Freedom for some people is about being able to do what they want to do when they want to do it, regardless of consequences.
You could say that sounds like a good definition of freedom. Yet often the people who claim to be free are not really free at all. There once was a movement that embraced the slogan of free love. The culture was really about free sex. The pill had been made widely available and women's liberation was gaining momentum. At last women have been set free from the threat of having an unwanted child if they wanted to indulge in unrestrained sexual activity. The free love revolution hit the headlines and sex, booze, drugs and rock and roll was the rhythm of the day. So-called sexual license was here to stay.
The woman's liberation movement of the sixties was largely sparked in 1963 by Betty Friedan's The Feminine Mystique which denigrated the idea that childrearing and homemaking was a woman's role. There was more to sexual expression and women had the right to be as free as men.
Supposedly, men enjoyed a life of sexual license with any woman of their choice and held the power in corporations and politics and anywhere else that mattered.
But what were men free to do? Most men did not live such a life at all. In fact, suburban husbands went to work, came home and were often at the mercy of their wives, because, at home, the wife was the boss. Admittedly, there were many exceptions, but in a majority of cases the loving lady ruled.
Regardless of what certain people might like to claim, freedom is not just a matter of throwing off the shackles of being tied down to a home, or a job, or obtaining a university degree or anything else. Freedom is about being able to enjoy what you have around you regardless of your circumstances.
When freedom was gained for the Negro slaves of the Confederate States of USA, the plantation owners, who had first opposed the idea of setting their slaves free, found that they had a better work force that was cheaper than a slave force. They found that the people were still enslaved to the need for a roof over their head and the need to obtain an income to pay for the roof over their head and the food in their belly and the clothes on their back.
People who belong to the ruling class, who have the wealth to do what they like, are not really free, either. If they over-step the boundaries of what is acceptable they will be bound by the fear of being found out. How often do you see a politician disgraced because he thought he was free to over-step the bounds of social acceptability?
True freedom means that you can do what is right whenever you choose. If you succumb to your desires all the time; if you give in to your lusts; if you find your emotions getting the better of you; or if you find other people can push the buttons that ignite your outbursts of frustration and anger; the truth is you are not free. True freedom is self-control. This way you are able to do what you like, whenever you like, according to what is right.
www.tencommandmentstoday.com
Monday, August 8, 2011
RELIV REVIEW
Happy Riches said...
Reliv is an outstanding company. Unfortunately, the products work so well that there are many people trying to discredit the products.
I take RELIV and I know of many people who take the products who have had spectacular health turnarounds.
The issue about soy is largely unproven, and besides there are many other factors that have to be taken into account when making various claims about a food like soy which is used by many people as part of their staple diet.
People do not understand how their body works and people who are full of toxins and are getting ill are not taking RELIV. Nobody who takes Reliv product correctly suffers from illness.
What happens to many people who take the products is they experience some natural responses by the body as their immune system begins to force out all the toxins.
One man I know suffering from severe rheumatoid arthritis suffered the symptoms of severe influenza for two weeks, until his body was purged.
Six months later the only evidence of him having had rheumatoid arthritis was from tell tale signs of his joints, but he was no longer in pain or agony when moving too quickly.
Unfortunately, for him once he was free of all the pain he decided he no longer needed the products and his body relapsed because his diet did not provide the optimum nutrients and detoxifying herbs that Reliv products provided. Then some doctor told him he had a better treatment and now he is back to being in agony.
I have remarkable evidence in photos and video of how effective the product is in getting the body to heal itself.
Personally, I would love to get a dozen people who had severe rheumatoid arthritis and put them on Reliv NOW or Classic and Arth-Affect and put the product to scrutiny.
Unfortunately, the company prohibits anyone doing this.
The other issue which tarnishes Reliv is when people join up only with the idea of making money who are relatively healthy. These people do not appreciate the health benefits and suffer later anyhow.
I take Reliv products and extol their benefits. In fact, I have been taking them for years and am probably older than Dr Mercola, but look a lot younger.
People say that soy is supposed to lower your sex drive. Well that is absolute rubbish.
