Sunspots 969

 Some things I have spotted, that may be of interest to others:

An article in the Wikipedia tells about small satellites that are in orbit around some larger asteroids. 

NPR has fact-checked Donald Trump's recent press conference at Mar-A-Lago. It isn't pretty. They found over 160 lies, or serious distortions of the truth, in less than 90 minutes of the news conference.

Scientific American, and other outlets, report that the central stone of Stonehenge was moved from hundreds of miles away. How? We aren't sure.

ScienceAlert reports that the continent of Antarctica is rising, and discusses the likely consequences.

Sunspots 956

Things I have recently spotted that may be of interest to others*

Computing: Gizmodo reports that workers who work accompanied by robots tend to slack off more than workers who work with humans.

Ethics: A Conversation writer has studied lies and lying: how often, in what circumstances.

Health: A Conversation writer tells us that chicken soup really does us some good.

Gizmodo reports on a woman who had a spider living in her ear. Really.

Politics: (or something) NPR reports on an analysis that shows that children of married parents are better off than children of single mothers.

(or something) A Conversation writer discusses traffic roundabouts.

Science: Nature reports on the question of whether there is life on earth. Really.

Sex: A Conversation writer points out that neither humans nor animals are entirely male or entirely female, and discusses other aspects of sex and reproduction.

(and the Arts) NPR reports on a study indicating that young people think there is too much sex in movies and TV.

*I try not to include items that require a password or fee to view

Thanks for reading.

Women of the Bible: Sapphira

Acts 5:1 But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira, his wife, sold a possession, 2 and kept back part of the price, his wife also being aware of it, then brought a certain part and laid it at the apostles’ feet. 3 But Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back part of the price of the land? 4 While you kept it, didn’t it remain your own? After it was sold, wasn’t it in your power? How is it that you have conceived this thing in your heart? You haven’t lied to men, but to God.”

5 Ananias, hearing these words, fell down and died. Great fear came on all who heard these things. 6 The young men arose and wrapped him up, and they carried him out and buried him. 7 About three hours later, his wife, not knowing what had happened, came in. 8 Peter answered her, “Tell me whether you sold the land for so much.”

She said, “Yes, for so much.”

9 But Peter asked her, “How is it that you have agreed together to tempt the Spirit of the Lord? Behold, the feet of those who have buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out.”

10 She fell down immediately at his feet and died. The young men came in and found her dead, and they carried her out and buried her by her husband.

The Bible has lots of characters, many of them female. I was trying to post what the Bible says about each one, but missed Sapphira.

Thank you for reading.

Sunspots 876

 

Things I have recently spotted that may be of interest to others*:

Computing: (and music) Gizmodo writes about the amazing capabilities of self-playing pianos.

Health:  Gizmodo on homeopathic "medicine." 

Politics: NPR on when campaigning politicians are allowed to lie (and when they aren't).

Georgia US Senate candidate Herschel Walker doesn't believe in evolution, and has some questions about artificially enhanced human reproduction, says NPR.

FiveThirtyEight on perceived discrimination against whites.

Science: Gizmodo reports that the Webb telescope is working fine, and nearly ready to carry out astronomical science work.

The Scientist reports that fruit flies, in outdoor populations, can evolve in ways that react to environmental stress very rapidly -- within less than a year.

Sports:  (and Christianity) FiveThirtyEight tells us about the solid play of Aliyah Boston of the South Carolina Lady Gamecocks, and about her Christian faith. ( This is the first post I've seen from FiveThirtyEight on an athlete's religious beliefs.)

The graphic used in these posts is from NASA, hence, it is free to use like this.

*I try not to include items that require a password or fee to view.

Thanks for reading.

Sunspots 812

Things I have recently spotted that may be of interest to someone else:

Environment: The Trump administration has removed caps on the speed of water output by shower heads.

Ethics: (And politics) An article in The Week considers why President Trump has told so many lies that don't seem to matter. (Who cares whether he called Tim Cook "Tim Apple?" Trump apparently did, and claimed that he hadn't.)

(and health) ABC, and other outlets, report that the Vatican has approved the use of COVID vaccines, even though research to produce these involved use of human cell lines derived from aborted fetuses. The Vatican specifically condemned abortions, however.

Politics: FiveThirtyEight does an analysis of the recent history of the politics of the suburbs.

FiveThirtyEight also says that Democrats and Republicans should argue more, not less, and explains why.

Science: Gizmodo asks some experts if our hearing can become more sensitive, with training. They say that it can.

Sports: ESPN and other outlets report that Tara VanDerveer has now accumulated more wins than any other women's college basketball coach in history.

The graphic used in these posts is from NASA, hence, it is free to use like this.

Thanks for looking!

Sunspots 696

Things I have recently spotted that may be of interest to someone else:

Christianity: Weekend Fisher lets the Gospel of Mark tell us what it is about, and how it is structured.

Michael Gerson, of the Washington Post, attacks the hypocrisy, and political wrong-headedness, of the adulation some evangelical leaders have for President Trump.

Finance: (and health, and politics) NBC News, and other outlets, report that an Associated Press investigation shows that President Trump's claim, in May, that drug prices would be falling in two weeks, was false. Drug prices have been rising, unfortunately.

Science: Gizmodo asks if perfect memory would be a blessing or a handicap.

FiveThirtyEight reports that we are bad at being able to tell whether another person is lying or not.

Scientific American on why nicotine is so addictive.

And Scientific American says that cats aren't really very likely to catch rats.

And Scientific American also reports on the largest birds that ever lived.


Sports: Two women will be (and already have been) broadcasting NFL football games for Amazon.

The graphic used in these posts is from NASA, hence, I believe, it is public domain. I also believe that it was first used in Sunspots, 13 years ago today. Thanks for looking!

Thanks for looking!

Sunspots 671

Things I have recently spotted that may be of interest to someone else:

Christianity: A Relevant article discusses the question of whether selfies are selfish.

Stephen Colbert (yes, THAT Stephen Colbert) discusses his faith with Oprah Winfrey.

Education: ListVerse has 10 recommendations for improving the English alphabet. They make sense, but good luck with that.

