and deadly.
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