(April 2, 2013 at 5:40 am)Joel Wrote: I've given a similar situation to people, before, though with them being the almost direct cause of somebody's death. It goes like this:
If someone broke into your house in the middle of the night and your wife and children were able to fit in the closet - but there wasn't enough space for you, so you wait for the intruder.
The intruder has a gun and asks where the rest of your family are.
We say that you have two choices; tell the intruder where your family is hiding; or lie and say "They're out of town for the weekend."
If you lie, you have sinned and when the intruder murders you - you go to hell, but you have saved the lives of your family.
If you don't lie, you have caused the death of your wife and children.
My scenario seems a lot more harsh, but you may take it how you will. Tell me what you think.
Scripture actually addresses such situations very explicitly. In the 2nd Chapter of Joshua, Rahab givers Israeli spies safe harbor and deceives their pursuers in order to save their lives; because of this act she finds favor with God’s people and she and her family are spared when the Israelites take over Jericho. Simply because Christians have a view of situational ethics doesn’t mean that Biblical morality is not objective, the two are not mutually exclusive.