Ethics: Christianity Today reports on a survey which measures how various groups of Americans feel about lying. Evangelicals are most opposed to several types of "white lies."

Politics: FiveThirtyEight on gun control measures that have recently been enacted, at both state and federal levels.

A Fox News commentator says that President Trump's claims that Amazon pays no taxes, and is hurting the US Postal service, are "absurdly wrong." Gizmodo also comments on these claims by Mr. Trump. National Public Radio reports that the governing board of the postal service cannot make decisions, because it lacks a quorum, mostly because the Trump administration hasn't nominated governors for the post office.

Science: NASA reports that an object from outside out solar system passed through recently.

Scientific American reports on the new human organ, discovered a few days ago. Really.

Gizmodo reports on a study that shows why cracking your knuckles can make popping sounds.

Sports: Scientific American has an article which argues that there really are "hot hands" (streak shooters) in basketball, and other sports, and even non-sport endeavors.

Thanks for looking!

Image source (public domain)

Sunspots 633

Things I have recently spotted that may be of interest to someone else:

The Arts: On The Writer's Almanac, Garrison Keillor reads a fine short poem, and discusses the beginning of National Parks in the U. S., and other things.

Christianity: Andy Crouch discusses the Creation in a thought-provoking and stimulating post from BioLogos.


Computing: Wired considers the possibility of having a simpler smartphone.

A Wired writer asked a cybersecurity company to send him phishing e-mails. He almost got caught.

Ethics: Wired has an essay on the ethics of the lies told by President Trump, and other people. The article references what some church fathers had to say on the subject of lying.

Food: National Public Radio reports that India is having political, religious, and economic disagreements over the use of cows as meat.

Humor: Relevant warns us of serious theological problems with fidget spinners.

(or something) Wired shows us a photo of an amazing "bicycle graveyard" in China.
 

Politics: Relevant on the danger of Christians entertaining conspiracy theories.

Image source (public domain)

Sunspots 619

Things I have recently spotted that may be of interest to someone else:

Christianity: A Christianity Today writer tells us why Down Syndrome children are valuable.

Fox News reports that some Muslim refugees are converting to Christianity, in Europe.

(and health) From a blog: "What I'll say to my Children if I'm Diagnosed with Alzheimer's." (Thanks to a regular reader for the link.)


Ethics: A Sojourners article says that President Trump's lies are putting us on the brink of a moral crisis. The article notes other lies from other Presidents, but claims that Mr. Trump's lies are bolder, more frequent, and, apparently, deliberate.

History: The History Blog reports on a toilet seat that was made nearly 2,000 years ago.

Listverse tells us 10 interesting things about trains. (Some of these are about Japanese trains.)

Humor: (sort of) Listverse tells us 10 stupid things that the CIA did years ago.


Politics: FiveThirtyEight and other sources, including Scientific American, indicate that President Trump's recent roll-back of environmental regulations affecting coal won't have much effect -- the coal industry, and coal miners, aren't going to be helped significantly.

Image source (public domain)

Sunspots 598

Things I have recently spotted that may be of interest to someone else:

The Arts: Rebecca Luella Miller, of Speculative Faith, believes that Christians have vacated certain types of media, and, that being the case, it's no wonder that these media seem to be anti-Christian.

Christianity: From the Huffington Post, 12 questions that all Christians, including me, should be asking themselves. (The post is in the framework of asking these questions of Mr. Trump, but the questions are pertinent for all of us.)


Computing: Gizmo's Freeware points to a utility for Windows that will tell you your WiFi password, if you've forgotten it. It will also name your connection for you, if you have forgotten that.

Food: Listverse gives us 10 interesting facts about chewing gum. (I know -- chewing gum isn't actually a food.)

Health: The New York Times reports on access to healthcare in the US. We just don't have the best healthcare in the world, no matter what politicians of both parties may say.

Scientific American reports that blue light, such as is emitted from the screens of various information appliances, prohibits sleep hormones from working effectively. The article mentions a couple of programs that may help to adjust the light emitted by your device(s). I've installed one of these on my tablet.

Humor: (or something) Scientific American reports that telling lies gets easier, the more you do it, and there are neurological changes in the brain that lying causes.
 

Politics: FiveThirtyEight lists 20 times that Donald Trump has threatened to sue someone, or actually has sued them, during his Presidential campaign. The post also points out that Trump has been sued 17 times during the same period.

Benjamin L. Corey reminds us that Roe v. Wade was decided by a 7-2 vote in the U. S. Supreme Court, and that 5 of those 7 were appointed by Republican Presidents. For more on the Supreme Court and abortion, see here.

From a Patheos blogger, "I'm Pro-Life, And I Don't Care About the Supreme Court."

From Sojourners: "Read This Before You Cast a 'Supreme Court' Vote."




Image source (public domain)

Sunspots 480

Things I have recently spotted that may be of interest to someone else:
Christianity: I have re-done a blog post on "Lying, deceit and dishonesty in the Bible."
Relevant Magazine has an article on "What's the Big Deal with Porn?"
Computing: Wired reports on a conference about some of the moral challenges posed by the increasing use of robots, including drones. One of the more amazing ideas was to provide pedophiles with child robots, sort of like we provide some drug addicts with a substitute. It was pointed out that this possibility is a potential moral quagmire.
Science: National Public Radio reports on a study that indicates that our friends are more genetically like us than the population at large is.
Wired reports that many large mammals in zoos are given prozac, or similar drugs.


Image source (public domain)

What the Bible says about politics

This post attempts to collect everything the Bible says, that can establish principles for Christian political behavior, mostly by ordinary citizens, but also by elected leaders, or those aspiring to office. It does not attempt to deal with particular issues, such as gun rights, global climate change, government debt, immigration, foreign policy, health care, abortion or homosexuality, as important as they, and other issues, might be. Instead, it attempts to point to  Biblical principles that apply to political behavior. The links, above, are to reasonably thorough posts on two of these issues.

Here are some Biblical principles that should apply to political behavior: Respecting others, and having compassion for them
Matthew 7:12 Therefore whatever you desire for men to do to you, you shall also do to them; for this is the law and the prophets.

