Lie and Covet (Way of the Master)

Lie and Covet is the title of the thirteenth episode from season one of The Way of the Master.

The Prologue is not included in this review (yet) making it difficult to provide an accurate timing of the speeches. Therefore, the time lines will not be included in this review and will focus on addressing WOTM's faulty arguments. Reminder, every speech is in order.

Episode Walkthrough

The Intro to this program shows Ray and Kirk talking about Christianity and salvation.

• Kirk "this is a program designed to teach you as a Christian how to share your faith effectively, biblicaly, the way Jesus did. If you are like us, you have people in your family who don't know the Lord, and you are not sure how to share your faith with them, or maybe you are afraid of looking like a fool. You do not want someone trying to think you are trying to push their religion on them. Well, that is what we are here, to teach you how to talk about things of God in a way that is going to make sense to people and help them see why they should become a Christian. One of the things we talk about on our program is the principle of biblical evangelism. Using the law, the Ten Commandments, to bring the knowledge of sin (the way that Jesus did throughout the gospels). And as we have been doing this, we have been receiving emails on our website. And one of them I want to read to you really highlights how powerful the Commandments are to help a person see why they need Jesus Christ."

The only way that these two can present Christianity to others that made sense is to distort several facts and rely on numerous fallacies.

I always thought I was a Christian...for 10 years! Then on June 9, 2003, I saw my transgression of the Law and realized I had never repented of my sins. i got down on my knees in my bathroom, crying, asking for forgiveness, and for him to come into my life.

Ever since then, "sin has become exceedingly sinful" to me and I have a whole new walk with Christ.

Due to WOTM deceptive and misleading track history, messages and emails such as these should be taken with a grain of salt. While it does not provide a name or any personal details, the story is too general and not fully shown (note the ... in the first sentence). Of course, what Ray and Kirk will not show is the emails from their critics (both secular and religious).

• Kirk "and this is so refreshing for us to hear this because often you will hear people making decisions for Christ, falling away sometime later, and then later realizing that they never understood their sin - therefore never fully able to repent and were never truly converted in the first place."

Here, Kirk invokes the No True Scotsman fallacy.

• Ray "So the function of God's law is to bring the knowledge of sin, it is to show sin to be exceedingly sinful - in other words, to show sin in its true light. And we often allude it to a mirror; when you look at a mirror, what it does is reflect our own truth, and that is the function of God's law: to reflect what we are in truth. And we are all an unclean thing, and all our righteous deeds are as filthy rags in the sight of God. Today, we are looking at the ninth and tenth Commandments. The Ninth Commandment is "You Shall Not Be a False Witness/You Shall Not Lie." Now when you say to someone "have you ever told a lie?" expect predictability. Mark my words, read my lips, this is what will happen: you will say "have you ever told a lie?" and they will say 'yes I told a lie or two." You will ask "what does that make you?" and you want them to say "liar." They will say: human, normal, just like everybody else (they show several street interviews where they give the responses Ray just listed). You see, the way to get around that is to get them to call someone who tells lies and liars is to say "well, what would you call me if I told a lie?" and guess what happens: they say 'liar.' (Again, showing more interview examples of this happening).

What people should answer to the "have you ever told a lie? What does that make you?" question is "what does that make me? Ray Comfort."

Many Christian apologists and evangelicals interpret this commandment as "Thou Shall not Lie" to forbid all lying. To them, lying in order to save another person, or lying about your lovers new shoes, is just as criminal in the eyes of God and the Bible as committing perjury or Richard Nixon lying about Watergate.

Here we shall explain why this is not the case and lying is not forbidden anywhere in the 10 Commandments. The Ninth Commandment is very specific charge, not regarding something as broad as lying overall. Bearing false witness against thy neighbor, you can misrepresent another person without technically lying, or you can tell a lie without misrepresenting another person. However, it is more specific than misrepresentation. The Hebrew word to focus on here is "Eid"

• From the Jewish Study Bible regarding this specific commandment, we read "Bearing false witness against thy neighbor. This covers both false accusation and false testimony in court. False accusation is a means of deprive ones follow of what belongs to him as when the accuser falsely claims ownership of something of anothers possession and the accused cannot disprove it. The penalty for false testimony is described in Duet. 19:16-21."
• From the Oxford Bible Commentary, "This is concerned with a testimony in the courts. In Israelite courts, the witness was inn fact a prosecutor as there was no state prosecution system. False accusation could put ones life, not merely ones reputation, in danger (see 1 Kings 21, Duet. 19:15-21).
• From the Hebrew Dictionary, the word "Eid" - "the various interpretations of the word eid and how they are impounded can mean: witness, defense witness, state witness, state' evidence, eye witness, false witness, perjurer, hearsay witness, prosecution witness, female witness." So it has a very specific context, not just lying.

