This is hardly a situation unique to Churches and religious people.
It can happen any time a person finds them self in a situation where retaining good relations with a social group requires a certain degree of conformation to that groups expectations which may be achieved through the telling of inconsequential white lies. As for you Grandfathers motivation without asking him we can only speculate but I can think of a variety of reasons why he said what he did ranging from a desire to shield you from the disapproval of those asking the questions to a desire to avoid one of those 'loud conversations' about the existence of God you mentioned.
Perhaps there are some people out there who have a strict policy of telling no lies, no matter how small and insignificant or regardless of the consequences, but for most of us the telling of white lies or bending the truth is simply another tool of negotiating the trials and tribulations of life. I can't help but feel that disproportionate criticism is being applied because it involves the religious.
It can happen any time a person finds them self in a situation where retaining good relations with a social group requires a certain degree of conformation to that groups expectations which may be achieved through the telling of inconsequential white lies. As for you Grandfathers motivation without asking him we can only speculate but I can think of a variety of reasons why he said what he did ranging from a desire to shield you from the disapproval of those asking the questions to a desire to avoid one of those 'loud conversations' about the existence of God you mentioned.
Perhaps there are some people out there who have a strict policy of telling no lies, no matter how small and insignificant or regardless of the consequences, but for most of us the telling of white lies or bending the truth is simply another tool of negotiating the trials and tribulations of life. I can't help but feel that disproportionate criticism is being applied because it involves the religious.
Um...
