Surely not a religious contradiction?!?

Question

I have read on here that, according to Christianity, God cannot lie. Is this true?

So does God have free will? If he CANNOT lie he must not have free will. If he does not have free will then he must be a creation. If he is a creation then something must be more powerful than God, therefore God could not be omnipotent.

Or is it that God CAN lie, but chooses not to? If this is the case then are all the Christians who claim he cannot lie uneducated about their own religion?

This seems like a rational thought process to me. I would appreciate some religious justification for what I see (I admit I could well be wrong) to be a blantant contradiction

Perkins - so God doesnt have free will? so God was created?

Rangedog - it IS rational to think that if somone/something CANNOT lie then it has no free will. Something without free will CANNOT be all-knowing, all-powerful. That is a rational thought process

Pink - I am open-minded. Would you say you were not open minded if you didnt believe me that i can jump and touch the Moon? No, because it is not for being closed-minded, it is for being rational.

By the way, you didnt answer the question. You ignored the contradtiction

Barry - YOU are taking a leap. You assume that I dont realise that something can be a creation AND have free will. I know this. What I also know is that something with no free will must be somethings creation.

Answer 1

There is proof that he lies if he sees fit, in the very book Christians use as a guide in their lives, what they call the word of God through man, thee most important Christian text, the book they pull out to use against others, I mean if its so very important a document then they cannot deny this either - God said to Adam and Eve that if they ate the fruit of knowledge they would die - they ate it and they didnt according to the bible. There is a lie by God no matter his reasons for it, it was a lie. It matters not if it was for the benefit of mankind so on and so forth, God told Adam and Eve an untruth and no matter which way you turn it, or which angle you come from - IT WAS A LIE.

Answer 2

There are some things I have questions about and I am trying to read and find these answers for myself. I did read in Genesis that there is no mention of any creation before God. Now as to God telling a lie. I think that God being the creator of all things; created free will. I would think that he would have no reason to lie being he is God. Plus if God did lie who is going to call Him out on it? lol... Interesting question!

Answer 3

lol, I asked a similar question regarding the gender of deities and how that implies reproduction and finite lifespan. The christians (even though I was non specific about religion) didn't like that either. (you'll notice they all refer to 'it' as 'he')
I suppose you could counter the argument with God cannot lie as it dictates what truth is. Though I find that even more sinister than a God that can lie.
All of these things provide, imho, all the evidence you need to prove religion as a man made creation and not divine intervention.
Another example. The Catholic Church has recently changed it's mind as to what happens to still born children and those that die before baptism. No longer are they condemned to limbo. hmmmm, sounds like they're making it up as they go along.
Additonally, after reading a couple more posts here, one thing sticks in my mind. All of those who have defended Gods inability to lie miss the fact that they are assuming the will and actions of God. Now if I remember correctly there are biblical passages warning against such behaviour. If I were still a christian I'd be concerned that my church was getting above it's station with these opinions.

Answer 4

Im not religious but i see where your coming from and judging from some of the answers on here people are not reading the question properly. i didnt study the bible and do not know if God cannot lie or chooses not to but just thought id say you have a very good point. but as with every point that is rasied about religions and gods, there will be an answer even if it doesnt completely make sence

Answer 5

You did take a leap, there. It was when you said, "If He does not have free will then He must be a creation." You are a creation. Don't you have free will? He does have free will, but by His very nature, not by obligation, it is impossible for Him to sin. Lying is a sin. There is no possibility of sinning in God. So He cannot lie. That brings to light the question, "Can God do anything?" doesn't it? Yes He can. Does He, though?

Answer 6

Great Reasoning. I read the answers and People such as Barry, etc. are trying to say that God can not by nature or creation or what ever simply can not sin or lie. ( which to me means that god has a limitation???) eitherway; there something else that simply can not lie..that's science. It can be interpreted differently by different people but there is an ultimate absolution to science so Barry believes in science and discussion is over. Thanx for the trip.

Answer 7

God has free will. I suppose that he could lie if He wanted too, never really thought about it before. On the other hand, one of the attributes of God is His holiness and perfection. So if God lied, then He would no longer be God because he would no longer be perfect. It's not so much a contradiction as a mutual exclusion....If God is holy, then he cannot lie (steal, cheat, etc...).

Answer 8

A lie is just oblique truth. Everything is true, therefore God, if he exists, tells truth even when lying. This also applies to Man; the idea that lies are not truth on any level is an illusion. A lie tells many truths if you look at the reasons the lie is told, who is telling it, what effect it has, the history of utterance of the person telling the lie or the particular sensitivities of the person or people to whom the lie is told. All these are truths.

Answer 9

Psalm 14:1

Answer 10

God of any religion will not lie ? I mean do u guys make any sense? Why would God lie????????

Craziest thing i have ever heared of . I believe this is coz of the man corrupted Bible.

I'd better go with Muslims Quran , So far i have seen that without any flaws myself .
Doesnt matter what people say , coz ppl just wanna say against muslim but fact is thier books are flawless.