Does the story of Rahab’s lie provide a biblical basis for situation
ethics? Must Christians always tell the truth? Or is it sometimes right
to lie?
Years ago Joseph Fletcher wrote a book called “Situation Ethics: The
New Morality” ((Westminster Press, 1966). Fletcher died in 1991, but his
“new morality” is still embraced by many Christians today. Fletcher
proposed that it was sometimes right to break the moral law of God to
accomplish a higher purpose. If someone comes to your door with a gun
intending to kill your wife and kids, you should rightly lie about their
location to protect them, placing the sanctity of truth below the
higher value, the sanctity of life.
Following Fletcher’s thinking some Christians have appealed to the
story of Rahab in defense of a righteous lie. After hiding the two spies
under stalks of flax on her roof, Rahab told the king’s men that the
Israelites had left the city and she did not know where they went (Josh.
2:5). Rahab knowingly lied. Does her lying provide us with biblical
justification for lying? This question never fails to generate lively
discussion in the seminary classroom! Continue at J. Carl Laney
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