Reasons For Lying?

[goodlife]

People lie for many reasons. Some think they are obligated to lie about their abilities in order to get ahead in this competitive world.

Others try to cover up errors or guilt with lies. Still others falsify reports to give the impression that they have done work they have not done.

Then there are those who lie to damage another’s reputation, to avoid embarrassment, to justify previous lies, or to defraud people of their money.( Rev. 21:8)

[naomi24]

sandyRoe, I don't do pussyfooting - or sycophancy. I'm with Atalanta.

[sandyRoe]

Never an apple for the teacher, then?

[modeller]

Goodlife misstype // I was asked by distraught 5 year old if her ................//

This is a true story it was my granddaughter.

[Khandro]

mibn; //A lie is an assertion of 'fact' that tests ones knowledge or willingness to believe in the arbitrary . . . a lot like religion, don't you think?//
Would you please explain what you are trying to say here, or is this another entry for the Mario Ortiz Robles Prize for Incomprehesibility?

[sandyRoe]

Modeller, I hope you told her a white lie.

[pixie373]

When my children asked if a person or pet had gone to heaven, i said "it depends what you believe. I don't think there's a heaven, but some people do"
At the time, they all decided to believe in heaven then, although none of them do now they're older.

[mibn2cweus]

Khandro
mibn; //A lie is an assertion of 'fact' that tests ones knowledge or willingness to believe in the arbitrary . . . a lot like religion, don't you think?//
Would you please explain what you are trying to say here, or is this another entry for the Mario Ortiz Robles Prize for Incomprehesibility?
22:44 Wed 04th Sep 2013

I'll consider my eligibility for their prize when they've confirmed their ability to spell 'incomprehensibility' comprehensively. In the mean time, I welcome the opportunity to further enhance my prospects.

Lies have no inherent power of their own. It is in the believing that a lie is granted residency within the mind of those who fail to assume full responsibility for what they choose to believe and why. There is neither need for nor anything to be gained from lying to rational people who only believe that which they deem worthy of confirmation. It is only in self-defence from those who seek to corrupt their own perception of reality, those who prefer make believe to the real thing and demand conformity to their preferred delusion that lying ever truly becomes a necessity.

[idiosyncrasy]

Modeller//goodlife was asked by distraught 5 year old if her seriously sick pet dog was going to get better//
Then what do you say when the dog does die. The child is hardly likely to trust you again after you said it was going to get better. Especially being your grand daughter.
You obviously under-rate the intelligence of the 5 yr old.. My grand children know that they can trust what I say. I have had to tell them about death and they accept it. They know their Bible and that when a person dies they just go to sleep until the resurrection. (BTW they are 4, 6 & 8).
If I told them that their pets would get better but then died, I would have lost a lot of my credibility in their eyes. Why? because they know their grand parents love them and don't lie to them. It may pain them for a little while, but experience shows they soon forget and move on.

[Old_Geezer]

"he that is trusting in Jehovah will be protected"

It seems to me that whatever deity you believe in, it doesn't make you immune from the acts of others, or of nature. Indeed believers in some sect other than the dominant one have tended to be persecuted in the past. Maybe because they went around making a nuisance of themselves trying to convert others.

[Octavius]

You see, I agree with most people here in that sometimes it is necessary to formulate a lie wrapped around a truth to a certain extent (such as examples given previously). Others may regard this 'tact' as insincerity or hypocrisy or pussyfooting and boast of their own 'honesty'. An rationale which never tries to disguise a dislike for a person, which bluntly criticizes other's faults even at the price of friendship. Truth, in all its bare ruggedness is their dogmatic belief, no matter how much pain it may give. They go further to condemn all that thoughtful tact which regards human feelings and tries to speak the truth in such a way that it may not wound and estrange those closest to them.

Tact is a gift. If you lack it, I wouldn't brag about it.

[naomi24]

//They go further to condemn all that thoughtful tact which regards human feelings and tries to speak the truth in such a way that it may not wound and estrange those closest to them. //

Who said that then?

[modeller]

goodlife I'm still waiting for you to tell me how you would have consoled
that 5yr old.

[modeller]

ideo //They know their Bible and that when a person dies they just go to sleep until the resurrection//.
So you didn't tell them the blunt truth.
1. People don't go to Sleep . They die ! They dont wake up ! Fact !
2. You don't Know we will ALL be resurrected, that's only your Belief.

And for their pets ? You don't even offer the dubious belief of resurrection.
//It may pain them for a little while, but experience shows they soon forget and move on. //
So you add to their pain because they will soon forget. !
No thought of comforting the child. ? She will soon forget !

//You obviously under-rate the intelligence of the 5 yr old.//
How do you know how I rate her intelligence ? I haven't told you what I said yet.

[Octavius]

Yawn..... So what did you say then.

[Khandro]

mibn; The reason I'm finding your posts incompreHensible is because you are trying too hard to form a connection between lying, and what you personally consider to be an erroneous belief by someone else.

[modeller]

//So what did you say then //
I haven't said what my response was as I have been waiting to read goodlife's answer to my question, posted on Wednesday and reminded him today Thursday . However he doesn't want to answer.

My answer was " Yes dogs do go to heaven and play with all the other animals, but we hope she ( the dog ) will get better. That gave my GD hope and made her content that even if the dog died it would be happy in heaven.
In the event the dog did recover and went to heaven 18 months later.

So I lied ! I always lie if it avoids harm and makes people happy in the short term . In both the short and the long term it depends on the person and in what context, but isn't that common sense and normal socialising.

[modeller]

There are some ABers who are not actually interested in any posts Q or A but are just trying to impress others with their literary ability.
I'm lying of course I'm just trying to stir things up a bit but on the other hand that could be a lie.

[Khandro]

'When a man spends his time giving his wife criticism and advice instead of compliments, he forgets that it was not his good judgment, but his charming manners, that won her heart.'

[idiosyncrasy]

Modeller@So in that case, I can't believe a word you say.

[goodlife]

Yes many today do not believe that account in the Bible. But Jesus, the most truthful man who ever lived, confirmed that the record in Genesis is not myth but true history. (Matthew 19:4, 5) and the results of that lie are still with you today, it spelled disaster.