Lying: thoughts on 'deceivers yet true'

Lying

I wish we could get away from labeling TF with the 'deceivers yet true' verse because they are anything but true. That verse, IMO, means that when, like Christ was or the apostles were, one is actually telling the truth yet is accused of being false that during such times we continue to prove ourselves ministers of God and not be a stumbling-block (an offence) to the grace of God. From the first verse of this chapter (2 Cor.6) it begins "We then, as workers together with him, beseech you also that ye receive not the grace of God in vain (fruitlessly or foolishly)." Then at verse three it reads: "Giving no offence (stumbling-block) in any thing, that the ministry be not blamed:" and finally the list of attributes of a true minister of God. It reads: "4 But in all things approving (in this case meaning to prove or attest) ourselves as the ministers of God, in much patience..." and the list continues to the eighth verse were the infamous quote is "...as deceivers and yet true." So, even though one is accused of being a deceiver he/ she is NOT in fact so.

The way TF used it and now the way many others use it in labeling them plays into the hands of their (TF) twisted doctrine that it's OK to be a deceiver to the world yet really true to the word of God. They're saying that it's OK to lie and trick others as long as we are being faithful to our beliefs. This is the spirit of lying that we, as former members, have to cast off and expose. I have used this cover for years in so many little ways; justifying lying and deceiving and even placing this burden on my children's shoulders. What a heavy weight for a child to carry. The twisting of this verse brought in a spirit of lying and justifying deceit.

How about 'deceivers AND UNtrue'. Or maybe someone can coin a new phrase of some sort. Here's some ideas:


de·ceive

de·ceive (di-sev?) verb
de·ceived, de·ceiv·ing, de·ceives


verb, transitive

1.To cause to believe what is not true; mislead.
2.Archaic. To catch by guile; ensnare.

verb, intransitive
To practice deceit.

[Middle English deceiven, from Old French deceveir, from Vulgar Latin *decipere, from Latin decipere, to ensnare, deceive : de-, de- + capere, to seize.]

— de·ceiv?a·ble adjective
— de·ceiv?er noun
— de·ceiv?ing·ly adverb

Synonyms: deceive, betray, mislead, beguile, delude, dupe, hoodwink, bamboozle, double-cross. These verbs mean to lead another into error, danger, or a disadvantageous position, for the most part by underhand means. Deceive involves the deliberate concealment or the misrepresentation of the truth: “There is a moment of difficulty and danger at which flattery and falsehood can no longer deceive” (Letters of Junius). Betray implies faithlessness or treachery: “When you betray somebody else, you also betray yourself” (Isaac Bashevis Singer). Mislead means to lead in the wrong direction or into error of thought or action: “My manhood, long misled by wandering fires,/Followed false lights” (John Dryden). Beguile suggests deceiving or misleading by means of pleasant or alluring methods: They beguiled unwary investors with tales of overnight fortunes. To delude is to mislead to the point where a person is unable to tell truth from falsehood or to form sound judgments: The government deluded the public about the dangers of low-level radiation. Dupe means to delude by playing upon another's susceptibilities or naiveté: Gullible shoppers are easily duped by unscrupulous advertisers. Hoodwink refers to deluding by trickery: It is difficult to hoodwink a smart lawyer. Bamboozle less formally means to delude by the use of such tactics as hoaxing, befuddling, or artful persuasion: “Perhaps if I wanted to be understood or to understand I would bamboozle myself into belief, but I am a reporter” (Graham Greene). Double-cross implies the betrayal of a confidence or the willful breaking of a pledge: New members of the party felt they had been double-crossed by the old guard.

Excerpted from The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language.