All in all, RELIV is no. 1 in my book, and I haven't seen any product on the market that can beat it.
If the World Health Organisation were really about helping people, Reliv would have been given to all the people in poor countries years ago and many of the health problems that exist among the poor would have been eradicated because they would be getting the nutrition every body needs.
You can enjoy a healthier body and more energy by taking Reliv NOW and Innergize by contacting Reliv in your country. After four months your blood cells will be renewed and your body will thank you. You can order Reliv Now and Innergize by telephoning the Reliv Office in your country. To order Reliv you will need a sponsor’s I.D. no. My Independent Distributor No. is AURIC001954.
Have a question. Want an answer? Email me NOW at happyriches@gmail.com.
Reliv is an outstanding company. Unfortunately, the products work so well that there are many people trying to discredit the products.
I take RELIV and I know of many people who take the products who have had spectacular health turnarounds.
The issue about soy is largely unproven, and besides there are many other factors that have to be taken into account when making various claims about a food like soy which is used by many people as part of their staple diet.
People do not understand how their body works and people who are full of toxins and are getting ill are not taking RELIV. Nobody who takes Reliv product correctly suffers from illness.
What happens to many people who take the products is they experience some natural responses by the body as their immune system begins to force out all the toxins.
One man I know suffering from severe rheumatoid arthritis suffered the symptoms of severe influenza for two weeks, until his body was purged.
Six months later the only evidence of him having had rheumatoid arthritis was from tell tale signs of his joints, but he was no longer in pain or agony when moving too quickly.
Unfortunately, for him once he was free of all the pain he decided he no longer needed the products and his body relapsed because his diet did not provide the optimum nutrients and detoxifying herbs that Reliv products provided. Then some doctor told him he had a better treatment and now he is back to being in agony.
I have remarkable evidence in photos and video of how effective the product is in getting the body to heal itself.
Personally, I would love to get a dozen people who had severe rheumatoid arthritis and put them on Reliv NOW or Classic and Arth-Affect and put the product to scrutiny.
Unfortunately, the company prohibits anyone doing this.
The other issue which tarnishes Reliv is when people join up only with the idea of making money who are relatively healthy. These people do not appreciate the health benefits and suffer later anyhow.
I take Reliv products and extol their benefits. In fact, I have been taking them for years and am probably older than Dr Mercola, but look a lot younger.
People say that soy is supposed to lower your sex drive. Well that is absolute rubbish.
All in all, RELIV is no. 1 in my book, and I haven't seen any product on the market that can beat it.
If the World Health Organisation were really about helping people, Reliv would have been given to all the people in poor countries years ago and many of the health problems that exist among the poor would have been eradicated because they would be getting the nutrition every body needs.
You can enjoy a healthier body and more energy by taking Reliv NOW and Innergize by contacting Reliv in your country. After four months your blood cells will be renewed and your body will thank you. You can order Reliv Now and Innergize by telephoning the Reliv Office in your country. To order Reliv you will need a sponsor’s I.D. no. My Independent Distributor No. is AURIC001954.
Have a question. Want an answer? Email me NOW at happyriches@gmail.com.
Monday, June 6, 2011
The Secret To Getting Rich
The secret to getting rich materially is to use other people’s money. This is often called the OPM solution.
You might ask how can you use Other People’s Money and benefit from it.
First of all, this is the way the banks work. People put money into their bank accounts and the banks use that money to lend it to other people.
A simple scenario follows: You put your money in the bank because you want to make sure it is safe from thieves and robbers. The bank could charge you a fee for this. Only if the bank charged you a fee, you would probably keep the money under your mattress. However the bank offers you interest on your money, so you put the money in the bank. The bank then lends your money out to borrowers at a higher interest rate than what it charges you. The bank makes a profit on the difference on the interest rates between the money it borrows and the money it lends. The owner of the bank is using other people’s money (your money) to make money.
You need to learn from the banks if you want to make money. If you want to get rich, learn the secret of OPM.
