Weekend Reads: Our words and God's Word

Lying and Christian Ethics

By Christopher O. Tollefsen

Not every philosophy book is dedicated to the author’s wife and nine children, but Christopher Tollefsen is not shy about where his loyalties lie. A philosophy professor at the University of South Carolina and a committed Roman Catholic, he argues in Lying and Christian Ethics (Cambridge University Press, 2014) that lying is always wrong.

By “lie” Tollefsen means an assertion (a statement one intends to be taken as true) that is contrary to the speaker’s mind. This definition diverges radically from Hugo Grotius’ redefinition of a lie as a false assertion “to someone with a right to the truth,” because on Grotius’ account, the same utterance can be a lie and not a lie at the same time. But on Tollefsen’s account, it is not some “right to the truth” but rather the contrariety to the speaker’s mind, which makes a lie wrong. For, in asserting something one does not believe to be true, one damages his personal integrity and attacks the conditions that make society possible. Now, personal integrity and society are both good things, and something that necessarily attacks a good is something that must never be done. Further, lying attacks the goods of truth and religion.

To make his case, Tollefsen relies heavily on the arguments of Augustine and Thomas Aquinas. He also interacts with three Christian thinkers who seem to endorse lying, or at least argue that in this fallen world, one can be thrust into a situation where one is obligated to lie. These thinkers—John Cassian, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, and Reinhold Niebuhr—still seem to indicate that lying is something to be repented of. They simply argue that it is a choice the responsible Christian sometimes has to make. Tollefsen respects these accounts, but disagrees.

Lying and Christian Ethics (a pricy little volume that’s part of Cambridge’s New Studies in Christian Ethics series) is heavily philosophical but deeply rewarding for those who like to chew analytical meat.

From the Mouth of God: Trusting, Reading, and Applying the Bible

By Sinclair B. Ferguson

Sinclair Ferguson’s book is not a systematic exposition of the doctrine of Scripture but rather a practical guide to benefiting from Scripture. From the Mouth of God: Trusting, Reading, and Applying the Bible (Banner of Truth, 2014) is a popular-level explanation of the three practices in its subtitle. Ferguson, a conservative Presbyterian minister in Scotland, has a lifetime of experience with each of these things, but he writes so that even beginners will be able to understand.

Why trust the Bible? Because Jesus did. He even referred to the Old Testament as words proceeding “from the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4). Further, He commissioned His apostles to write more of God’s words, thus giving the New Testament His authority as well. Holy Scripture is thus authoritative, sufficient, and final for glorifying and enjoying God. Rightly read, the Word will change you into the image of normalcy: “Being ‘normal’ as in ‘normal like Jesus.’”

Bible reading is not primarily a way to chart one’s spiritual condition. Rather, one ought to read with the goal of being able to recollect and reproduce the points made by the biblical author. How does one understand these points in the first place? By paying attention to context, the presence of Jesus, the overarching narrative of the Bible (beautifully summarized by Ferguson in terms of creation, fall, and redemption), and the logic whereby Scripture transitions from indicative to imperative.

The people who write about how to read the Bible learned by doing. So can you, says Ferguson. Read the entire Bible, read entire books in one sitting, and don’t be afraid to work and think hard.

For a treatment of Scripture that is lucid, orthodox, and primary-source oriented (i.e., never forgetting that you need the Bible more than books about the Bible!), look no further.