Duet. 19:15-21 - One witness shall not rise up against a man for any iniquity, or for any sin, in any sin that he sinneth: at the mouth of two witnesses, or at the mouth of three witnesses, shall the matter be established. If a false witness rise up against any man to testify against him that which is wrong; Then both the men, between whom the controversy is, shall stand before the LORD, before the priests and the judges, which shall be in those days; And the judges shall make diligent inquisition: and, behold, if the witness be a false witness, and hath testified falsely against his brother; Then shall ye do unto him, as he had thought to have done unto his brother: so shalt thou put the evil away from among you. And those which remain shall hear, and fear, and shall henceforth commit no more any such evil among you. And thine eye shall not pity; but life shall go for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.

Are there any liars in the Bible? Most definitely there are liars in the Bible. Lets look at Abraham. Genesis 12:10 and onward tells a story of Abraham lying about his wife Sarah (claiming she is his sister) to avoid punishment from the Egyptians. When the truth is later revealed (right after the Pharaoh married Sarah) the Pharaoh asks Abraham "why did you lie to me? Why tell me she was your sister? If I knew of your relationship and she already belonged to another man, I would not have married her." The Pharaoh gets punished, Abraham gets rich, and then the Pharaoh tells Abraham and Sarah "Get out of here!" Abraham goes unpunished for this lie. Abraham lied, and yet was rewarded.

Another liar is the brother of Joseph. Joseph is the most beloved of all the brothers and the brothers hate him for it, so they conspire to kill him (Genesis 37) but they settle for something else. Joseph ends up being sold to slave traders. The brothers tell their father that Joseph was eaten by an animal (they lied). Joseph becomes employed by the Pharaoh, warns the Pharaoh a famine is coming, and when it does the hungry come to Egypt because it was prepared for the famine. Among the hungry was Joseph's family. When the father discovered that Joseph is alive, what was the punishment for Joseph's brothers? Nothing. Who are the brothers? Ruben, Benjamin, Judah...as in the forefathers of the 12 tribes of Israel. Yes, the forefathers of Israel were a bunch of liars who conspired to murder their own brother.

But these examples came before the 10 Commandments, so lets hop ahead after the 10 Commandments. Joshua chapter 2 tells a story of Joshua telling two men to go to Jericho, to the house of Rahab (not the same Rahab from Isaiah and Psalms). When the King of Jericho demands that Rahab reveal the men who came to her house, but Rahab hid the men and lied of their whereabouts. What is her punishment for this lie? None. What does the rest of the Bible have to say about these lies? Jump to Hebrews 11:29-31 and James 2:22 and none of them condemn them or talk ill of Rahab, rather they praise her even though she was a liar.

It can also be argued that there are several books and epistles in the New Testament that are claimed to be written by Paul and Peter, but in fact they are the works for forgers lying about their identity. All forgers have a subconscious goal to deceive, that is the point of forgery. These forgeries include 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, Titus, Colossians, Ephesians, 2 Thessalonians, 1 peter and 2 Peter.

• Ray "See it is so easy to point the finger at someone else and find it difficult to see ourselves in truth, but we can see other people's sins very easily. Or they will say "do you mean to tell me, that if some lady comes to me and she is wearing a really ugly hat and she says to me 'Do you like my hat?' that I can't tell her the truth and say its a nice hat and don't lie?" Well, there is a difference between discretion and bearing false witness and God knows the difference and we do deep down. You know Jesus said something very interesting to those in his time that justified themselves and sought to cover their sins. He said this: You are they who justify themselves before men, that God knows your hearts, for that which is highly thought of by man is an abomination in the sight of God. Another illustration that brings this into perspective, and that is this: God's law demands perfection, the Bible says the Law of the Lord is perfect, God himself is perfect, and we have to face a perfect law on the Day of Judgment. The law of God demands perfection in thought, word, and deed and moral perfection. Imagine if we were able to be perfect except for three times per day. So three times today, we slipped up and had an imperfect thought (that is we lusted after somebody or we failed to do something that we should towards our neighbor) just 3 sins a day, in one year that's a thousand sins, and in 20 years that's 20,000 sins that God knows about, and because of his justice he must bring to Judgment."