This statement, by Christ, in His Sermon on the Mount, is usually called the Golden Rule. It is the guide for all interactions with others, including those who may disagree with us politically. From outside, at least, it seems that there has not been a lot of this, from either side of the aisle, in Washington lately. That's not the only place that it's been lacking! It would seem that we should listen to others, and try to see the merits of what they are saying, and, if we disagree, do so respectfully and in a non-confrontational manner.

This commandment not only enjoins us to respect our equals, but tells us that we should be compassionate toward others who are not as well off as we currently are. That compassion should include appropriate government action.

Respecting authority
Ecclesiastes 10:20 Don’t curse the king, no, not in your thoughts;
and don’t curse the rich in your bedroom:
for a bird of the sky may carry your voice,
and that which has wings may tell the matter. (All quotations from the World English Bible, public domain.)

Exodus 22:28 You shall not blaspheme God, nor curse a ruler of your people.

Titus 3:1 Remind them to be in subjection to rulers and to authorities

Taxes
Matthew 22:15 Then the Pharisees went and took counsel how they might entrap him in his talk. 16 They sent their disciples to him, along with the Herodians, saying, “Teacher, we know that you are honest, and teach the way of God in truth, no matter whom you teach, for you aren’t partial to anyone. 17 Tell us therefore, what do you think? Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?”
18 But Jesus perceived their wickedness, and said, “Why do you test me, you hypocrites? 19  Show me the tax money.”
They brought to him a denarius.
20 He asked them, “Whose is this image and inscription?”
21 They said to him, “Caesar’s.”
Then he said to them, “Give therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”

2 Chronicles 10:1 Rehoboam went to Shechem; for all Israel had come to Shechem to make him king. 2 When Jeroboam the son of Nebat heard of it (for he was in Egypt, where he had fled from the presence of king Solomon), Jeroboam returned out of Egypt. 3 They sent and called him; and Jeroboam and all Israel came, and they spoke to Rehoboam, saying, 4 “Your father made our yoke grievous: now therefore make the grievous service of your father, and his heavy yoke which he put on us, lighter, and we will serve you.”
5 He said to them, “Come again to me after three days.”
So the people departed. 6 King Rehoboam took counsel with the old men, who had stood before Solomon his father while he yet lived, saying, “What counsel do you give me about how to answer these people?”
7 They spoke to him, saying, “If you are kind to these people, please them, and speak good words to them, then they will be your servants forever.”
8 But he abandoned the counsel of the old men which they had given him, and took counsel with the young men who had grown up with him, who stood before him. 9 He said to them, “What counsel do you give, that we may give an answer to these people, who have spoken to me, saying, ‘Make the yoke that your father put on us lighter?’”
10 The young men who had grown up with him spoke to him, saying, “Thus you shall tell the people who spoke to you, saying, ‘Your father made our yoke heavy, but make it lighter on us;’ thus you shall say to them, ‘My little finger is thicker than my father’s waist. 11 Now whereas my father burdened you with a heavy yoke, I will add to your yoke. My father chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions.’”
12 So Jeroboam and all the people came to Rehoboam the third day, as the king asked, saying, “Come to me again the third day.” 13 The king answered them roughly; and king Rehoboam abandoned the counsel of the old men, 14 and spoke to them after the counsel of the young men, saying, “My father made your yoke heavy, but I will add to it. My father chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions.”
15 So the king didn’t listen to the people; for it was brought about by God, that Yahweh might establish his word, which he spoke by Ahijah the Shilonite to Jeroboam the son of Nebat. 16 When all Israel saw that the king didn’t listen to them, the people answered the king, saying, “What portion have we in David? We don’t have an inheritance in the son of Jesse! Every man to your tents, Israel! Now see to your own house, David.” So all Israel departed to their tents.
17 But as for the children of Israel who lived in the cities of Judah, Rehoboam reigned over them. 18 Then king Rehoboam sent Hadoram, who was over the men subject to forced labor; and the children of Israel stoned him to death with stones. King Rehoboam hurried to get himself up to his chariot, to flee to Jerusalem. 19 So Israel rebelled against David’s house to this day. 

Because of the statement by Jesus in Matthew 22, and the similar statement by Paul, in Romans 13, below, it seems that Christians generally should pay taxes assessed by the government. The burden discussed in 2 Chronicles 10 seems to have been taxes and also servitude. Based on this case, it seems that there may be times when Christians should speak up against burdensome taxes. It is doubtful that the amount of taxes expected from people and businesses in the US is as much as the burdens Rehoboam would have put on the Israelites. Those with the power to levy taxes need to be careful that those taxes are as fair as possible, and are not a crushing burden, based on this story.

Note that taxes to Caesar were being paid by the Israelites of Christ's time, an occupied nation, to their occupiers. The Romans put Christ to death, and fed Christians to the lions.

Respecting authority and taxes
Romans 13:1 Let every soul be in subjection to the higher authorities, for there is no authority except from God, and those who exist are ordained by God. 2 Therefore he who resists the authority, withstands the ordinance of God; and those who withstand will receive to themselves judgment. 3 For rulers are not a terror to the good work, but to the evil. Do you desire to have no fear of the authority? Do that which is good, and you will have praise from the same, 4 for he is a servant of God to you for good. But if you do that which is evil, be afraid, for he doesn’t bear the sword in vain; for he is a servant of God, an avenger for wrath to him who does evil. 5 Therefore you need to be in subjection, not only because of the wrath, but also for conscience’ sake. 6 For this reason you also pay taxes, for they are servants of God’s service, attending continually on this very thing. 7 Therefore give everyone what you owe: if you owe taxes, pay taxes; if customs, then customs; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor.

Respecting authority and obeying the law
1 Peter 2:13 Therefore subject yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord’s sake: whether to the king, as supreme; 14 or to governors, as sent by him for vengeance on evildoers and for praise to those who do well. 15 For this is the will of God, that by well-doing you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish men: 16 as free, and not using your freedom for a cloak of wickedness, but as bondservants of God.
17 Honor all men. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the king.

