Hillary, Bonhoeffer, and the Meaning of Truth By Miguel Guanipa

On his seminal work on Ethics the German theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote that "it is worse for a liar to tell the truth than for a lover of truth to tell a lie."

At first glance, coming from a brilliant mind such as Bonhoeffer’s, this conclusion would seem a worrisome contradiction. Generally, the act of speaking the truth, from a person whose natural inclination is to lie, should be viewed as a positive and a hopeful trend in that person’s character development; a turn in the right direction; whereas a lie coming from the mouth of a person whom we have come to rely on by virtue of their fairly unblemished record of honesty, is rightfully viewed as a form of treason.

Bonhoeffer goes on to unfold his thesis by stating that a “falling away is worse than a falling down”. In other words, when a person who regularly speaks the truth utters a lie, he is merely suffering from a temporary lapse of judgment. In all likelihood he will be tempted and have recurrent lapses like these throughout his life; but the general direction in which he conducts his life will be one disposed towards honesty; he has merely “fallen down”.

Full Article ...

Sphere: Related Content