Ray Comfort, who holds huge moral absolutes, even finds gray areas such as this. Right here, he admits that lying is okay, a long as it is about things like discretion. Ray also says if we know it deep down, then we know we are right. Well, that means a lot more can fly if you deeply feel that you did no wrong.

• Kirk "Here it is, the ninth Commandment demands that we tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. Because God is a god of truth, and his law demands that we have complete honesty from the heart. But the Bible tells us that the human heart is deceitful above all things. Does that sound to harsh? Well, it has been well said that taking the easy path is what makes rivers and men crooked. And we know that is true. Water will take the path of least resistance, its what makes it crooked. And the same with people. People will often do whatever it takes to take an easy route, even if it means lying. Listen to this quote. Ah, 20,000 middle-schoolers and high schoolers were polled by a reputable firm, and they learned that 92% of teenagers admitted to lying to their parents in the previous year, and 73% characterized themselves as "serial liars" meaning they told lies weekly. Despite these admissions, 91% of all respondents said they were 'satisfied with my own character' (Source: Readers Digest, November 1999)

"the ninth Commandment demands that we tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth." Kirk just contradicted Ray Comfort. According to Ray, it is okay to not tell the truth about an ugly hat, but Kirk says that you must tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth. So already, we can tell that neither of these two know what they are talking about.

What is so bad about water taking the easy path. It does not think, nature does not tell it that is wrong. Men, throughout history, has taken many easy paths as well as endured hard trials. So it is not as crooked as Kirk tries to portray.

As for the 20,000 students and lying, it is a bit outdated, but how can we know that they were either lying or being discrete? Likely not all of them , but how can one tell, especially when ray Comfort admitted that certain lying is permissible - he has not shard yet what else could be permissible (of course, society does not need Comfort's permission to determine what is permissible). Perhaps the students lied to their parents about crushes they wished to remain secret.

Street Interviews: One 2 one

Fist interview is Ray interviewing a couple, asking them if they had ever told a lie (yes) and then if they could think of a scenario that justified lying? The female said that white lies, or lies that made people feel better, and if the outcomes are positive. Ray then says "what about big BLACK lies? Could there be any justification for those?" The lady does not know, but the male says that all lies are terrible (but he does it all the time). They both agree bout lying to their parents, but it does no really matter because it does not make a difference in the coming years.

Ray said nothing about the ethics of white lies. He is only focused on the bad things of lying, and from that concluding ALL lying is immoral.

• Ray "You know, Kirk, this is what happens to a nation that forsakes God's law. They become a law unto themselves, they choose their own standard. Paul spoke of the Jews doing that in his day. He said 'they go about to establish their own righteousness, being ignorant of the righteousness of God.' And this is why we must thunder out that law. We must make the law put the fear of God into the hearts of sinners to realize that God's standard is of holiness, righteousness, justice, and truth. The Scriptures say he who covers his sins shall not prosper, but whoever confesses ad forsakes their sins shall have mercy. The day will come when Go will uncover the sins of every single one of us, every idol word we spoke and we have to give an account for on the Day of Judgment. Revelation 21:8 tells us all liars will have their part inn the lake of fire. You know Kirk, that is one of the most horrifying Bible verses, and it grieves my heart because all Scripture must be fulfilled. That will happen, all liars will have their part in the lake of fire, and who of us has not told a lie? We should be horrified and grieved and run to sinners and warn them to flee from the wrath that there is to come."

The United States never established the 10 Commandments or the Bible as the basis for its laws. The only connection is that the United States has laws against murder and thievery. However, there is nothing in U.S. law that says "I am the Lord thy God, thou shall have no other god before me." That would establish one religion above the others, and the U.S. is entirely secular and gives people the freedom to worship whichever religion they wish.

• Kirk "Again, the reason we are focusing on these Commandments is because it is imperative that we use them, not just as a code of morality for our selves as Christians, but as tools to reach the lost. Each of those Commandments is like a mirror that shows a non-Christian their desperate need of God's forgiveness. Lying, stealing, adultery, lust is sinful in the eyes of God, an that will lead them to the Cross where they will find mercy."

The 10 Commandments are a very poor moral code, but more on that in a second. Lying is not sinful in the eyes of God, lying isn't forbidden anywhere in the Commandments (just in court). The Commandments say nothing about rape, child abuse, slavery, torture, right to privacy, etc.

