Difference between revisions of "Sermon for October 1st, 2023"
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Some time later the woodcutter was walking with his wife along the riverbank, and his wife fell into the river. When he cried out, the Lord again appeared and asked him, "Why are you crying? "The woodcutter replied, "Oh Lord, my wife has fallen into the water!" The Lord went down into the water and came up with Jennifer Lopez. "Is this your wife?" the Lord asked. | Some time later the woodcutter was walking with his wife along the riverbank, and his wife fell into the river. When he cried out, the Lord again appeared and asked him, "Why are you crying? "The woodcutter replied, "Oh Lord, my wife has fallen into the water!" The Lord went down into the water and came up with Jennifer Lopez. "Is this your wife?" the Lord asked. | ||
"Yes," cried the woodcutter. The Lord was furious. "You lied! That is an untruth!" The woodcutter replied, "Oh, forgive me, my Lord. It is a misunderstanding. You see, if I had said 'no' to Jennifer Lopez, you would have come up with Scarlett Johansson. Then if I also said 'no' to her, you would have come up with my wife. Had I then said 'yes,' you would have given me all three. Lord, I am a poor man, and am not able to take care of three wives, so THAT'S why I said yes to Jennifer Lopez." | "Yes," cried the woodcutter. The Lord was furious. "You lied! That is an untruth!" The woodcutter replied, "Oh, forgive me, my Lord. It is a misunderstanding. You see, if I had said 'no' to Jennifer Lopez, you would have come up with Scarlett Johansson. Then if I also said 'no' to her, you would have come up with my wife. Had I then said 'yes,' you would have given me all three. Lord, I am a poor man, and am not able to take care of three wives, so THAT'S why I said yes to Jennifer Lopez." | ||
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| + | Today we’re talking about the ninth commandment, which is often rendered in the popular imagination as “you shall not lie.” Of course, that’s not what the commandment actually says, and today I hope to make the case that it’s not anywhere close to what it was originally supposed to mean. Most English versions of the Bible translate Deuteronomy 5:20 as “You shall not give false witness (or testimony) against your neighbor.” That’s actually a pretty decent translation of the Hebrew. The words “witness” and “testimony” in both English as well as Hebrew are LEGAL terms, referring to the things you say when questioned in court, or when making a formal accusation (i.e. a lawsuit) against someone else. | ||
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| + | False witness, or false testimony, is a type of perjury, and perjury (in the ancient world as well as today) IS in fact lying while under oath—so we can see how this commandment often gets boiled down to an overly-simplistic “Don’t lie. Ever. Under any circumstances.” To be fair, there ARE plenty of places in the Bible where God condemns the act of lying—it’s just that the ninth commandment isn’t one of them. And there are ALSO plenty of places in the Bible where God condones, or even BLESSES the act of lying. Just in case you don’t believe me… | ||
Revision as of 13:35, 30 September 2023
Luke 10:25-28
25Just then a lawyer stood up to test Jesus. ‘Teacher,’ he said, ‘what must I do to inherit eternal life?’ 26He said to him, ‘What is written in the law? What do you read there?’ 27He answered, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.’ 28And he said to him, ‘You have given the right answer; do this, and you will live.’
Deuteronomy 5:15-20
15Remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the Lord your God brought you out from there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm; therefore the Lord your God commanded you to keep the sabbath day. 16Honor your father and your mother, as the Lord your God commanded you, so that your days may be long and that it may go well with you in the land that the Lord your God is giving you. 17You shall not murder. 18Neither shall you commit adultery. 19Neither shall you steal. 20Neither shall you bear false witness against your neighbor.
Ten Laws, One Love: False Witness
One day, a woodcutter was cutting a branch of a tree above a river, and his axe fell into the river. When he cried out, the Lord appeared and asked, "Why are you crying?" The woodcutter replied that his axe had fallen into water, and he needed the axe to make his living. The Lord went down into the water and reappeared with a golden axe. "Is this your axe?" the Lord asked. The woodcutter replied, "No." The Lord again went down and came up with a silver axe. "Is this your axe?" the Lord asked. Again, the woodcutter replied, "No." The Lord went down again and came up with a rusted old iron axe. "Is this your axe?" the Lord asked. The woodcutter replied, "Yes." The Lord was pleased with the man's honesty and gave him all three axes to keep, and the woodcutter went home happy.
Some time later the woodcutter was walking with his wife along the riverbank, and his wife fell into the river. When he cried out, the Lord again appeared and asked him, "Why are you crying? "The woodcutter replied, "Oh Lord, my wife has fallen into the water!" The Lord went down into the water and came up with Jennifer Lopez. "Is this your wife?" the Lord asked. "Yes," cried the woodcutter. The Lord was furious. "You lied! That is an untruth!" The woodcutter replied, "Oh, forgive me, my Lord. It is a misunderstanding. You see, if I had said 'no' to Jennifer Lopez, you would have come up with Scarlett Johansson. Then if I also said 'no' to her, you would have come up with my wife. Had I then said 'yes,' you would have given me all three. Lord, I am a poor man, and am not able to take care of three wives, so THAT'S why I said yes to Jennifer Lopez."
Today we’re talking about the ninth commandment, which is often rendered in the popular imagination as “you shall not lie.” Of course, that’s not what the commandment actually says, and today I hope to make the case that it’s not anywhere close to what it was originally supposed to mean. Most English versions of the Bible translate Deuteronomy 5:20 as “You shall not give false witness (or testimony) against your neighbor.” That’s actually a pretty decent translation of the Hebrew. The words “witness” and “testimony” in both English as well as Hebrew are LEGAL terms, referring to the things you say when questioned in court, or when making a formal accusation (i.e. a lawsuit) against someone else.
False witness, or false testimony, is a type of perjury, and perjury (in the ancient world as well as today) IS in fact lying while under oath—so we can see how this commandment often gets boiled down to an overly-simplistic “Don’t lie. Ever. Under any circumstances.” To be fair, there ARE plenty of places in the Bible where God condemns the act of lying—it’s just that the ninth commandment isn’t one of them. And there are ALSO plenty of places in the Bible where God condones, or even BLESSES the act of lying. Just in case you don’t believe me…
