Deception

I got to thinking about this topic because of the book "The Scarlet Pimpernel." You'll see why in a bit.

Lying... words spoken with the intent to deceive. And not words only, but any part of our existence created with the intent to deceive. Based on that, purposeful deception and lying are one and the same.

However, it seems to me that you could purposefully say/do things that would result in a person being deceived, without exactly lying to them. For instance, you would withhold information, make a statement, dress a certain way that would help them think something was the case that was not. It wouldn't be your fault, entirely, because it would be up to them whether they wanted to make a certain assumption about you. The intelligent skeptic could believe every definitive statement you said and yet refuse to make assumptions that would be the final deceiving portion of the situation.

Confused? Let me explain with a scenario or two from "The Scarlet Pimpernel."

As he strove to save nobility from Madamoiselle La Guillotine, the Scarlet Pimpernel engaged in both blatant deception and the sort of deception that requires a non-critical thinker on the opposite side. In one scenario he dressed up as an old hag and drove a cart (containing persons of nobility hidden among vegetables) up to the gates of Paris. He shouted pro-Republic phrases and told the guard he might not be able to return to the city the next day because his son might have the plague or small pox. The ruse resulted in the guard jumping back and not perusing the cart further.

Blatant deception in the scenario:
Telling the guard that his son might have plague/small pox. He had no son and the son of course did not have plague. The guard would have had to believe the man was a liar to not believe that statement.

Deception due to receiver's lack of critical thinking:
The guard assumed the man really was an old hag.
The guard assumed (possibly) the "hag" was pro-republic -- the "hag" never said he was, he just acted in a way that could lead people to believe that.
The guard assumed the cart was for the purpose of carrying vegetables and that nobility were not on board.

So what do you think? I believe that blatant deception is wrong. Though deception is used in the Old Testament (e.g. Rahab), it is not God's perfect way. Jesus said to let your yes be yes and your no, no. In other words, Christians have no cause for swearing to a statement -- their plain words should be trustworthy. But what about indirect deception? God loves truth... so wouldn't he want us to be open about our actions? To not even desire that a person remain in the dark, "deceived," about some activity of ours?

I would almost answer yes, and maybe I should, but first let's see where that would leave us.

Smuggling Bibles... deception? I think so. You are trying to keep the officials unaware of your actions. You proceed with the intent of keeping them in the dark. Maybe insert false bottoms in suitcases, hide Bibles among clothing. Is it wrong? Probably not, unless you state that there are no Bibles with you, or that you possess no contraband materials.

The Underground Railroad... deception? Sure. Disguising slaves in clothes, hiding them in wagons. "Underground railroad" itself is a misleading term. Smuggling slaves may have been wrong for other reasons (Paul instructed slaves to obey their masters), but the smuggling aspect... could have been done in a righteous way, I think.

Hiding Jews during the Holocaust... deception? Yep. Those of you who have read "The Hiding Place" may remember Corrie's married sister. She refused to lie, but still indirectly deceived the searchers by hiding Jews in her house. She told the searchers the Jews were under the table -- which was absolutely true, because the cellar was there. I think she was justified.

I think it's okay for Christians to keep information secret -- to love truth does not mean every detail must be open to every man. No problem with surprise birthday parties. But is it justified to dress up as something you are not in order to avoid the "radar"? Hard to say. What do you think?

***
Some random thoughts on lying...
Is it right under certain circumstances, wrong under others? Ethics are not situational -- they may often be broad enough to have different applications in different situations, but that does not mean that they are not valid for any given situation. Hence, lying is not made righteous if used to smuggle Bibles so that people can hear the Word of God. That's a hard statement to make, but I believe God is honored best when his Truth is upheld by our actions. Actually, if you believe you must lie to smuggle Bibles... perhaps you need more faith in God's power.

Is acting, lying? I do not think so, because the average observer knows that you are acting. However, acting may be problematic for the Christian as it habitualizes him to being fake. That is not a very good thing, and could promote deception in other areas of life.