Jump to another interview, Kirk interviews a 19-year-old lady named Rosa, telling her the Ninth Commandment is "You Shall no Bear False Witness/You Shall Not Lie" and asks her if she ever told a lie? She says many times (guessing innumerable). Next, Kirk takes her down the are you a good person? routine and finds her guilt on all charges. She says most of those thins she is guilty of his human nature, but Kirk asks does she know it is wrong to lie? Kirk says he is trying to get to the heart of morality and what it means to be a good person. Kirk hen talks about the conscience, which tells her that lying is wrong. Then Kirk, not wanting to go deeper into discovering more about morality, delves into Scripture and tells Rosa that she has broken the law and needs to seek forgiveness in Jesus Christ.

Kirk is just as interested in learning and discovering the "heart of morality" as he is learning about evolution and science: he simply does not care. Ray Comfort is no exception. All they really care about is getting more converts, not trying to make people more moral beings. Rather, they want more gullible followers that fit their narrow worldviews, and they do that by feeding on fear (which they freely admit) and ignorance (and often lies - both intentional and unintentional).

Questions and Objections

• Ray "what is repentance? Well, some would say it is not a matter of turning from your sin, it is about changing you mind or confessing your sins to God. But the Bible says 'whoever covers their sins shall not prosper, but whoever forsakes them shall have mercy.' True biblical repentance is a matter of acknowledging your sins and turning from them to God."

Kirk "The Tenth Commandment is 'Thou Shall Not Covet' or 'You shall not desire those things that belong to other people.' You know, covet is probably one of the most subtle-less of all sins, because compared to things like theft and adultery and rape, it seems pretty trivial. But if you think about it, before a man steals, he covet- he wants that thing he does not have. Before he commits adultery or he rapes, he covets that woman. And that is what covetous is, it is like the spark that lights the fuse to sin. And you don't have to dig very deep to find it in each one of us. Even in little children, when you give a little child a bag of popcorn, he's all excited, then you give the child next to him a bigger bag of popcorn, he is going to say 'hey, why did you give him a bigger bag than me?!' I mean, even my own children. If I gave my son a hundred pieces of candy, he'd be thrilled. But if I gave his sister a hundred and one pieces of candy, he would say 'hey dad, what is the deal!? Why did she get more than I did? I want another piece.' It is just human nature. Not just in children, but in adults too."

First of all: RAPE IS NOT IN THE COMMANDMENTS. Kirk just pulled that out of his rear. And be fair, it is not just men who commit these acts.

First, lets explain why this Commandment is actually a terrible commandment. "Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour's." First of all, coveting keeps the economy going. Capitalism is the basis for the U.S. economy. The idea that "I shouldn't want the nice things my neighbor has," if actually followed, would probably cause the collapse of the entire U.S. economy. It is absurd to pretend that this commandment even remotely applies to the U.S. system of laws. Also, "Wife" is listed among property. Modern societies tend not to accept this view anymore. Slaves are listed among property. Slavery is no longer officially sanctioned anywhere in the world.

• Ray "and covet gives birth to greed and jealousy also.

The Way of the Master
Season One Episodes: 1. The Firefighter   2. The Mirror of the Ten Commandments   3. The Motive of the Sinner   4. The Summary of Salvation   5. Practice What You Preach   6. Idolatry—The Darling Sin of Humanity   7. The Beauty of a Broken Spirit—Atheism   8. WDJD?   9. Blasphemy, Sabbath, Parents   10. Murder   11. Adultery   12. Theft   13. Lie and Covet
Season Two Episodes: 1. God's Wonderful Plan   2. Conscience   3. Alcatraz, Al Capone, Alcohol   4. True and False Conversion   5. When Things Go Wrong   6. The Satanic Influence   7. How to Witness to Someone Who's Homosexual/Gay   8. Evolution   9. How to Witness to a Loved One   10. The Fear of God   11. Ice Breakers—Gospel Tracts   12. The Greatest Gamble  13. How to Get on Fire for God
Season Three Episodes: 1. Battle for the Lost   2. Where Has the Passion Gone?   3. Joe Average   4. Caught in a Lie   5. The Divine Butler   6. Why Christianity?   7. Jehovah's Witness   8. Mormonism   9. Are You A Genius?   10. Last Words of the Rich and Famous   11. How to Find God's Will   12. What Scares You   13. Hollywood Be Thy Name
Cast
Ray Comfort — Kirk Cameron

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