Really, it is not much of a secret. Yet most people seem to be at the bottom of the pyramid rather than benefitting at the top.
What people do not know is that banks compound their profits by lending out money that has to be paid back monthly rather than annually.
This is how the system works. You put $1000 in the bank. The bank pays you 8% interest per annum. It then lends that money out at 10% interest per annum. You get paid annually. The bank gets paid monthly. People who borrow your money from the bank pay the bank back monthly. The money they pay the bank is then able to be lent to someone else.
Effectively, the bank has now created a monthly cash flow of money that they can lend to more people at 10% without having any to pay interest to you. By doing this the bank is able to compound the interest they receive on a monthly basis, whereas you are only receiving an annual rate if you leave your money in the bank for one year.
In fact, it gets better for the banks because the people to whom they lend the money put their money in the bank, so that $1000 you are getting 10% interest on can be lent to more than one person. Effectively, banks can turn your $1000 into $10,000 in one year and only have to pay you $100 in interest.
While you cannot be a bank, you can learn the secret of using OPM and leverage your own income and wealth.
You may wonder how a person can go from living in poverty to living in a palace within five to ten years. The reason is the person who does this has used OPM.
The easiest way to do is to get a line of credit. A line of credit in its simplest form is available in the form of a credit card.
A credit card when used for making money is a valuable asset. When a credit card is used for consumer purchases it can become a trap and a never ending downward spiral into greater debt. When used for business purposes, a credit card enables you to make the most of opportunities if you do not have the ready cash.
When you identify an opportunity to buy a bargain that you know you can sell for a profit, then a credit card provides you with the cash to do the deal.
John Fitzgerald runs a private company and is worth hundreds of millions of dollars. Because he has a private company, he does not figure in the annual review of the wealthiest people. Forbes magazine and the like who evaluate people’s wealth annually to publish their annual list are unable to estimate the worth of private companies, so the owners are excluded from the list. Anyhow, John Fitzgerald began his road to wealth by using his credit card as a down payment on a property.
Cash may be king, but credit is the queen of wealth. The two go hand in hand. Together they rule the economy. Put another way, one person might be able to slay a thousand, but two people will be able to slay ten thousand, to quote an ancient proverb. A little cash and little credit and you are on your way.
Making money is all about leverage. To use leverage you need OPM.
You might ask how can you use Other People’s Money and benefit from it.
First of all, this is the way the banks work. People put money into their bank accounts and the banks use that money to lend it to other people.
A simple scenario follows: You put your money in the bank because you want to make sure it is safe from thieves and robbers. The bank could charge you a fee for this. Only if the bank charged you a fee, you would probably keep the money under your mattress. However the bank offers you interest on your money, so you put the money in the bank. The bank then lends your money out to borrowers at a higher interest rate than what it charges you. The bank makes a profit on the difference on the interest rates between the money it borrows and the money it lends. The owner of the bank is using other people’s money (your money) to make money.
You need to learn from the banks if you want to make money. If you want to get rich, learn the secret of OPM.
Really, it is not much of a secret. Yet most people seem to be at the bottom of the pyramid rather than benefitting at the top.
What people do not know is that banks compound their profits by lending out money that has to be paid back monthly rather than annually.
This is how the system works. You put $1000 in the bank. The bank pays you 8% interest per annum. It then lends that money out at 10% interest per annum. You get paid annually. The bank gets paid monthly. People who borrow your money from the bank pay the bank back monthly. The money they pay the bank is then able to be lent to someone else.
Effectively, the bank has now created a monthly cash flow of money that they can lend to more people at 10% without having any to pay interest to you. By doing this the bank is able to compound the interest they receive on a monthly basis, whereas you are only receiving an annual rate if you leave your money in the bank for one year.
In fact, it gets better for the banks because the people to whom they lend the money put their money in the bank, so that $1000 you are getting 10% interest on can be lent to more than one person. Effectively, banks can turn your $1000 into $10,000 in one year and only have to pay you $100 in interest.
While you cannot be a bank, you can learn the secret of using OPM and leverage your own income and wealth.
