game cheating should be prohibited in multiplayer games, but is allowable in single player games.

Joel B. Green et al., eds., Dictionary of Scripture and Ethics (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2011).

Truthfulness, Truth-Telling

Truthfulness is a matter of being straight

with our words. Truth-telling has the

character of witness. It can be risky. It

unmasks falsehoods (sometimes domi-

nant and compelling points of view) while

giving testimony to the truth. James, in his

epistle, exhorts teachers to be true in

their words, but the wisdom applies to the

power of the word for all of us. Truthful-

ness in our words and truth-telling as

witness to God’s word are essential to liv-

ing out faithfulness to God.

For all of us make many mistakes. Anyone

who makes no mistakes in speaking is per-

fect, able to keep the whole body in check

with a bridle. If we put bits into the mouths

of horses to make them obey us, we guide

their whole bodies. Or look at ships:

though they are so large that it takes strong

winds to drive them, yet they are guided by

a very small rudder wherever the will of

the pilot directs. So also the tongue is a

small member, yet it boasts of great

exploits. How great a forest is set ablaze by

a small Pire! (Jas. 3:2–5)

The exhortation on the use of words in

Jas. 3:1–12 Plows smoothly from the pre-

ceding discussion in Jas. 2:14–26 of faith

and works. The point of Jas. 2:14–26 is

that faith is active and brought to comple-

tion through works (2:22). But the exam-

ples of faithful works, Abraham (2:21–23)

and Rahab (2:25), seem to be inoppor-

tune. In these traditional tropes, the

“works” of Abraham (the binding of Isaac)

and Rahab (concealing Joshua’s spies)

include equivocation on the one hand, and

deception on the other. When on the way

to the place where Isaac will be bound for

sacriPice, Isaac asks his father about the

sheep to be offered. With well-crafted

ambiguity, Abraham withholds an impor-

tant bit of information from him. “God

himself will provide the lamb for a burnt

offering” (Gen. 22:8). The drama of their

journey and Abraham’s exemplary faith

hinges on Abraham’s belief that Isaac is

the promised son, whom God provides,

and now the offering to be given back to

God. In Josh. 2:1–24, Rahab harbors and

aids the escape of Israelite scouts in Jeri-

cho. She disobeys her own king and lies

outright to those who pursue the Israelite

spies (Josh. 2:5). Are these the faithful

deeds to which James refers?

In order to attend to the complications

of truth-telling in the Bible, we should

expand the basic point of Jas. 3, that truth-

fulness is the rudder of faithfulness.

Developing the Pauline theme of new life

in Christ (2 Cor. 5:17), the letters to the

Colossians and the Ephesians ask us to

put lying and falsehood behind us: “Do not

lie to one another, seeing that you have

stripped off the old self with its practices

and have clothed yourselves with the new

self, which is being renewed in knowledge

according to the image of its creator” (Col.

3:9–10). Ephesians 4 draws, as well, on

the Pauline themes of the unity of the

body and the diversity of gifts. Living as

the body of Christ, the community can be

free from the winds of “deceitful schem-

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ing” (Eph. 4:14). “But speaking the truth in love, we must grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and knitted together by every ligament with which it is equipped, as each part is working prop- erly, promotes the body’s growth in build- ing itself up in love” (Eph. 4:15–16). In 1 Cor. 8, Paul takes up this relation-

ship between truthfulness and love when dealing with the problem of eating meat sacriUiced to idols. The truth is that idols represent nothing real: “We know that ‘no idol in the world really exists,’ and that ‘there is no God but one’ ” (8:4). With this knowledge comes the freedom to eat meat that has been sacriUiced to so-called idols. However, knowledge of the truth ought not lead to pride. “We are no worse off if we do not eat, and no better off if we do” (8:8). Paul argues that the Christian community, especially the “strong,” when choosing their behaviors, must take into account the inferior knowledge of the “weak.” Some are not free from a false belief about idols, and eating meat used in pagan ceremonies would, for them, be an act of deUilement, a wound to their faith. By eating meat offered to idols, those with knowledge of the truth would be using their knowledge to destroy the faith of brothers and sisters for whom Christ has died (8:11). “What is at stake is the salva- tion of a member of the Christian family. A sibling must not be lost” (Collins 324). Salvation in Christ is the central truth that guides the use of our knowledge in word

and deed. Truthfulness in our words, we might

say, is necessary but not self-sufUicient if we are to witness to the truth. We need faith in God’s way. In Matt. 5–7, the Ser- mon on the Mount, Jesus teaches about the fulUillment of the law and the right- eousness of the kingdom (5:17–20). He requires radical dependence on God and trust in the way of the kingdom—the way of justice, peace, and reconciliation. Jesus includes instruction on the truthfulness of our words (5:33–37). The people of God’s reign need no props and oaths to guaran- tee their truthfulness. There are no partic- ular occasions when they ought to call on

