Is it a sin to bear false witness against thy neighbor ?

Question

http://www.splcenter.org/intel/news/item.jsp?site_area=1&aid=274
http://www.truthminers.com/truth/

Why do we hear so little about this sin ? Why is that we RARELY hear condemnation from conservatives about bearing false witness (unless of course they are discussing Clinton's BJ or 60 minutes not checking their sources carefully) but they go on an on about the sin of homosexuality ? Why no outrage at the Bill O'Reilly's of the world and other "journalists" who just make up stuff to boost their ratings ? Isn't that a sin ? Isn't all sin equal ? One classy Christian woman has dedicated a website call "Truth Miners" dedicated to de-bunking urban legends. Why don't we hear more from Christians like her ?

Open thoughts -- Read my links, I backed up that Bill O'Reilly totally fabricated a story about lesbian gangs packing pink pistols and terrorizing people all over the country.

Father K - are you saying that it is perfectly OK to deliberately tell a lie on TV ? That the bible, the Christian religioun, etc are OK with lieing as long as you are not in court ? I don't think so . A lie, is a lie, is a lie. Bill O'Reilly didn't bother with even a cursory check of his facts. He deliberately lied to smear a group of people he hates.

Really True -- You seem to think it is OK to bear false witness against gays, because they disgust you. And no, I have not seen televangelists condemn this bearing of false witness that seems to be so common in their own flock. You really think Pat Robertson would speak out against such blatant falsehoods ?

If we only need to hear from God and not humans, why did you bother responding ?

Toweliban Barbie _ I was raised Catholic and we were taught that ALL lies and all attacks on a person's or group of person's character was the sin of bearing false witness. Perhaps you don't consider Catholicism to be Christian but I do.

Nit-picky semantics aside, you really think it is OK for a journalist to go on TV with a totally fabricated story to smear a group of people and incite hatred against them ?

http://www.scborromeo.org/ccc/p3s2c2a8.htm

Really True - The false witness I was referring to was from Bill O'Reilly, not you. And no need for the all caps. Get a grip man. Take a chill pill.

Answer 1

because this sin is so deceptive it is rarely uncovered. And Yes it is a sin, it is a direct violation of the commandments.

Answer 2

Bearing false witness against your neighbor doesn't include all lying, I suppose. But there are other verses. Lev. 19:11 Psalms 31:18 Psalms 59:12 Proverbs 6:16-19 Proverbs 12:22 Matthew 5:37 Ephesians 4:25 Colossians 3:9

Answer 3

Sorry, Father K, but you are out of line on this one. Or are you a clone of Father K?

You are correct in that lying, and especially bearing false witness against another person is a serious sin. You do not hear more about it because it is not as "sensational" as some other sins and being a common sin, people are less likely to bring it up for fear of being called a hypocrit.

I think it was Will Rogers who said that a person who never tells a lie never has to remember what he or she has said before.

Answer 4

If someone is stating that they are witness to something, and they lie and are not a witness to it at all, then they are bearing a false witness, and yes it is a sin, and yes, it is against the commandments of God;

You will hear alot about this sin, if you turn on the news; constantly people are falsing stating a thing, and constantly you hear of others rubuking it. Where the hell have you been anyway?

Look, just because one sin is more in the minds of people because of something that brings it blaringly out and makes it an issue, does not mean that the entire population of Christians are all of a sudden ignoring that other sins exist.
When a woman gets off a bus, with two small children in tow, and she is taking them to the beautiful city of Philadelphia, where the museums are, including the "please touch" childrens museum, and she is from out of town, but gets off that bus and sees what appears to be a parade coming from afar - she tells her kids excitedly: "kids, look, here comes a parade!! Look!"
When the first float appears in clear sight, the woman is appalled to see two fat hairy gay men, dressed in pink see-thru babydoll nighties and french kissing, then fondling each others privates, then wave and smile to the crowd.
Isn't that wonderful? How nice it must have been for that woman with a child of age five and a child age 7 to see such a display of disgust and vile disregard for every single person in that town and their children.

This would be something that would bring out the issue of the lack of morals and decency in the World today. Does this mean that we are disregarding all other sin?
Of course not; if someone just murdered someone else, and thats in the news, people will address that issue.

You don't need to "hear from more Christians like her" in order to understand right from wrong, do you? I am sure she is a very nice person, with good intentions, and God bless her and all that, but what people need to start listening to is GODS WORD, NOT SOME WOMANS WORD.

Answer 5

Der, it's in the 10 Commandments, so from a Chrisitan perspective, yes it's a sin, even though we all know that ratting out someone without any basis is a bad idea to start with.

Answer 6

O'Reilly got taken, pure and simple. Time to 'fess up (if he hasn't already) and apologize or get canned. Not that it would surprise me one bit if Fox "News" simply swept the problem under the rug. Can't be bothered by such things as "facts", after all.

Answer 7

Yes, it is a sin to bear false witness against thy neighbor. It's in the Ten Commandments. All sin is equal. No sins are bigger or smaller than other sins.

Answer 8

I agree with Father K.
You should look into this. Lying is lying, but to bear false witness is to lie in the context of justice.

Answer 9

because on both sides of the political isle both would rather further there party then to be honest and further what is best for our country both are equally biased, remember tho a house divided can not stand America is in decline becuase we cant come together in our greatest hour of need we are doomed

Answer 10

Isn't that one of the Ten Commandments? ( Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor ? )