You may wonder how a person can go from living in poverty to living in a palace within five to ten years. The reason is the person who does this has used OPM.
The easiest way to do is to get a line of credit. A line of credit in its simplest form is available in the form of a credit card.
A credit card when used for making money is a valuable asset. When a credit card is used for consumer purchases it can become a trap and a never ending downward spiral into greater debt. When used for business purposes, a credit card enables you to make the most of opportunities if you do not have the ready cash.
When you identify an opportunity to buy a bargain that you know you can sell for a profit, then a credit card provides you with the cash to do the deal.
John Fitzgerald runs a private company and is worth hundreds of millions of dollars. Because he has a private company, he does not figure in the annual review of the wealthiest people. Forbes magazine and the like who evaluate people’s wealth annually to publish their annual list are unable to estimate the worth of private companies, so the owners are excluded from the list. Anyhow, John Fitzgerald began his road to wealth by using his credit card as a down payment on a property.
Cash may be king, but credit is the queen of wealth. The two go hand in hand. Together they rule the economy. Put another way, one person might be able to slay a thousand, but two people will be able to slay ten thousand, to quote an ancient proverb. A little cash and little credit and you are on your way.
Making money is all about leverage. To use leverage you need OPM.
Saturday, April 30, 2011
Two New Blogs
I have decided to create a separate blog called Health For Life and a second blog called The Truth.
On Health For Life blog I will discuss the topic of how to have a healthy body for life and avoid many of the diseases that people suffer from unnecessarily.
On The Truth blog I will develop and explain aspects of truth and powerful insights that will enable you to better understand yourself and the why you were born and why the world is like it is. The issues covered will be spiritual, religious, philosophical, theological, psychological and even sociological aspects of your upbringing.
Truth is often substituted by theories and really it should be about experience and what you can prove now. We are talking about steak on your plate and not pie in the sky when you die.
Let's talk about Health For Life and get to The Truth of what matters.
Click here for Health For Life or here for The Truth.
On Health For Life blog I will discuss the topic of how to have a healthy body for life and avoid many of the diseases that people suffer from unnecessarily.
On The Truth blog I will develop and explain aspects of truth and powerful insights that will enable you to better understand yourself and the why you were born and why the world is like it is. The issues covered will be spiritual, religious, philosophical, theological, psychological and even sociological aspects of your upbringing.
Truth is often substituted by theories and really it should be about experience and what you can prove now. We are talking about steak on your plate and not pie in the sky when you die.
Let's talk about Health For Life and get to The Truth of what matters.
Click here for Health For Life or here for The Truth.
Saturday, February 5, 2011
When Will Jesus Christ Return?
There have been a number of predictions of when Jesus Christ will return. One of the most fascinating has to be that of Frank Tipler, Professor of Mathematics at Tulane University. Professor Tipler claims that Jesus will return sometime before AD2057 at the latest. In support of this claim, Professor Tipler writes “Christianity is not a mere religion, but an experimentally testable science.” math.tulane.edu/~tipler/
Jesus said:
The fig tree in this parable is often thought to be the nation of Israel. Interpreted, this passage above means that when you see the non-existent nation of Israel founded again, know that there will only be one generation and Jesus shall return.
Based on this above passage for centuries people have been predicting that Israel would return as a nation, and contrary to their scoffers have been proven right.
Israel began in to exist in its present day form when in 1917 the Balfour Declaration was made that committed the British Government to establishing a home for the Jewish people in Palestine. In 1947, the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted a resolution to create two separate states in Palestine, one Arab and one Jewish. Israel was to be given independence. This occurred in October of 1948.
In the light of what Jesus said and Israel being recognized as the homeland of the Jews, it appears that Jesus will be returning soon. As for the exact time Jesus will be returning, predicting the exact day is impossible. However, we have a clue as to when the year might be because Jesus said that it shall be as in the days of Noah.
A generation can be anything from 10yrs to 120yrs. Much depends on what is being talked about. A generation can be a lifetime or a predetermined number of years. In the case of Noah, the generation that is referred to is 120yrs.
