[Harp-L] Raconteur: A POLITE WORD FOR LIAR

[Dennis Michael Montgomery]

 Just because we all may have certain degrees to lying doesn't mean we should any more than we should cheat on our taxes or drink too much.

As for comedians that is a different scenario. I expect them to exaggerate. The difference is I and they know they are not telling the truth.  So the lies they tell are not to deceive but to entertain or to make a point or an observation.
In the case of Rahab there may be a thing called 'a noble cause', but I won't swear to it for God may have a different view. My other reason for not going gun ho on 'a noble cause' is (and I wish I didn't need to bring  them into this conversation) is because the Nazis believe they were promoting 'a noble cause'  by lying about the Jews and other minorities.
The key words to Exodus 20:16  ... not bear false witness against thy neighbour. 


    On Thursday, November 8, 2018, 11:26:57 AM MST, The Iceman via Harp-L <harp-l at xxxxx> wrote:  
 
 


Social Justice Warrior stuff really turns me off....


I file this under "Come on - get real! Everyone lies to different degrees. It's part of the human experience. Who will be the arbiter of degree of lying? You?".


It's very easy to pick apart one sentence and point a finger and say "SEE"!

I've sat and had lunch with Larry Adler. He was a very entertaining guy. Tall tales do not a liar make, IMO.


-----Original Message-----
From: Joshua Anderson <joshua.caleb.anderson at xxxxx>
To: Harp-L List <harp-l at xxxxx>
Sent: Thu, Nov 8, 2018 9:04 am
Subject: Re: [Harp-L] Raconteur: A POLITE WORD FOR LIAR

"*when a person knows the truth and deliberately gives a different account
to make him/herself look good, gain an advantage or to protect her/himself
from unwanted consequences that person is a straight-out liar and needs to
be thought of in low regard. *

*By the way, there is a commandment concerning this: Exo 20:16  Thou shalt
not bear false witness against thy neighbour.  KJV*"

*Let me just play the other side for a minute*... that verse says "against
thy neighbor". It doesn't say "thou shalt only ever tell the straight
truth" or "thou shalt only tell verifiably historical stories".

Are comedians liars if they embellish truths or skew reality to entertain?
That's gaining a financial advantage over the audience and making
him/herself look good. Rahab told the Jericho authorities that "the men who
came to me slipped out the gate; go catch them!" But she had hidden them
under her roof (Joshua 2:5-6). Countless Jews were saved through deception
explicitly designed to "gain an advantage or to protect... from unwanted
consequences" as you say.

Essentially... *is all lying equal? *Does recontextualizing the *"You'll do
it until you get it right!"* experience for himself make Adler a liar? Did
Reagan making it about "a young fellow in our business" (
https://archive.org/details/RonaldReagan-EncroachingControl) make him a
liar of equal caliber?

Just food for thought.

J. Anderson