We (including me) have problems with that last clause. We, as a culture, have problems with honoring anyone at all. Our humor, all too often, doesn’t affirm anyone or anything, but does the opposite. The second President Bush was mocked for his sometimes tortured syntax, the way he walked, and for his pronunciation of certain words. I confess that I did some of that, and I shouldn’t have. Cartoons of President Obama (and the Presidents before him), often have been designed to do the opposite of honor, and, at times, I fear, Christians have delightedly passed these on through e-mail and social media.

The principle of honoring those in authority seems to go beyond the President, and extend to other elected officials, and various public servants, such as the police, teachers, and people who work in the Department of Motor Vehicles. I personally think it should also extend to candidates for office.

Does this mean that we must support all the policies and actions of such people? No. But we should disagree, if we must, in a respectful manner. Here’s a case of Paul disagreeing, by asserting his rights:

Acts 16:35 But when it was day, the magistrates sent the sergeants, saying, “Let those men go.”
36 The jailer reported these words to Paul, saying, “The magistrates have sent to let you go; now therefore come out, and go in peace.”
37 But Paul said to them, “They have beaten us publicly, without a trial, men who are Romans, and have cast us into prison! Do they now release us secretly? No, most certainly, but let them come themselves and bring us out!”
38 The sergeants reported these words to the magistrates, and they were afraid when they heard that they were Romans, 39 and they came and begged them. When they had brought them out, they asked them to depart from the city.

And a similar case:
Acts 22:24 the commanding officer commanded him to be brought into the barracks, ordering him to be examined by scourging, that he might know for what crime they shouted against him like that. 25 When they had tied him up with thongs, Paul asked the centurion who stood by, “Is it lawful for you to scourge a man who is a Roman, and not found guilty?”

Praying for those in authority
1 Timothy 2:1 I exhort therefore, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercessions, and givings of thanks, be made for all men: 2 for kings and all who are in high places; that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and reverence. 3 For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior; 4 who desires all people to be saved and come to full knowledge of the truth

The Roman Emperor, at the time Paul wrote this, was Nero. It is true that much, or all, of the reason for praying for rulers, in this passage, seems to be so that Christians can live in peace, but it's also true that we should pray that rulers (and others) will come to belief in Christ as savior. It seems to me that prayer for wisdom for those in authority is also important, and should be part of our prayer life, although the Bible doesn’t seem to explicitly say that.

Ezra 6:8 Moreover I make a decree what you shall do for these elders of the Jews for the building of this house of God: that of the king’s goods, even of the tribute beyond the River, expenses must be given with all diligence to these men, that they not be hindered. 9 That which they have need of, including young bulls, rams, and lambs, for burnt offerings to the God of heaven; also wheat, salt, wine, and oil, according to the word of the priests who are at Jerusalem, let it be given them day by day without fail; 10 that they may offer sacrifices of pleasant aroma to the God of heaven, and pray for the life of the king, and of his sons.

This is part of an edict of Darius, who was not an Israelite. He asked for prayer for himself and his sons. We should do the same for those in authority over us, and their families.

The government has a responsibility to the poor and oppressed
Psalm 72:1 God, give the king your justice;
your righteousness to the royal son.
2 He will judge your people with righteousness,
and your poor with justice.
12 For he will deliver the needy when he cries;
the poor, who has no helper.
13 He will have pity on the poor and needy.
He will save the souls of the needy.
14 He will redeem their soul from oppression and violence.
Their blood will be precious in his sight. 

The World English Bible attributes this to both David and Solomon. In either case, they were the government, and whichever of them wrote it recognized the responsibility of the king toward the poor.

The Jewish Law made provisions for the poor. Exodus 21 specified that, unless a slave chose to remain one, any Hebrew so poor as to have become a slave was to be freed after six years. Leviticus 14 said that a poor person was not required to make as large an offering as someone who is well off, in some circumstances. Leviticus 25 required that, if a family became so poor that they have to sell their fields, those properties were to be returned to the family in the Year of Jubilee.

In Jeremiah 22, we read:

15 “Should you reign, because you strive to excel in cedar?

Didn’t your father eat and drink,

and do justice and righteousness?

Then it was well with him.

16 He judged the cause of the poor and needy;

so it was well, then.

Wasn’t this to know me?”

says Yahweh.

17 But your eyes and your heart are only for your covetousness,

for shedding innocent blood,

for oppression, and for doing violence.”

18 Therefore Yahweh says concerning Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah:

“They won’t lament for him,

saying, ‘Ah my brother!’ or, ‘Ah sister!’

They won’t lament for him,

saying ‘Ah lord!’ or, ‘Ah his glory!’

19 He will be buried with the burial of a donkey,

drawn and cast out beyond the gates of Jerusalem.” 

Those in authority should not take bribes
Exodus 18:21 Moreover you shall provide out of all the people able men which fear God: men of truth, hating unjust gain; and place such over them, to be rulers of thousands, rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens.

This was advice to Moses from his father-in-law. The ESV renders “hating unjust gain” as “hate a bribe.” Apparently there were, then, as now, those who expected favors in judgment because they paid for them, but then, as now, people of integrity who judge -- or write or vote for legislation -- on the merits, not because of a campaign contribution or a trip to a resort. We need more of these, and we can’t always tell who is like that, and who isn’t.

Politicians should, at least usually, be honest.
Like the rest of us, politicians should not intentionally deceive so that they may advantage themselves. This means that political advertisements should not deliberately confuse the record of opponents. It means that politicians should not make promises that they don’t mean to keep. It means that, when a politician, in office or aspiring to one, discovers that something she said is not true, or something they said would happen isn’t going to, they should say so, and apologize. Recently, President Obama had to backtrack on his statements that people could keep the insurance that they already had, under the provisions of the Affordable Care Act. He should have apologized, and did. I don’t know if he deliberately deceived us in saying that in the first place, or if it was an honest mistake, because he didn’t realize what would happen.

Much deceit during political campaigns, especially in attack ads in various media, is supposedly not under the control of the person it is designed to benefit, but produced by some political action committee. Whether the candidate knew about it, or not, such deceit is wrong. Candidates should not knowingly deceive, or allow their supporters to do so.

