S/O God Cannot Lie

[prospectmom]

me neither

[Snow]

JAG-That would be great. I hope you can find it. =)

ETA: Found this reference from the 1828 Disctionary:

"This word, not only in popular language, but in the scriptures, often signifies, indefinitely, a large portion or number, or a great part. Thus, all the cattle in Egypt died; all Judea and all the region round about Jordan; all men held John as a prophet; are not to be understood in a literal sense, but as including a large part or very great numbers."

I'm having a hard time seeing the verse rendered: the father of most of the lies. Doesn't have the same ring to it.

Ah - apologetics - the fine art of explaining that words don't mean what they actually say.

[Elgama]

for me I see it as God does not lie rather than he physically cannot

[Justice]

Part of being perfect is having agency. Without agency one cannot choose good or evil.

God has agency, and He chooses good, which means He chooses not to lie. He sees no point in lying because He sees things as they are. His works are not in darkness; He does no wickedness that would cause Him to want to lie to cover up.

[deseretgov]

Moksha that picture is awesome! I wonder if there are any conventions where the cast gets together and signs autographs. Come dressed up as your favorite character.

[TruthSeekerToo]

Ah - apologetics - the fine art of explaining that words don't mean what they actually say.

Snow, see this is what I think. It seems like confusion to me. And God is not confusion.

On the other hand, he does teach in parables and with symbolism.

So sometimes an olive tree is a symbol for something else. Of course, if it said "all" of the olive trees I would take that to mean "all."

As to the picture-Those men play the part of the devil. One is Michael Ballam.

[TruthSeekerToo]

Two thoughts on this:

-If Abraham was acting out of fear- which is the opposite of faith- then why did he follow the Lord's direct commandment to 'lie' about his marital status to Sariah? In addition, why would the Lord specifically come and command Abraham to take the path that he would have been goaded to follow by fear- what would have been the point, except to alert Abraham to the danger? In this case, is it fair to say that God is a terrorist that inspires fear? Or is it possible- probable, in fact- that initially lying to the Egyptians... was a good thing? Hence the Lord's commandment to do it?

-Why, exactly, was Abraham told to lie to Pharaoh? Therein lies your answer- start at Abraham 2:22-23. Because the idea of the Lord commanding His followers to kill others falls in this same category of direct commandments from the Lord overriding general commandments, I suggest you take a look at the health and makeup of the political structure during the time of those commanded killings: was it a time of war, rebellion, political turmoil? Was someone wielding unrighteous dominion?

Both of these train of thoughts will point you in one direction (of many; the path I'm hinting at): how does the Lord command His servants to act when they are on His errand and need to act within the structure of a society rooted in sinful tradition?

Alas, the greatest truth is not to love our neighbor as ourselves. In fact, the first and greatest commandment is to love the Lord with all our hearts- that implies that we love the things of God as opposed to the things of man (Matthew 22:37-40)- it is upon this law that we must hang the framework of our understanding, not upon the commandment to love our fellow man- which is the the second law, and like unto the first- yet still under the first in eternal and temporal importance.

The answer to this lies in Abraham 2:24- "Let her say unto the Egyptians, she is thy sister, and thy soul shall live". The truths that Abraham was upholding was that he was to be the father of many nations, that the Egyptians were rooted in some sinful traditions that would lead them to kill Abraham to take Sariah, and that he must survive his encounter with them. In fact, there's evidence (from extrapolating the Pearl of Great Price into history) that not only did Abraham survive his encounter with the Egyptians, but that he in fact became a mighty teacher to them.

I appreciate the time you took with these answers.

I think you misunderstood me, though. If I believe Abraham lied out of fear I also believe he was acting on his own impulses-not God's.

The problem is that we are saying humans have to lie and kill so that God's truths will come to pass (so he won't be a liar). Well, I feel that he is much more powerful than that. He does not need us to make him truth. He is truth all by himself.

Well, there are other scriptures that indicate he can preserve people through mysterious ways. By faith prison walls are crumbled. By faith men walk through fire. By faith the mouths of lions are closed. By faith men are so filled with power that they cannot be touched.

Can't anyone see? God is so powerful!

What takes more faith? Lying or telling the truth?

What is more Godly? Lying or telling the truth?

[pam]

For those that know who the picture is of...could you tell the those of us that don't? Or is there some joke I am unaware of?

[TruthSeekerToo]

For those that know who the picture is of...could you tell the those of us that don't? Or is there some joke I am unaware of?

Sorry, I posted an answer in #56.

Those men both play the part of the devil. The one on the right is Michael Ballam an LDS singer.

In the temple we see a re-inactment of the creation story. That is where we have seen them before.

[pam]

Oh my apologies..I missed that part of your post. Thanks for letting me know.

[TruthSeekerToo]

No problem, Pam. It's no fun to be left out of the joke! =)

[pam]

Well if I would read the posts more thoroughly I wouldn't be left out. lol

[Moksha]

As to the picture-Those men play the part of the devil. One is Michael Ballam.

Darryl Yeager is the other devilishly handsome man. They both have played a roll in seducing Adam and Eve with "the philosophies of Men". I am uncertain of the appropriateness of saying in which venue they appear, but I could well tell you in the room above Terrestrial mezzanine.

Sorry if the joke was too obscure. :)