God as their witness. p 796 Their words ought to be true on every occasion. There are no times when they need to hedge with circumlocutions. They ought to wit- ness to God in all their words. “Let your word be ‘Yes, Yes’ or ‘No, No’; anything more than this comes from the evil one” (5:37). The double “yes” and double “no” have been interpreted by some, ironi- cally, to mean that Jesus provides an acceptable oath (saying “yes, yes”) in his rejection of traditional oaths (Luz 317). The context (the higher righteousness) and the concluding line (about the evil one) make this interpretation unlikely. “Duplication of the word as a rule pro- vides intensiUication in Greek as well as in Semitic languages. ‘Yes, yes’ means noth- ing but a true yes, a yes which is valid and has solidity” (Luz 318). Within the context of Matt. 5–7, being bound by one’s words

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is understood to be an act of dependence

on God (cf. Matt. 5:3–12). It is conEidence

in Jesus’ proclamation of the kingdom.

Dependence on and conEidence in God

are found in the parable of the dishonest

steward in Luke 16:1–13. On the surface,

the parable appears to recommend self-

serving dishonesty. The complicated

commentary on the parable in vv. 8b–9,

10–12, 13 indicates that even “Luke and

the pre-Lukan tradition experienced as

much difEiculty understanding the parable

as did succeeding generations” (Donahue

163). The parable begins as the manager

is summoned to his wealthy master and

released from service for squandering the

rich man’s property. Before the termina-

tion takes effect, the manager quickly

decides on a course of action so that “peo-

ple may welcome me into their

homes” (16:4). “So, summoning his mas-

ter’s debtors one by one, he asked the

Eirst, ‘How much do you owe my master?’

He answered, ‘A hundred jugs of olive oil.’

He said to him, ‘Take your bill, sit down

quickly, and make it Eifty’ ” (16:5–6). After

the manager reduced the amount due on

other accounts, “his master commended

the dishonest manager because he had

acted shrewdly” (16:8a). Why would the

master commend the manager for cheat-

ing him further? Even though the debtors

beneEit from his actions, why would they

welcome the scoundrel into their homes?

How is it that the commentary on the

parable concludes with “You cannot serve

God and wealth” (16:13)? Does not the

manager successfully serve wealth?

Recent biblical research presents a case

that the dishonest manager is deceitful in

squandering his master’s property but

law-abiding when he acts shrewdly (sen-

sibly and prudently) in rewriting the

debtors’ promissory notes. As in the case

of Zacchaeus (Luke 19:1–10), it is the just

and faithful use of wealth that accords

with God’s hospitality and salvation. The

logic of the parable—the conversion of

the dishonest steward—makes sense in

the context of rules that develop from

Jewish legal prohibitions against charging

interest on a loan (Exod. 22:25; Lev. 25;

Deut. 23:19–20). A tradition had devel-

oped in Judaism that allowed the charging

of interest by another name. “If, for exam-

ple, the contract stated that $100 was to

be lent at 6 percent interest, the contract

was usurious. If, however, the projected

rate of interest was written into the origi-

nal loan, then there was no usury in the

technical sense” (Donahue 165). Thus, if a

contract stated a loan in the amount of

$106 but the borrower received only

$100, it would appear to be lawful. Here

we have the source of the manager’s dis-

honesty: “People of respect and authority

would avoid tainting their hands by direct

dealing. The Einances and skirting of the

law were managed by their stewards, who

could be called ‘stewards of

injustice’ ” (Donahue 165).

In the Lukan parable, there is a debt of

one hundred jugs of oil, which is reduced

to Eifty, and we can imagine the manager

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bringing a good proAit to his master and lining his own pockets as well. The man- ager’s shrewd and praiseworthy action is this: by rewriting the promissory notes, he denies himself an acceptable loophole and the income that goes with it. He sets the books right. He takes decisive action “to sacriAice his own gain” and to depend instead on upright and honest dealings (Donahue 165). He makes, perhaps, an honest man of his master as well. For these reasons, he will be praised by his master (16:8) and welcomed into the homes of the debtors (16:4). He will be making friends through his dishonest wealth (16:9) not by additional dishon- esty or by the favors that money can buy, but rather by his faithfulness to God’s law. By his faithfulness, he will be welcomed “into the eternal homes” (16:9). The deep connection between truth

and faith is basic to the gospel. The themes of light and darkness, for example, are woven through the Gospel of John. Jesus is the light (1:9; 9:5), disciples are called to walk in the light (8:12; 12:35), and those whose deeds are evil “[love] darkness rather than light” (3:19). “But those who do what is true come to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that their deeds have been done in God” (3:21). In the Synoptic Gospels, faith and dependence on God provide an orien- tation that opens us to the truth about Jesus as the Christ. Parables are compar- isons that illuminate the truth of the king- dom, but when they fall on unbelieving

