When the Truth is but a Lie

The Gospel truth? Are you absolutely sure about that? How can one be certain when the founders of the church were so obsessed with finding ways to lie? Let’s start with Paul. Romans 3:

⁷For if the truth of God hath more abounded through my lie unto his glory; why yet am I also judged as a sinner?

Lying for god. What a great concept! In fact, let’s carry the theme of lying through the rewriting of the Bible. Let’s put words in Jesus’ mouth. In fact Faustus, the Manichean Bishop, and opponent to Augustine, said:

Many things have been inserted by our ancestors in the speeches of our Lord which, though put forth under his name, agree not with his faith; especially since – as already it has been often proved – these things were written not by Christ, nor [by] his apostles, but a long while after their assumption, by I know not what sort of half Jews, not even agreeing with themselves, who made up their tale out of reports and opinions merely, and yet, fathering the whole upon the names of the apostles of the Lord or on those who were supposed to follow the apostles, they maliciously pretended that they had written their lies and conceits according to them.

John Chrysostom, 5th century Bishop of Constantinople gives us a clear view on the Church’s stance on lying to “spread the word:”

Do you see the advantage of deceit? …
For great is the value of deceit, provided it be not introduced with a mischievous intention. In fact action of this kind ought not to be called deceit, but rather a kind of good management, cleverness and skill, capable of finding out ways where resources fail, and making up for the defects of the mind …
And often it is necessary to deceive, and to do the greatest benefits by means of this device, whereas he who has gone by a straight course has done great mischief to the person whom he has not deceived.
(Treatise On The Priesthood, Book 1).

Even Martin Luther could justify the idea of lying for the cause:

What harm would it do, if a man told a good strong lie for the sake of the good and for the Christian church … a lie out of necessity, a useful lie, a helpful lie, such lies would not be against God, he would accept them.

And they lie to us yet today…