There may possibly be times, such as when delicate negotiations with another country are going on, or when agents of the US are operating under cover, where deceit, at least temporary, by a person in authority is appropriate. But most deceit by elected officials, and by people running for office, or their supporters, is not of this type, even if supposedly in the interest of national security. It’s just plain wrong. I have recently posted on lying, deceit and the like, based, I hope, on what the Bible has to say about these matters. It includes a few cases where God seems to have approved of deceit.

Thanks for reading.

Thanks for reading. Have I left anything out?

January 8, 2015: Here's a post on what's wrong with the political left/right in the US.

Lying, deceit and dishonesty in the Bible

What is lying? The Free Dictionary says that there are actually three English words, all spelled that same way. The third of these is most relevant, and this is the definition given:
n.
1. the telling of lies.
adj.
2. telling or containing lies; deliberately untruthful. 

Some people of my acquaintance have a broader definition. They would say that, if you thought the way to get to the local Fossil Fuel gas station was to go two miles down Main Street, and turn to the left, and told someone that, but the correct directions were to go three miles, and turn right, you would have lied. Not so. You would have given misinformation, and probably caused some inconvenience, but if you didn't know any better, you were not lying. If you did know better, you were lying. You were "deliberately untruthful."

Is lying a sin, according to the Ten Commandments?
Exodus 20:16 You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor. (All scripture quotations, including this one, of the ninth Commandment, are from the World English Bible, which is in the public domain.)


Is lying a sin according to the Ten Commandments? Here's what some experts had to say on this commandment.

Matthew Henry, the seventeenth and eighteenth century English clergyman, said this about the ninth of the Ten Commandments, in his commentary on Exodus 20:
The ninth commandment concerns our own and our neighbour’s good name: Thou shalt not bear false witness, v. 16. This forbids, 1. Speaking falsely in any matter, lying, equivocating, and any way devising and designing to deceive our neighbour. 2. Speaking unjustly against our neighbour, to the prejudice of his reputation; and (which involves the guilty of both), 3. Bearing false witness against him, laying to his charge things that he knows not, either judicially, upon oath (by which the third commandment, and the sixth of eighth, as well as this, are broken), or extrajudicially, in common converse, slandering, backbiting, tale-bearing, aggravating what is done amiss and making it worse than it is, and any way endeavouring to raise our own reputation upon the ruin of our neighbour’s.

John Calvin wrote this in his commentary on the same commandment:
Although God seems only to prescribe that no one, for the purpose of injuring the innocent, should go into court, and publicly testify against him, yet it is plain that the faithful are prohibited from all false accusations, and not only such as are circulated in the streets, but those which are stirred in private houses and secret corners. For it would be absurd, when God has already shewn that men's fortunes are cared for by Him, that He should neglect their reputation, which is much more precious. In whatever way, therefore, we injure our neighbors by unjustly defaming them, we are accounted false witnesses before God. We must now pass on from the prohibitive to the affirmative precept: for it will not be enough for us to restrain our tongues from speaking evil, unless we are also kind and equitable towards our neighbors, and candid interpreters of their acts and words, and do not suffer them, as far as in us lies, to be burdened with false reproaches. Besides, God does not only forbid us to invent accusations against the innocent, but also to give currency to reproaches and sinister reports in malevolence or hatred. Such a person may perhaps deserve his ill-name, and we may truly lay such or such an accusation to his charge; but if the reproach be the ebullition of our anger, or the accusation proceed from ill-will, it will be vain for us to allege in excuse that we have advanced nothing but, what is true.

John Wesley's Commentary (available from this source) says almost exactly the same thing as Matthew Henry does.

Adam Clarke's Commentary (available from this source) says:
Verse 16. . . . Not only false oaths, to deprive a man of his life or of his right, are here prohibited, but all whispering, tale-bearing, slander, and calumny; in a word, whatever is deposed as a truth, which is false in fact, and tends to injure another in his goods, person, or character, is against the spirit and letter of this law.
Suppressing the truth when known, by which a person may be defrauded of his property or his good name, or lie under injuries or disabilities which a discovery of the truth would have prevented, is also a crime against this law. He who bears a false testimony against or belies even the devil himself, comes under the curse of this law, because his testimony is false.
By the term neighbour any human being is intended, whether he rank among our enemies or friends.

These three do not completely agree, but they do agree on this -- speaking deceitfully in such a way as to damage a neighbor's reputation is the most serious violation of this commandment. Of the three, only Henry includes plain vanilla lying.

The Blueletter Bible gives access to several different Bible translations, including the King James, the New King James, the NLT, the NIV, the NASB, and the ESV. None of those 12 English translations of Exodus 20:16 say "You shall not lie." All of them use a variation of the more restrictive "You shall not give false witness." As indicated above, deliberately damaging a neighbor's reputation by speaking falsely seems to be the thrust of the Commandment. That doesn't mean that God normally allows telling a lie. He doesn't. But, most likely, lying in such a way as to damage someone's reputation, and to undermine the system of justice, is particularly dangerous. (Similarly, there are many varieties of sexual sin, but only adultery is mentioned in the Ten Commandments.) 

The discussion below documents the fact that, as a general rule, lying is a sin. But there seem to have been Biblical examples of deliberate falsehood, sanctioned by God. None of them damaged someone else's reputation. Most of them were to protect innocent parties.

Is lying -- deliberate deceit -- ever permissible?
The Wikipedia article on "lie" (there is no article on "lying") says, as of February 4, 2014: A lie is a false statement to a person or group made by another person or group who knows it is not the whole truth, intentionally . . .

The Wikipedia article goes on to say that there have been important thinkers who have believed that lying is never permissible, including St. Augustine, Thomas Aquinas, and Immanuel Kant. See here for more on Kant and lying. Kant even held that it is wrong to lie to a vicious killer who comes to the door and asks, about an innocent person that you think he wants to kill, "Is so-and-so home?" For further discussion of Kant on lying, see here and here.

