In Exodus 1 we are confronted with two midwives, Shiphrah and Puah, lying to Pharaoh about why they have not killed the baby boys he ordered them to kill. This raises the question ‘is it OK to lie sometimes’? The scenario often posed is of German Christians who were hiding Jews in WWII. When the Nazis came looking, should the Christians have lied to the Nazis about hiding Jews?
The Bible is clear that God does not lie (1 Sam 15:29; Tit 1:2). Yet a being of infinite power has no need to lie. If the Nazis came knocking on God’s door, he would simply smite them.
Some would say that because God ‘detests lying lips’ (Prov 12:22), the German Christians should have told the truth and trusted in God to protect them. Stories would circulate of Christians telling the Nazis there were Jews under the kitchen table, which was the truth (they were hiding under the floor under the table); but the Nazis didn’t believe them and left.
Yet God has put humans on earth to administer justice and look after those who can’t look after themselves. When confronted with immense evil, Christians are called to ‘retrieve’ as much good as they can; known as a ‘retrieval ethic’. If a regime is killing innocent people, God’s people are called to retrieve as much good from that situation as they can; which means protecting the innocent. The Nazis’ wickedness meant they no longer deserved the truth; as did Pharaoh as well.
We are told that God blessed the midwives for protecting the Hebrew babies. While lying is something Christians should strongly avoid; this passage makes it difficult to be Pharisaic about it; for God blessed the midwives for lying.
Brendan McLaughlin