What this means in the light of what Jesus said about his return is that he will return around 120yrs after the declaration that the Jewish homeland should be created.
This means that Jesus should be returning somewhere around AD2037. Frank Tipler has Jesus returning no later than AD2057 based on information other than interpreting what Jesus may have meant in this parable.
There are other prophecies that have to be fulfilled before Jesus returns, such as the restoration of the temple and the gospel being preached to every tribe on Earth.
www.tencommandmentstoday.com
Jesus said:
Now learn the parable from the fig tree: when its branch has already become tender and puts forth its leaves, you know that summer is near; so, you too, when you see all these things, recognize that He is near, right at the door. Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place. Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away.
But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone. For the coming of the Son of Man will be just like the days of Noah. (NASB)
The fig tree in this parable is often thought to be the nation of Israel. Interpreted, this passage above means that when you see the non-existent nation of Israel founded again, know that there will only be one generation and Jesus shall return.
Based on this above passage for centuries people have been predicting that Israel would return as a nation, and contrary to their scoffers have been proven right.
Israel began in to exist in its present day form when in 1917 the Balfour Declaration was made that committed the British Government to establishing a home for the Jewish people in Palestine. In 1947, the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted a resolution to create two separate states in Palestine, one Arab and one Jewish. Israel was to be given independence. This occurred in October of 1948.
In the light of what Jesus said and Israel being recognized as the homeland of the Jews, it appears that Jesus will be returning soon. As for the exact time Jesus will be returning, predicting the exact day is impossible. However, we have a clue as to when the year might be because Jesus said that it shall be as in the days of Noah.
A generation can be anything from 10yrs to 120yrs. Much depends on what is being talked about. A generation can be a lifetime or a predetermined number of years. In the case of Noah, the generation that is referred to is 120yrs.
What this means in the light of what Jesus said about his return is that he will return around 120yrs after the declaration that the Jewish homeland should be created.
This means that Jesus should be returning somewhere around AD2037. Frank Tipler has Jesus returning no later than AD2057 based on information other than interpreting what Jesus may have meant in this parable.
There are other prophecies that have to be fulfilled before Jesus returns, such as the restoration of the temple and the gospel being preached to every tribe on Earth.
www.tencommandmentstoday.com
Sunday, November 28, 2010
5 Keys to Understanding Yourself
Human being has five aspects to their existence that are essential for understanding themselves. You are not exempt.
For you to understand yourself you need to realize these five keys are a part of your everyday life.
By finding fulfillment in these areas of your life you will find true happiness and true riches.
Key No. 1
You are a spiritual being. To deny this is to deny your own existence and the reality of being born.
The reason you are a spiritual being is that you can conceive the existence of the immaterial or spiritual realm.
If you were not a spiritual being you would not be able to conceive that hidden principles of existence enable the earth to have night and day, the moon to have a monthly cycle and the sun to have a yearly cycle. Moreover, you would not wonder why this is so.
Key No. 2
You are a psychological being.
The reason you are a psychological being is that you have a combination of attitudes and emotions that are formed as a consequence of your interaction within the social environment in which you grow up.
Basically there are only a few primary emotions. These manifest in various ways depending on the attitudes you develop as a result of being conditioned by the environment in which you have been raised.
Key No. 3
You are a social being.
The reason you are a social being is you are not a being that simply survives by consuming energy from plant life without the need to interact with other persons.
You need other people to learn from, to communicate with, and for personal development. Only through relationships with other people are you able to discover more about who you are.
You are designed to have relationships with other people. The truest words ever said are “no person is an island”.
Key No. 4
You are a physiological being.
The reason you are a physiological being is you have a metabolism that requires the processing and transforming of physical elements (i.e. food. water, air, sunlight) to survive.
You also need to physically utilize your bodily systems in order for you to be able to function. This is often referred to as “use it or lose it”.
Key No. 5
You are an economically orientated being.
The reason you have an economic orientation has to do with survival. This is because you live within a naturally hostile environment which has extremes of climatic conditions and the fact that you are a social and spiritual being.
