Rational Lies

The human ability to rationalize seems to know no limits. We appear able to justify any behavior or specific action when it suits us. When we feel backed into a moral corner, so to speak, we can suspend our normal apprehensions and personal boundaries and take action that – upon honest reflection – is hard to defend. It is evident that rationalization begins with a thought process, and if that process is flawed or based on the wrong things, that “train of thought” can run right off the rails.

Here is an example, horrible as it is. Many have been murdered “in the name of Christ.” (think Inquisition, Crusades, Holocaust, etc.) If you know the New Testament, you might have a hard time justifying murder. But what if someone could convince you through careful argument that the victim was not really human, or that they were somehow worthy of death? Then it wouldn’t look so much like murder. In fact, it might even look like a mercy killing!

Through a logical-sounding argument, we can begin to accept a lie as truth. If that argument agrees with our bias, we are less likely to scrutinize its validity. What can we do then? How can you know if you are rationalizing evil? When your thinking contradicts the sound teaching of both conscience and the Bible.

In this example of murder, the Bible is very clear for those who actually want to know the truth. In it we find that Jesus never killed or injured anyone, and that when someone was almost killed in His Name (the servant whose ear was cut off by Peter) Jesus rebuked the offender and healed the injury on the spot. None of the Apostles were ever authorized or encouraged to kill anyone, even though they themselves were pursued and eventually murdered. If we know all this, how can we justify killing in Jesus’ Name?

The Bible says that we can deceive ourselves into believing things that are completely wrong. It is bad enough that we have a spiritual enemy engaged to deceive us, but it seems worse that we can do this to ourselves! Dishonesty with oneself, willful ignorance, a rejection of conscience. All of these put us in the realm of deception, and some people never escape from it. The best safeguard is to be both a listener and a doer of the truth recorded in the Bible. Knowing and acting on this truth will make you a very discerning person, like an Umpire, able to correctly call it as it is. You will be able to decide correctly when you humbly ask questions like, “does this action glorify God or demonstrate love for God or mankind?” You won’t need a convoluted argument to justify something. Your call will be a simple “yes” or “no.”
(1 Corinthians 3:18, 1 Corinthians 6:9-11, Matthew 24:24, Matthew 26:50-54, Luke 22:49-51, James 1:22-27)