The Bible seems to indicate that lying is usually, possibly always, sinful. Here are links to the passages I have found that indicate this (All links to the Bible are to the ESV, as the World English Bible doesn't have provision for linking to particular verses.):

Exodus 23:1 “You shall not spread a false report. Don’t join your hand with the wicked to be a malicious witness.
2 “You shall not follow a crowd to do evil. You shall not testify in court to side with a multitude to pervert justice. 

In Joshua 7:11, when Achan took loot against God's command, his disobedience, his taking, and his lying were apparently all sinful.

Leviticus 6:1-7 says that lying and deceit which result in loss of property to another are sins, and restitution must be made.

Leviticus 19:11 says, in part, "you shall not lie to one another."

Psalm 5:6 says that God destroys liars and abhors deceitful people.

Here's Psalm 101:7:
He who practices deceit won’t dwell within my house.
He who speaks falsehood won’t be established before my eyes.
Proverbs 12:22 says that God abhors lying lips.

Proverbs 19:9 condemns false witnesses and liars.

Proverbs 21:6 says that getting property by deceit leads to death.

in Jeremiah 27:12-16, Jeremiah condemns false prophets for their lies.

These, of course, are all Old Testament scriptures. The New Testament also has harsh words for deceit.

In John 8:44, Jesus says that the Devil is the father of lies.

In Acts 5, Ananias and Sapphira died because they lied to the Holy Spirit.

In Colossians 3:9, Paul tells Christians not to lie to each other.

1 Timothy 1:8-11 includes both liars and perjurers in a list of types of sinners.

1 Timothy 4:1-5 says that the time will come when some believers will "depart from the faith" due to the influence of demons, deceitful spirits, and liars.

Revelation 21:8 places "all liars" into the lake of fire, with murderers and other sinners.

This is not a pretty picture. It is possible that deceit is sometimes allowed by God, generally to protect someone else from evil, but generally, it is not. There is no scriptural evidence that it is ever all right to selfishly advance your own interests by lying, or that it is ever all right to harm an innocent party by lying. In most, maybe even all cases, lying is sinful.

Occasions where God seems to have allowed, or condoned deceit
Genesis 12:10 There was a famine in the land. Abram went down into Egypt to live as a foreigner there, for the famine was severe in the land. 11 When he had come near to enter Egypt, he said to Sarai his wife, “See now, I know that you are a beautiful woman to look at. 12 It will happen, when the Egyptians see you, that they will say, ‘This is his wife.’ They will kill me, but they will save you alive. 13 Please say that you are my sister, that it may be well with me for your sake, and that my soul may live because of you.” See similar occasions in Genesis 20:2, and 26:7. In each of these cases, Abraham tried to make someone believe that Sarah was his sister, not his wife. (This was partly true, as she was his half-sister, but the intent was to deceive -- she was his wife.)

*Exodus 1:15 The king of Egypt spoke to the Hebrew midwives, of whom the name of the one was Shiphrah, and the name of the other Puah, 16 and he said, “When you perform the duty of a midwife to the Hebrew women, and see them on the birth stool; if it is a son, then you shall kill him; but if it is a daughter, then she shall live.” 17 But the midwives feared God, and didn’t do what the king of Egypt commanded them, but saved the baby boys alive. 18 The king of Egypt called for the midwives, and said to them, “Why have you done this thing, and have saved the boys alive?”
19 The midwives said to Pharaoh, “Because the Hebrew women aren’t like the Egyptian women; for they are vigorous, and give birth before the midwife comes to them.”
20 God dealt well with the midwives, and the people multiplied, and grew very mighty. 21 Because the midwives feared God, he gave them families.

*Rahab lied to the army of Jericho, telling them that the Israeli spies had left, when she had hidden them, in Joshua 2:1-21. Hebrews 11:31 lists Rahab as one of the heroines of faith. (Abraham, described above, is also listed as an example of faith in Hebrews 11.)

*1 Samuel 16:1 Yahweh said to Samuel, “How long will you mourn for Saul, since I have rejected him from being king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil, and go. I will send you to Jesse the Bethlehemite; for I have provided a king for myself among his sons.”
2 Samuel said, “How can I go? If Saul hears it, he will kill me.”
Yahweh said, “Take a heifer with you, and say, I have come to sacrifice to Yahweh. 3 Call Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what you shall do. You shall anoint to me him whom I name to you.”
4a Samuel did that which Yahweh spoke, and came to Bethlehem. God told Samuel to say that he had come to Bethlehem to offer a sacrifice (which he did) but that wasn't his main purpose. Nor was it the original reason that Samuel was told to go to Bethlehem.

In 1 Samuel 21:1-6, David lied to the high priest about the purpose of his journey, which was to escape from Saul, rather than to go on a special mission for him, which latter is what David said. The high priest was killed for giving David help, which he had done in innocence -- he believed David.

