Tell the truth.
My dad told this to me as a boy and he was justified, because as far as I know, my dad has never told a lie.
The rest of us are not so blessed. Most of us develop convenient memories or mess up at some point under pressure. The goal is not to be perfect, but to tell the truth best we can. When we see we have not told the truth, or our willful lie is exposed, then we need to say so: quickly, immediately, and openly.
Let’s take a common lie that I have run into in academia: claiming degrees you did not earn or implying that you went to prestigious schools when you did not. To give just one example, a 1988 presidential candidate talked about attending a premiere English school for graduate studies. He did, sort of. He went to a summer art program that was not graduate level. Another candidate has a spouse who keeps claiming a degree that she did not earn.
It would be nice to say that this does not happen in Christian circles, but this cycle has revealed that a Christian author published a book with substantial plagiarism. In other cases, ghost writers put together manuscripts that “authors” hardly see until the end. I know of a case where a person did not watch the movie he or she reviewed or read the book he/she commented on, though his or her ghost writer had. God save us from the Christian “intellectual” who has “research assistants” who have actually read the papers and understand the work while they reap the credit and the rewards.
Lying is a sin. Of course, “withholding evidence” from the Nazis (!) can be morally acceptable. If you are saving a life and do not (quite) tell all the information you should, then nobody should lose sleep over the “lie.” Christian ethicists even argue whether such a statement is a lie at all!
Let’s be clear: lying on your CV/resume, pretending you wrote things you did not, or engaging in puffery is not saving the lives of your Jewish neighbor.
When I point this out, things can get partisan fast, but there are two defenses for this kind of behavior that no Christian should use: “the everybody does it” excuse and the “it is not that important” lie.
Everybody does not, in fact, do it. William Lane Craig does his own work. Sitting in on a class at Biola University where he teaches once told me this must be true. I asked him about a particular philosophic objection and he answered quickly and concisely. He knows his stuff and any research help he might get is legit.
Second, even if we live in such decadent times that everyone does do it: they should not. Christians aspire to live in the world as it should be, not as it is.
Third, there is a scale to error. If a man makes a mistake, but it is not part of a pattern, then being overly harsh about it is wrong headed. We should judge by the standard by which we wish to be judged.
This does not mean: no standard!
Instead, humans acknowledge we wish to tell the truth, but we do not always do so. The size of the error matters as does whether it is a life pattern.
When we make a mistake, we should own it and learn from it. For example, I once handed in a promotion application at Biola and said I wrote a book I edited. Now I had included the book, which said I edited it, and did not “intend” to deceive, but this was wrong. A senior faculty member (privately) rebuked me (editing and writing part of a book is not writing a book) and I corrected my mistake, though it is no fun to admit making mistakes.
I was wrong and my intention not to deceive might mitigate the problem, but does not remove it. This is (partly) because the puffery was in my favor. When I find this kind of error (as I often do), I act the same way as I was treated. If it is not a pattern, then the faculty member just needs to “get it right.”
We don’t ask for perfection, but basic decency and our goal is always to tell the truth. If we repent, then we can be forgiven. If a person is not sorry, then he cannot be forgiven!
A lifestyle of lying about degrees, especially with benefits, plagiarism or puffery is more serious. Multiple offenses are worse. Nobody who writes a highly detailed book gets every detail right (see the errata page or the second edition!), but every person should strive to get the fact right.
Are errors that important? I hope my error is not indicative of my life and my peers did not think so at the time. (I got the promotion after I corrected the error . . . and many times since! Thank God!) However, there are errors that are more serious. These are errors that are part of a pattern or where the person making them will not repent.
David Barton is a problem (to give just one extreme example), because he makes many errors and refuses to correct them when they are pointed out to him. He also puffs his resume. You can read Warren Throckmorton for more details and other examples. Facts are not negotiable!
Sadly, Barton is not the only one or the best known example. Imagine a dissertation that is plagiarized or someone who gets “writing help” on the final project of a degree. It happens.
Lord, have mercy on me. Let’s all strive to be accurate. Let’s try to tell the truth and repent when we make mistakes. Let’s not make excuses.
I am trying to live up to your example, Dad.
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In