ears, their teachings become obscure (Matt. 13:10–15; Mark 4:11–12). In p 797 Mark’s Gospel, blindness is a motif woven through Jesus’ three passion pre- dictions. Knowing the truth requires trust, not only in Jesus but also in the way of the cross. Within the framework of healing the blind (8:22–26; 10:46–52), the disci- ples fail to understand the implications of Peter’s declaration that Jesus is the Mes- siah (8:27–33). Jesus must suffer and die (8:31), and discipleship means denying oneself and taking up the cross (8:34). “Whoever wishes to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wishes to be Airst among you must be slave of all. For the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many” (10:43–45). Such truthfulness requires conversion

and faith. This is the call of the Hebrew prophets as well as the Gospels; when bound by our lies, we do not know God (Jer. 9:1–5). The call to truthfulness is a call to repentance and faith in God, to “prepare the way of the LORD” (Isa. 40:3). This biblical understanding of truthful- ness and the suffering that comes with truth-telling are different from typically modern frameworks. It certainly is not utilitarian; that is, the so-called good of lying is not determined by favorable results of falsehoods. Biblical truth-telling is not deontological; that is, truthfulness is not judged as an abstract norm apart from context. Rather, truthfulness and truth-telling are the ways of faithfulness

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to God. God’s word is true, and we are called to be faithful in our lives and in our words. A good example of this approach is

found in the life of André Trocmé, who, with the people of Le Chambon, hid and rescued Jews in Nazi-occupied France. Trocmé was deeply concerned with truth- telling, of witnessing to the truth by resist- ing the falsehoods of the Nazis. On one occasion, he accepted imprisonment rather than sign an oath of allegiance to the Vichy government. Another time, he risked arrest when he decided not to use the false identiSication papers at his dis- posal. In order to avoid falsehood in har- boring Jews, he and the people of his vil- lage organized their activities in such a way that they would not have to lie. When asked if Jews were in the village, Trocmé said, “Yes.” When asked their names and whereabouts, he honestly said (the equiva- lent of), “No” or “You are welcome to look” (Hallie). The people of Le Chambon also performed symbolic acts of truth- telling that pointed to Nazi falsehoods, such as publically refusing to honor the Vichy Slag. They risked their lives for the truth. Extreme situations are full of ambigui-

ties, and the risks of truth-telling ought not to be used to justify lying. It has been a habit in modern ethics to take extreme situations as the norm for the ordinary (“Would you lie if there was a gun at your child’s head?”). In contrast, the biblical norm is God’s faithful word. Trocmé and

the people of Le Chambon did practice deception, speciSically in forging identiSi- cation cards and the like. But the false- hoods weighed heavily on their con- sciences. They would agree with Augus- tine, the most rigorous of the church fathers on truthfulness and lying. When commenting on the deceptions of Rahab, Augustine notes that her hospitality is exemplary, not her deceit; lies are not to be imitated. Likewise with Abraham (Gen. 12:13; 20:2; 22:8), as well as Isaac (26:7) and Jacob (Gen. 27), his equivocation is part of the frailty of the human drama of faithfulness. Our character Slaws are over- come by God’s promises, so that Abra- ham’s hedge to Isaac ironically (and despite himself) points to the truth. Jacob uses deception to attain the birthright, but amid his clever dealings and desire for the father’s blessing there is human fool- ishness (Bandstra 111–20). We see what Jacob, who is in the middle of things, does not; we know that God will provide. Jacob is our representative in this regard. When we are tempted to commit acts of decep- tion that are senseless and unnecessary, we need to stop to remember and to have faith that God’s promises are true.

See also Dishonesty; Honesty; Hypocrisy; Oaths; Parables, Use of in Ethics; Speech Ethics; Vows

Bibliography

Augustine. “Against Lying.” Pages 481–500 in vol. 3 of Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, ed. P. Schaff. Eerdmans, 1956; Bandstra, B. Reading

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Joel B. Green et al., eds., Dictionary of Scripture and Ethics (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2011).

the Old Testament. 2nd ed. Wadsworth, 1999; Collins, R. First Corinthians. SP 7. Liturgical Press, 1999; Donahue, J. The Gospel in Parable: Metaphor, Narrative, and Theology in the

Synoptic Gospels. Fortress, 1988; Hallie, P. Lest Innocent Blood Be Shed: The Story of the Vil-

lage of Le Chambon and How Goodness Hap-

pened There. HarperPerennial, 1994; Luz, U. Matthew 1–7. Trans. W. Linss. CC. Fortress, 1989.

David Matzko McCarthy

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