Kunnon kristitty tapattaa juutalaiset

Näin kieroon johtopäätökseen päädytään Answers in Genesiksen pohdinnoissa. Bodie Hodge vastaa lukijakirjeeseen, jossa pohditaan onko olemassa oikeutettua valhetta. Skenaariossa olet kodissasi, jossa piileskelee myös joukko juutalaisia. Ovelle saapuu joukko natseja aseet tanassa. He kysyvät onko kodissasi juutalaisia. Valehteletko? Kerrotko totuuden?

Bodie is almost always right on the mark and is probably my favorite feedback man, but in this case I have to take exception to his saying that it is always wrong to lie . . . The ninth commandment says we should never bear false witness against our neighbor (or anyone). But if the Nazis are looking for Jews, and you know where they are, it would not be wrong to lie, in order to protect them, nor would this be bearing false witness “against” someone . . . I think in the same way the Israeli midwives lied to the Egyptians about the birthing of male babies in Moses’s day . . . I know its a rare exception, but there may be other circumstances when it might be appropriate to “lie”, although obviously, 99% percent of the time it would be wrong . . . Keep up the good work, all of you, your ministry is the most awesome in the world, just blows me away

—M.H.

Ehkä jossain harvinaisissa tilanteissa uskovainen saisi valehdella moraalisesti hyväksytyllä tavalla? Hodge sanoo, ettei sellaista valetta voi olla.

The devil is the father of lies (John 8:44), and one lie to God the Holy Spirit was worthy of instant death for Ananias (Acts 5:3–5). Paul points out that even if he were to lie for the glory of God, he would be deemed a sinner for such an act.

Raamattu ilmoittaa, että valehtelu tekisi ihmisestä syntisen. Siksi juutalaisia suojeleva ihminen tekisi samalla syntiä. Jos et ole vieläkään vakuuttunut, niin Hodge kaivaa esiin lisää perusteluja:

But consider for a moment that we are all already sentenced to die because we are sinners (Romans 5:12). It is going to happen regardless. If a lie helps keep someone alive for a matter of moments compared to eternity, was the lie, which is high treason against the Creator, worth it?

It would be like sitting in a cell on death row and when the guards come to take your roommate to the electric chair, you lie to the guards and say you don’t know where the person went—while your roommate is hiding under their covers on the bed. Does it really help? Since we are all sinners (Romans 3:23), death is coming for us, and there is an appointed time (Ecclesiastes 3:2).

Nyt varmasti ymmärrät. Ihmiset kuolisivat muutenkin, joten miksi tehdä syntiä suojelemalla juutalaisia natseilta? Synti on Jumalan edessä pahempi asia. Eikä meillä ole edes varmuutta siitä, että valehtelu toimisi.

Consider this carefully. In the situation of a Nazi beating on the door, we have assumed a lie would save a life, but really we don’t know. So, one would be opting to lie and disobey God without the certainty of saving a life—keeping in mind that all are ultimately condemned to die physically. Besides, whether one lied or not may not have stopped the Nazi solders from searching the house anyway.

Hodge sanoo kuitenkin, ettei lopulta olisi varma mitä tekisi kun natsit saapuvat ovelle. Itse valitsisin reilusti sen syntisen vaihtoehdon. Ateisteilla on tunnetusti heikompi moraali.