*1 Kings 13:1 Behold, a man of God came out of Judah by Yahweh’s word to Beth El; and Jeroboam was standing by the altar to burn incense. 2 He cried against the altar by Yahweh’s word, and said, “Altar! Altar! Yahweh says: ‘Behold, a son will be born to David’s house, Josiah by name. On you he will sacrifice the priests of the high places who burn incense on you, and they will burn men’s bones on you.’” 3 He gave a sign the same day, saying, “This is the sign which Yahweh has spoken: Behold, the altar will be split apart, and the ashes that are on it will be poured out.”
4 When the king heard the saying of the man of God, which he cried against the altar in Bethel, Jeroboam put out his hand from the altar, saying, “Seize him!” His hand, which he put out against him, dried up, so that he could not draw it back again to himself. 5 The altar was also split apart, and the ashes poured out from the altar, according to the sign which the man of God had given by Yahweh’s word. 6 The king answered the man of God, “Now intercede for the favor of Yahweh your God, and pray for me, that my hand may be restored me again.”
The man of God interceded with Yahweh, and the king’s hand was restored to him again, and became as it was before.
7 The king said to the man of God, “Come home with me, and refresh yourself, and I will give you a reward.”
8 The man of God said to the king, “Even if you gave me half of your house, I would not go in with you, neither would I eat bread nor drink water in this place; 9 for so was it commanded me by Yahweh’s word, saying, ‘You shall eat no bread, drink no water, and don’t return by the way that you came.’” 10 So he went another way, and didn’t return by the way that he came to Bethel.
11 Now an old prophet lived in Bethel, and one of his sons came and told him all the works that the man of God had done that day in Bethel. They also told their father the words which he had spoken to the king.
12 Their father said to them, “Which way did he go?” Now his sons had seen which way the man of God went, who came from Judah. 13 He said to his sons, “Saddle the donkey for me.” So they saddled the donkey for him; and he rode on it. 14 He went after the man of God, and found him sitting under an oak. He said to him, “Are you the man of God who came from Judah?”
He said, “I am.” 15 Then he said to him, “Come home with me, and eat bread.”
16 He said, “I may not return with you, nor go in with you. I will not eat bread or drink water with you in this place. 17 For it was said to me by Yahweh’s word, ‘You shall eat no bread or drink water there, and don’t turn again to go by the way that you came.’”
18 He said to him, “I also am a prophet as you are; and an angel spoke to me by Yahweh’s word, saying, ‘Bring him back with you into your house, that he may eat bread and drink water.’” He lied to him.
19 So he went back with him, ate bread in his house, and drank water. 20 As they sat at the table, Yahweh’s word came to the prophet who brought him back; 21 and he cried out to the man of God who came from Judah, saying, “Yahweh says, ‘Because you have been disobedient to Yahweh’s mouth, and have not kept the commandment which Yahweh your God commanded you, 22 but came back, and have eaten bread and drank water in the place of which he said to you, “Eat no bread, and drink no water”; your body will not come to the tomb of your fathers.’”
23 After he had eaten bread, and after he drank, he saddled the donkey for the prophet whom he had brought back. 24 When he had gone, a lion met him by the way and killed him. His body was thrown on the path, and the donkey stood by it. The lion also stood by the body. 25 Behold, men passed by, and saw the body thrown on the path, and the lion standing by the body; and they came and told it in the city where the old prophet lived. 26 When the prophet who brought him back from the way heard of it, he said, “It is the man of God who was disobedient to Yahweh’s mouth. Therefore Yahweh has delivered him to the lion, which has mauled him and slain him, according to Yahweh’s word, which he spoke to him.” 27 He said to his sons, saying, “Saddle the donkey for me,” and they saddled it. 28 He went and found his body thrown on the path, and the donkey and the lion standing by the body. The lion had not eaten the body, nor mauled the donkey. 29 The prophet took up the body of the man of God, and laid it on the donkey, and brought it back. He came to the city of the old prophet to mourn, and to bury him. 30 He laid his body in his own grave; and they mourned over him, saying, “Alas, my brother!”
31 After he had buried him, he spoke to his sons, saying, “When I am dead, bury me in the tomb in which the man of God is buried. Lay my bones beside his bones. 32 For the saying which he cried by Yahweh’s word against the altar in Bethel, and against all the houses of the high places which are in the cities of Samaria, will surely happen.” (See 2 Kings 23, where the word of the old prophet was fulfilled, and the tomb of the  two prophets is mentioned again.)

In 1 Kings 22:1-39, God is described, by a prophet, Micaiah, who is speaking for God, as having put a lying spirit in the mouth of King Ahab's pagan prophets. (It is possible that Micaiah didn't understand where the lying spirit came from, or that he was just telling a story, because he knew that the pagan priests were liars.)

*In 2 Kings 6:8-23, Elisha struck an enemy army with temporary blindness, through God's power, then lied to them about where he was taking them. The blindness was removed, at which time they knew they had been lied to, and these men were unharmed.

Jehu, on a mission of meting out God's punishment, in 2 Kings 9:1-26, says that he has come in peace, when he has not.

In Jeremiah 38:24-28, the king asks Jeremiah about his fate. Jeremiah prophesies, telling him. The king commands Jeremiah to say that he has been speaking to the king about something else, namely Jeremiah's fate, and Jeremiah complies.

Some allege that, in John 7:1-10, Jesus lied to his disciples, saying that He was not going to a feast, when He did go in a day or so. This case seems to me to be, at best, ambiguous. I include it here for completeness, not because I believe that Jesus lied in this case.

*The evidence that God allowed, or condoned, or even suggested deceit seems to be unambiguous, in the cases marked with an asterisk.

I don't believe that any of the cases above show any evidence of deceit for selfish reasons. In several of the cases, the intent was to protect someone else from harm.

I am not aware of any certain example of anyone, who is clearly approved by God, lying in the New Testament. I conclude, with grave reservations, that Kant was wrong about the murderer -- it is sometimes acceptable to deceive, if the main purpose is to advance God's kingdom, or to protect an innocent party. Deceiving deliberately to get out of some situation we have gotten ourselves in, or for some sort of gain, be it power, fame, romance, or material goods, is sinful.

I find no scriptural allowance for lying when giving testimony in court, which would be a violation of the ninth Commandment.

"White lies"
Suppose someone asks you "How do I look?" and you are convinced that he doesn't really want to know, but wants to be affirmed by you. He wants you to say "You look fine." Are you lying if you tell him what he wants to hear, when you don't really think he looks especially fine? That's a hard question. If you do say that he looks fine, is your intent to deceive, or to reassure? Most of the time, it's to reassure. If we said that the person really didn't look very good, they might be devastated, and for no good purpose. I'm not sure that sort of thing is sinful. There are, of course, many variations of this -- such as commenting on someone's cooking, or on some sort of performance.

Summary
When in doubt, tell the truth. It is possible that not telling the truth is the right thing to do, in rare cases, but they are extremely rare. If we aren't careful, we might try to rationalize lying to cover up our own misdeeds, or to gain an unfair advantage. That's always sinful. Lying in such a way as to undermine the justice system, or to damage someone else's reputation, is particularly condemned, and included in the Ten Commandments.

This is a long post. It was modified a little on July 20, 2014. Thanks to anyone who read it!

More on the Kitzmiller Intelligent Design case, and on Intelligent Design

"Intelligent Design," like most phrases, means more than one thing.

