THE NINTH COMMANDMENT

philosophers who agree entirely on the answer. Some argue that God’s Word requires truth in all circumstances. Others insist that the Lord permits some dissembling, but often fail to agree on when such deception is permissible. The issue is not an easy one, and great minds stand on all sides of the question. In an attempt to add one more dissenting voice to the cacophony, this paper will briefly examine some of the critical biblical texts that have historically served as the flashpoints of the debate. The Reformed tradition has generally handled the question of lying under the heading of the ninth commandment: “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.”i In deference to this great tradition, it seems fitting to begin the present discussion here, and then to proceed to an initial defense of truth telling in general, and finally to a defense of lying in limited circumstances