An economy begins when two people decide to trade something. As soon as two people trade roles an economy has begun. Hunting and gathering societies are the primordial form of the more complex economies that constitute the twenty-first century.
For you to understand yourself you need to recognize the existence of these facets or areas of your life and then evaluate where you stand in relation to each one.
Once you know exactly where you stand in relation to each of these facets of your life, you are then able to discover and realize true happiness and the true riches of existence.
www.tencommandmentstoday.com
For you to understand yourself you need to realize these five keys are a part of your everyday life.
By finding fulfillment in these areas of your life you will find true happiness and true riches.
Key No. 1
You are a spiritual being. To deny this is to deny your own existence and the reality of being born.
The reason you are a spiritual being is that you can conceive the existence of the immaterial or spiritual realm.
If you were not a spiritual being you would not be able to conceive that hidden principles of existence enable the earth to have night and day, the moon to have a monthly cycle and the sun to have a yearly cycle. Moreover, you would not wonder why this is so.
Key No. 2
You are a psychological being.
The reason you are a psychological being is that you have a combination of attitudes and emotions that are formed as a consequence of your interaction within the social environment in which you grow up.
Basically there are only a few primary emotions. These manifest in various ways depending on the attitudes you develop as a result of being conditioned by the environment in which you have been raised.
Key No. 3
You are a social being.
The reason you are a social being is you are not a being that simply survives by consuming energy from plant life without the need to interact with other persons.
You need other people to learn from, to communicate with, and for personal development. Only through relationships with other people are you able to discover more about who you are.
You are designed to have relationships with other people. The truest words ever said are “no person is an island”.
Key No. 4
You are a physiological being.
The reason you are a physiological being is you have a metabolism that requires the processing and transforming of physical elements (i.e. food. water, air, sunlight) to survive.
You also need to physically utilize your bodily systems in order for you to be able to function. This is often referred to as “use it or lose it”.
Key No. 5
You are an economically orientated being.
The reason you have an economic orientation has to do with survival. This is because you live within a naturally hostile environment which has extremes of climatic conditions and the fact that you are a social and spiritual being.
An economy begins when two people decide to trade something. As soon as two people trade roles an economy has begun. Hunting and gathering societies are the primordial form of the more complex economies that constitute the twenty-first century.
For you to understand yourself you need to recognize the existence of these facets or areas of your life and then evaluate where you stand in relation to each one.
Once you know exactly where you stand in relation to each of these facets of your life, you are then able to discover and realize true happiness and the true riches of existence.
www.tencommandmentstoday.com
Monday, November 8, 2010
God Sanctions Lying
Ask any religious person and they will tell you that lying is wrong. I am not just talking about men lying with other men or a man lying with another man’s wife or a woman lying with a beast or anything like that. I am talking about telling untruths, deceiving people, telling lies.
The book of Proverbs says that telling lies is one of the six things God hates. Jesus said that telling lies defiles a person. Paul the Apostle says that liars cannot enter the kingdom of God. The book of Revelation states liars are to be thrown into the eternal lake of fire, along with the Devil, whom Jesus said was a liar from the beginning.
Yet the prostitute Rahab, who happens to be an ancestor of Jesus Christ mentioned in his family tree in the book of Matthew, chapter one, is sanctioned by James, the brother of Jesus, as a virtuous woman for telling lies. She also is upheld as an example of how to be virtuous in the book of Hebrews.
This contradiction makes it difficult to defend the Bible as a book inspired by God, especially when the ninth commandment of the Decalogue states that to tell lies is a sin.
For instance, Dwight L. Moody, a respected preacher writes concerning the ninth commandment:
The Bible, however, seems to contradict what many people say in and out of the pulpit.
What did Rahab do?
It is quite clear that Rahab lied in order to deceive her countrymen. Yet, according to the writer of Hebrews and the writer of the book of James, in this instance, telling lies was an act of faith.
Hebrews 11:31: By faith Rahab the prostitute did not perish with those who were disobedient, because she had given a friendly welcome to the spies.
