'White' Lies!

[Skydancing]

Some people believe that all lies are wrong, I don't. I am more than happy to tell a lie if it is going to spare a person pain. If someone asks me if I like their dress/hairdo, for instance, I am not going to say it is terrible! I often tell my Mum (81) things she wants to hear rather than what is strictly true, this makes her happy and is not doing any harm. I feel no guilt about this at all.

I am against lying when it hurts the person to whom the lie is directed.

 

[D McCloud]

Some people believe that all lies are wrong, I don't. I am more than happy to tell a lie if it is going to spare a person pain. If someone asks me if I like their dress/hairdo, for instance, I am not going to say it is terrible! I often tell my Mum (81) things she wants to hear rather than what is strictly true, this makes her happy and is not doing any harm. I feel no guilt about this at all.

I am against lying when it hurts the person to whom the lie is directed.

I generally tend to agree with this. Sometimes the truth can indeed be more destructive than a lie.

 

[FSTDT]

Some people believe that all lies are wrong, I don't. I am more than happy to tell a lie if it is going to spare a person pain. If someone asks me if I like their dress/hairdo, for instance, I am not going to say it is terrible! I often tell my Mum (81) things she wants to hear rather than what is strictly true, this makes her happy and is not doing any harm. I feel no guilt about this at all.

I am against lying when it hurts the person to whom the lie is directed.

I think most people forget the reason why lying is wrong in the first place: lying isnt wrong for "just not telling the truth", its wrong for the way it genuinely hurts other people either directly or indirectly, or does some kind of injustice. So, perhaps lies are not wrong in any intrinsic sense, and I think there is a case to be made that little white lies arent wrong at all.

 

[Skydancing]

It is what the lie is meant to achieve that is the question. If it is to benefit the liar then it it wrong.

If someone asked me if they were dying and I knew that they wanted to hear that they weren't, even if they were close to death, then I would certainly lie.

 

[MQTA]

Isn't there a poll in the CF Poll forum about lying? Seems like the majority are for the truth, no matter what, because LYING is a SIN, always.

I think I've gotten in more 'trouble' for speaking the truth than lies.

I was even told sometimes things are a lie of omission... lying because you DIDN'T say something. People will say anything when it's to their benefit or from anger

 

[Kris_J]

Lies are ok so long as you believe that the good of lying outweighs the bad.

As a rule of thumb lying is not ok as the measuring scale of "good" vs "bad" is a bit wonky. Telling the truth is the side of caution.

 

[Patzak]

White lies are the basis of human civilization. If everyone always said exactly what they thought our interpersonal relations would come crashing down. See any non-moderated internet forum for a nice example.

 

[Rygel]

Well, in the "Ten Commandments" it says, "You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor."

I think that means something more along the lines of malicious slander or perjury, as opposed to a so called, "white" lie.

 

[Skydancing]

I think that means something more along the lines of malicious slander or perjury, as opposed to a so called, "white" lie.


I agree!

 

[reina23]

I try to stay honest always. White lies bother me, especially when my mom does it. It isn't harmful when she does it, but she does it constantly like she is trying to spare me from the truth. I can't stand that, I'd always rather have the truth.

 

[loriersea]

I see nothing wrong with white lies. Most of the time, when I tell a white lie, it's because I know my own honest reaction is wrong, anyway. For example, if someone gets me a Christmas present that I really can't stand, and they ask me if I like it, I'll say I do. The fact is, I should like their present. It was a nice thought to get it for me, and just because it's a sweater that's not my style doesn't matter, and me thinking it does is just me putting too much value on external appearances.

 

[reina23]

Yeah, with presents and stuff, that is ok to tell a white lie. But you shouldn't have to like it. Everyone has a different view on what they feel is likeable and what isn't.

 

[Skydancing]

With maturity comes the ability to know when to speak your mind and tell it like it is, and when to be kind and lie! I am 55 and I don't always get it right!

 

[The Seeker]

Lying isn't always wrong, but it is better to know the truth, more often than not, IMO. If you don't know what's really going on, how can you fix your problems?

 

[MQTA]

Lying isn't always wrong, but it is better to know the truth, more often than not, IMO. If you don't know what's really going on, how can you fix your problems?

people don't like hearing the truth, just look in these forums LOL

 

[Skydancing]

It depends who is telling you you have problems!

 

[Toboe]

aww i thought this was going to be a race thread. :-( Well anyway not all lies are bad. A couple of years ago my grandmother made this horrendous spinach Keish(sp) any I ate everybite because telling her it was bad would have been way more worse than eating it.

 

[Rygel]

people don't like hearing the truth, just look in these forums LOL

LOL. That just reminded me of a quote from A Few Good Men.

 

[Skydancing]

Truth where faith is concerned is not an absolute!

 

[Arnold_Philips]

I've a very low tolerance for white lies in myself. I know they're not always bad, but I feel absolutely rotten when I tell even the most innocuous one. I'm always reminded of Jesus' injunction of letting your "yes" be "yes" and your "no" be "no."

And by "lying" I mean any sort of communication meant to mislead the recipient. This most definitely means lies of omission, white lies, half-truths, etc. One can even lie by telling the truth if that would mislead the recipient.