The Nazi at the door scenario nobody likes to discuss<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"There's a knock at the door.\u00a0 The Nazi demands to know if you are hiding a priest.\u00a0 To save time, all you have do is tell him you deny Christ and he won't\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markshea\/2013\/08\/the-nazi-at-the-door-scenario-nobody-likes-to-discuss.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Nazi at the door scenario nobody likes to discuss\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"There's a knock at the door.\u00a0 The Nazi demands to know if you are hiding a priest.\u00a0 To save time, all you have do is tell him you deny Christ and he won't\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markshea\/2013\/08\/the-nazi-at-the-door-scenario-nobody-likes-to-discuss.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Catholic and Enjoying It!\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2013-08-27T18:17:50+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2014-12-30T05:17:08+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Mark Shea\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Mark Shea\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markshea\/2013\/08\/the-nazi-at-the-door-scenario-nobody-likes-to-discuss.html\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markshea\/2013\/08\/the-nazi-at-the-door-scenario-nobody-likes-to-discuss.html\",\"name\":\"The Nazi at the door scenario nobody likes to discuss\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markshea\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2013-08-27T18:17:50+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2014-12-30T05:17:08+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markshea\/#\/schema\/person\/c1a9ac1e557d3c626974fd6692818ad5\"},\"description\":\"There's a knock at the door.\u00a0 The Nazi demands to know if you are hiding a priest.\u00a0 To save time, all you have do is tell him you deny Christ and he won't\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markshea\/2013\/08\/the-nazi-at-the-door-scenario-nobody-likes-to-discuss.html#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markshea\/2013\/08\/the-nazi-at-the-door-scenario-nobody-likes-to-discuss.html\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markshea\/2013\/08\/the-nazi-at-the-door-scenario-nobody-likes-to-discuss.html#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markshea\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"The Nazi at the door scenario nobody likes to discuss\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markshea\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markshea\/\",\"name\":\"Catholic and Enjoying It!\",\"description\":\"Mark Shea's Blog: So That No Thought of Mine, No Matter How Stupid, Should Ever Go Unpublished Again!\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markshea\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markshea\/#\/schema\/person\/c1a9ac1e557d3c626974fd6692818ad5\",\"name\":\"Mark Shea\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markshea\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f287911f45adc932ad24ddbae3597ed5?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f287911f45adc932ad24ddbae3597ed5?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Mark Shea\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markshea\/author\/markshea\"}]}<\/script>\n","yoast_head_json":{"title":"The Nazi at the door scenario nobody likes to discuss","description":"There's a knock at the door.\u00a0 The Nazi demands to know if you are hiding a priest.\u00a0 To save time, all you have do is tell him you deny Christ and he won't","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markshea\/2013\/08\/the-nazi-at-the-door-scenario-nobody-likes-to-discuss.html","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"The Nazi at the door scenario nobody likes to discuss","og_description":"There's a knock at the door.\u00a0 The Nazi demands to know if you are hiding a priest.\u00a0 To save time, all you have do is tell him you deny Christ and he won't","og_url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markshea\/2013\/08\/the-nazi-at-the-door-scenario-nobody-likes-to-discuss.html","og_site_name":"Catholic and Enjoying It!","article_published_time":"2013-08-27T18:17:50+00:00","article_modified_time":"2014-12-30T05:17:08+00:00","author":"Mark Shea","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Mark Shea","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markshea\/2013\/08\/the-nazi-at-the-door-scenario-nobody-likes-to-discuss.html","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markshea\/2013\/08\/the-nazi-at-the-door-scenario-nobody-likes-to-discuss.html","name":"The Nazi at the door scenario nobody likes to discuss","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markshea\/#website"},"datePublished":"2013-08-27T18:17:50+00:00","dateModified":"2014-12-30T05:17:08+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markshea\/#\/schema\/person\/c1a9ac1e557d3c626974fd6692818ad5"},"description":"There's a knock at the door.\u00a0 The Nazi demands to know if you are hiding a priest.\u00a0 To save time, all you have do is tell him you deny Christ and he won't","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markshea\/2013\/08\/the-nazi-at-the-door-scenario-nobody-likes-to-discuss.html#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markshea\/2013\/08\/the-nazi-at-the-door-scenario-nobody-likes-to-discuss.html"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markshea\/2013\/08\/the-nazi-at-the-door-scenario-nobody-likes-to-discuss.html#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markshea"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"The Nazi at the door scenario nobody likes to discuss"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markshea\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markshea\/","name":"Catholic and Enjoying It!","description":"Mark Shea's Blog: So That No Thought of Mine, No Matter How Stupid, Should Ever Go Unpublished Again!","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markshea\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markshea\/#\/schema\/person\/c1a9ac1e557d3c626974fd6692818ad5","name":"Mark Shea","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markshea\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f287911f45adc932ad24ddbae3597ed5?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f287911f45adc932ad24ddbae3597ed5?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Mark Shea"},"url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markshea\/author\/markshea"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markshea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47014","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markshea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markshea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markshea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/92"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markshea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=47014"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markshea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47014\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markshea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=47014"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markshea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=47014"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markshea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=47014"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}

{"id":47014,"date":"2013-08-27T11:17:50","date_gmt":"2013-08-27T18:17:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markshea\/?p=47014"},"modified":"2014-12-29T22:17:08","modified_gmt":"2014-12-30T05:17:08","slug":"the-nazi-at-the-door-scenario-nobody-likes-to-discuss","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markshea\/2013\/08\/the-nazi-at-the-door-scenario-nobody-likes-to-discuss.html","title":{"rendered":"The Nazi at the door scenario nobody likes to discuss"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

The advocates of the \u201cHell yes, you should lie\u201d school tell me I am an utter fool for saying that you cannot lie and deny Christ here.\u00a0 As has been said countless times, \u201cIf it will save just one innocent life, of course you should lie to the Nazi.\u201d<\/p>\n

So if lying is just fine to save lives, what\u2019s the difference between this little white lie and any other little white lie?\u00a0 After all, we\u2019ve been instructed that what matters is not the content or gravity of the lie that matters, but the fact that the person you are lying to has \u201cno right to the truth.\u201d\u00a0 <\/a>So if you deny Christ to a Nazi you are not, we are instructed, *really* lying.\u00a0 So why not deny Jesus to the Nazi or\u00a0 whoever else you decide has \u201cno right to the truth\u201d\u2013you know, like the Christians whose burning bodies lit Nero\u2019s gardens did.<\/p>\n

In case you hadn\u2019t noticed, \u201cNazi at the door\u201d scenarios are emotionally manipulative games (just like \u201cTicking Time Bomb\u201d yarns) constructed to force you to ignore the Church\u2019s teaching, just as scenarios about horribly deformed children born of incest and rape and begging to be euthanized are likewise emotionally manipulative games constructed to get you to endorse abortion and euthanasia.\u00a0 Any idiot can construct an extreme and desperate sob story in order to paint you into an emotional corner and portray you as a monster for disagreeing.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, our actual moral model is not some hypothesis, but Jesus\u2013who never, ever lied and who never, ever tempted somebody to do evil.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"