James 2:24-25: You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone. And in the same way was not also Rahab the prostitute justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way?
Evidently, telling lies to deceive people is okay if it is an act of faith. Besides, the ninth commandment is not “you shall not lie” rather, “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor”.
Proverbs 6:16 -19 distinguishes between “a lying tongue” and “a false witness who breathes out lies” as two distinct phenomena out of the six things God hates.
There is a significant difference between lying and bearing false witness against somebody.
To bear false witness against someone means telling a lie to unjustly accuse an innocent person.
To tell a lie that prevents people from suffering unnecessarily, however, is not the same as lying to deceive somebody for personal gain.
While the Bible states that God is not a liar and no lies originate from him, the case of Rahab requires some more thought from those who reject the idea that God would never sanction somebody who tells lies. Evidently, it appears that telling lies and being a liar are two different things, which is largely a matter of the heart.
www.tencommandmentstoday.com
The book of Proverbs says that telling lies is one of the six things God hates. Jesus said that telling lies defiles a person. Paul the Apostle says that liars cannot enter the kingdom of God. The book of Revelation states liars are to be thrown into the eternal lake of fire, along with the Devil, whom Jesus said was a liar from the beginning.
Yet the prostitute Rahab, who happens to be an ancestor of Jesus Christ mentioned in his family tree in the book of Matthew, chapter one, is sanctioned by James, the brother of Jesus, as a virtuous woman for telling lies. She also is upheld as an example of how to be virtuous in the book of Hebrews.
This contradiction makes it difficult to defend the Bible as a book inspired by God, especially when the ninth commandment of the Decalogue states that to tell lies is a sin.
For instance, Dwight L. Moody, a respected preacher writes concerning the ninth commandment:
We have got nowadays so that we divide lies into white lies and black lies, society lies, business lies, etc. The Word of God knows no such letting-down of the standard. A lie is a lie, no matter what are the circumstances under which it is uttered, or by whom.
The Bible, however, seems to contradict what many people say in and out of the pulpit.
What did Rahab do?
Joshua the son of Nun sent two men secretly from Shittim as spies, saying, “Go, view the land, especially Jericho.” And they went and came into the house of a prostitute whose name was Rahab and lodged there. And it was told to the king of Jericho, “Behold, men of Israel have come here tonight to search out the land.” Then the king of Jericho sent to Rahab, saying, “Bring out the men who have come to you, who entered your house, for they have come to search out all the land.” But the woman had taken the two men and hidden them. And she said, “True, the men came to me, but I did not know where they were from. And when the gate was about to be closed at dark, the men went out. I do not know where the men went. Pursue them quickly, for you will overtake them.” But she had brought them up to the roof and hid them with the stalks of flax that she had laid in order on the roof. So the men pursued after them on the way to the Jordan as far as the fords. And the gate was shut as soon as the pursuers had gone out (Jos. 2:1-7 ESV).
It is quite clear that Rahab lied in order to deceive her countrymen. Yet, according to the writer of Hebrews and the writer of the book of James, in this instance, telling lies was an act of faith.
Hebrews 11:31: By faith Rahab the prostitute did not perish with those who were disobedient, because she had given a friendly welcome to the spies.
James 2:24-25: You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone. And in the same way was not also Rahab the prostitute justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way?
Evidently, telling lies to deceive people is okay if it is an act of faith. Besides, the ninth commandment is not “you shall not lie” rather, “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor”.
Proverbs 6:16 -19 distinguishes between “a lying tongue” and “a false witness who breathes out lies” as two distinct phenomena out of the six things God hates.
There is a significant difference between lying and bearing false witness against somebody.
To bear false witness against someone means telling a lie to unjustly accuse an innocent person.
To tell a lie that prevents people from suffering unnecessarily, however, is not the same as lying to deceive somebody for personal gain.
While the Bible states that God is not a liar and no lies originate from him, the case of Rahab requires some more thought from those who reject the idea that God would never sanction somebody who tells lies. Evidently, it appears that telling lies and being a liar are two different things, which is largely a matter of the heart.
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