A person who believes in intelligent design (id, in lower-case italics, for this post) believes that some entity designed some or all of the various properties of, and entities in the universe. For example, one might believe that a supernatural being designed the properties of atoms, such as Carbon. This supernatural being might or might not be the God of Christianity and Judaism. All people I would classify as Christians believe in id. There are certainly great differences in details -- some believe that God designed the universe in such a way that it would naturally emerge in its present form from the Big Bang, others believe that God specially designed and created each type of living organism. Some believe that the earth is only a few thousands of years old, others that it is much older than that. Some believe that God used seemingly random processes to bring about His purposes, some do not. Persons who believe in id do not belong to any particular organization, and do not generally act in concert. However, they are united in believing that neither the universe, nor humans, are here as the result of purposeless chance.

Another meaning of the term is the Intelligent Design Movement (ID). ID adherents do have a central organization, the Discovery Institute. They subscribe to id, but also have more specific beliefs, as follows:
1. It is possible to demonstrate supernatural design scientifically.
2. Intelligent Design should be taught in the public schools, in science classes.
3. Teaching Intelligent Design in public school science classes is an effective way for Christians to combat atheism.
All who are in the ID movement subscribe to id.

Many Christians, some of them scientists, some of them theologians, believe in id, but disagree with ID. They do not subscribe to any of the 3 specific beliefs listed above. For one thing, some of them they may believe that the Bible, itself, indicates that specific belief 1 is incorrect. For another, they see that the protection the US Constitution provides against state sponsorship of any particular religious belief is important, and that implementing specific belief 2 would violate that. The ID movement often seems to be deceptive, in that it attempts to identify itself with young-earth creationism, although the two are not the same thing. It also seems to be deceptive, in that, although specific belief 3 is well-documented, and spoken of as a strategy by leaders of the ID movement, they sometimes deny it, at least when in court.

The Kitzmiller case, although not tried by the US Supreme Court, rejected an attempt to carry out specific belief 2.

A blog I subscribe to, by a Christian author, discussed the deliberate deception, while under oath, of an official of the Foundation for Thought and Ethics, an organization claiming to be Christian, and closely allied with the Discovery Institute. You can read that discussion here.

Thanks for reading.

Sunspots 188

Things I have recently spotted that may be of interest to someone else:

Humor:

Science:
Maybe salmon find their way to their home streams by detecting the earth's magnetic field, and, if that's true, maybe we can re-program them, reports Wired.

Politics:

Music:

Sports:

Computing:
(or something) Wired reports that Apple is defending itself against a lawsuit by claiming that no reasonable person would believe its advertisements.

Slate on energy consumption by laptop computers -- more when using the battery, or more when plugged in? (The article says that laptops are more efficient, energy-wise, than desktops.)

Literature:

Philosophy:

Christianity:
What a one and a half ton steer knows about faith, from Slate.

Bonnie posts on style.

Jan has been questioning the emphasis on leadership in some corners of the church. A recent post is here.

Julana has spent all of last month, more or less, reminding us of ordinary things that she is thankful for. The last such post is here.

Image source (public domain)

How truthful are the four major candidates? Not very.

PolitiFact (which is nonpartisan) rates the truthfulness of the major candidates for public office.

Go here for the page on Sarah Palin -- there are easy links to the others from that page.

Palin (who has been running for the shortest time) has made fewer statements to check. 10% of her public statements, which were checked by PolitiFact, were either "Barely True," "False," or "Pants-on-Fire" lies, as of September 16, 5 AM EDT. That makes her, I am sorry to say, the most truthful (so far, at least) of the four. Obama's rating is next best, at 26%. Biden's is 37%, McCain's is an awful 43%. Biden has told 2 "Pants-on-fire" lies, McCain 6. Obama and Palin aren't currently charged with any. Maybe those two really are unqualified for high political office!

I haven't included statements which are half-true as lies. All of the candidates have made some of them, of course.

God help us all.

Passing on political rumors can be a sin

I don't know which presidential candidate I'm going to vote for. I'm sure that neither Obama nor McCain are going to bring the promised land to the US, much less to the world.

Whatever their flaws, such as Obama's inexperience and McCain's ignorance of the economy, they deserve to be treated fairly in this election. Unfortunately, they haven't always been. There seems to be fairly general agreement among the press that they treated Hilary Clinton unfairly because she is a woman, and that may have contributed to her loss to Obama.

I can't do much about the press, but I can try to do something about another type of unfairness. I am all-too-often getting e-mails from (I hope) well-meaning people who pass on various lies about Mr. Obama. There are probably similar lies being circulated about McCain, but so far, I haven't received any. (Here's a Slate article about some of those lies, about Obama, and John Edwards.)

Here's a response, in advance, to some of these messages:

I checked some of the material you sent, and, according to snopes.com, a widely recognized rumor-checking source, the statements in the e-mail you forwarded to me are mostly or entirely a fabrication. This is not the first time that it will happen, but it shouldn't. I recall the Internet circulated claim, before the 2000 election, that Al Gore didn't know John 3:16. Gore had been a lifelong Southern Baptist , and had written a book that was enough related to Christianity that Christianity Today interviewed Gore a couple of years before the election. I don't believe that interview is available on the Internet, but I read the article myself, in Christianity Today. There was also a false claim, in the same election year cycle, that John McCain had an illegitimate black child. This rumor was widely circulated in South Carolina, and apparently contributed to McCain's loss in the primary here that year -- he might have been the Republican candidate for President, rather than Bush, if he had won in SC.

Both candidates have their weaknesses, and neither of them is going to bring us the millennium on earth. Both of them deserve to be fairly heard. Whoever starts these rumors is guilty of a sin that the New Testament condemns in at least four places, namely slander. Whoever passes them on may be equally guilty. (Matthew 15:19, Ephesians 4:31, Colossians 3:8, 2 Peter 2:1 ) I don't want to be guilty of slander by passing on such material.
I'm not sure I've got the courage to send this, rather than just deleting the e-mail. We'll see.
Thanks for reading!

August 3, 2012

I'll leave the above as is, but, if I were writing it today, I would have made some reference to Mr. Romney, and also mentioned Facebook as a common medium for passing on political slander and libel.

Thanks for reading! Pass it on.