My doctor recently told me to do something. He said it was "doctor's orders." What he told me to do was not that important. Whether or not I do what he asked will depend on a number of different factors.

This doctor has a domineering personality, and is a tough person to reason with. If he asks me if I did what he asked, I might just say, "Yes", even if I have not done it. I feel he does not have the right to make such a demand, and doing so is out of his realm of authority. It not related to health, except in a very superficial way.

If I tell the doctor "No", I can see him trying to intimidate me. If I say "No, but...", trying to explain exactly why I haven't done what he asked, I can see an argument developing, and I can see a doctor who will not bother to listen to my side of the issue. This doctor is also rather young, and perhaps immature, and he is only one doctor in a group of doctors covered by my insurance. Whether I see him or another doctor next time is hard to predict.

When somebody tries to exercise authority he/she does not have, or makes a demand and then refuses to listen to the other person, and if you can't simply walk away from this person, such as in a doctor/patient relationship, you have the right to lie. There is nothing wrong with lying in this case. Telling the truth could cause more problems.

I was raised to believe that it is always wrong to lie, no matter what. Mormonism and all Christian religions teach that you should tell the truth all the time. The Ten Commandments state, "Thou Shalt Not Lie."

If you can't trust the Bible on this subject, you have to get your ethics from somewhere else. A very strong ethical case can be made that it is okay to lie sometimes. The times it is okay to lie would include times you are backed into a corner by somebody who is abusing his/her authority, and if you tell the truth you could be hurt. Of course there are very good reasons to tell the truth, but lying occasionally out of necessity is not necessarily a bad thing.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 01/08/2015 03:51PM by behindcurtain.

a) get another doctor. One you feel you have to lie to is not the best one for you. A doctor who doesn't have all the facts can't give you the best treatment. If you feel you need to lie to yours to avoid conflict, find another one.

b) The bible has no "ethics," and all of us have to get our ethics from "somewhere else." In the best case, from a rational evaluation of what's best for us, our families, our community, and our world. The reason lying is a bad idea isn't because some "god" thing commanded us not to; it's a bad idea because doing so is generally NOT best for you, your family, your community, and your world.

"There is nothing wrong with lying in this case."

Yes, there is. You're compromising your health and care to avoid arguing with some ego-maniac. That's not "ethically" wrong -- but it's not very smart, and it's harmful.

If you want people to do something for no good reason, lying is indispensable.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/08/2015 04:38PM by donbagley.

I'm of the opinion that lying is no kind of universal law. You should want to not lie in order that you may be trusted by your family, friends, loved ones, and is your buisness in important matters.

But when you aren't under oath by law, and the topic is something personal that is none of anybody else's buisness, then lie.

Good ol' number nine doesn't get a fair shake at all. In the OP, the commandment was stated as "Thou shalt not lie." But according to all the sources I could find, including mormon.org, the ninth commandment is:

Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.

Compare this to the three preceding commandments:

Thou shalt not kill.
Thou shalt not commit adultery.
Thou shalt not steal.

There's some wiggle room with the adultery commandment; just be unmarried/unbetrothed, and have your partner be the same, and it's not adultery!

The specificity of #9, not bearing false witness against they neighbour means that when you open your mouth to speak, this commandment is a guide to what you can say, and can't say! Meaning I can bear false witness against those aren't my neighbour! And I can lie my ass off to anyone, on any subject not having to do with my neighbour!

I take it to mean that ghawd really WAS an ordinary man at one time and recognized that lying is instinctual and he just wanted us to avoid raising points of contention with ... our neighbours.

Which raises the question: is there lying in heaven?

"Note that venerable proverb: Children and fools always speak the truth. The deduction is plain: adults and wise persons never speak it."