To lie or not to lie

On a recent visit to the Mideast, Tracey McClure happened to meet a young couple from a small religious sect found in many Arab countries. While many Arabs would consider them Muslims, her new friends told her they weren’t Muslim at all – but the misunderstanding was fine by them if they could get on with their lives as they were used to doing. Listen to this program as Tracey tries to figure out a puzzling question: why would anyone give up their life for their faith?

TM: They belong to a secretive sect which has for centuries remained an enigma to outsiders – its creed and codes of conduct guardedly passed down from generation to generation only in the age of adulthood.

When I asked the young man to elaborate a little on his religious beliefs, he winked and grinning, he said “we lie about our faith all the time.”

What do you mean? I wondered, astounded by his frankness.

“You Catholics and Christians over the years have been so ready and willing to become martyrs for your faith,” he said. “We on the other hand,” he explained, “have been taught to lie about our faith in times of persecution – why be killed for your religion if you can live by simply saying you belong to another faith while you cross your fingers behind your back?” “What would have happened to our religion,” he reasoned, “if over the centuries we’d admitted we practiced it and were then killed because we refused to convert?”

I suppose one could argue he had a point -choosing the lesser of two evils: telling a fib vs the possible extinction of the faith. Perhaps he was lying to me even as he said this! But his comments made me think of all those early Christians martyred for their belief that Jesus Christ was Lord. Were they upholding an undeniable truth? Were they fools? Had they died in vain? From a handful, those first Christians now number billions.

At a time when it seems fewer and fewer Christians would be willing to put their lives on the line to defend their faith, I wonder what has happened to our defense of principle, human dignity and the vindication of truth? Surely these must be part of the equation?

Hear the story of one man, now a Saint, who thoroughly believed in the principles of his faith, a man who refused a lie that would have saved – literally - his head. Does he stand as a model for Christian witness today? I’ll let you decide as you listen to the full program: