If God deludes people who already reject the truth, how exactly does this happen?
It’s never morally right to deceive with malicious intent. Exodus 20:16 reads, “ You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor ,” and so you should never provide false legal testimony against your countrymen. It hurts society and dishonors God . But what about hiding someone’s surprise birthday party? What about pretending Santa is real? What about feints in warfare (2 Sam 2:22 –25)? What about protecting someone from a murderous mob, that is, to hide a Jewish person from the SS in WWII Europe? Is it ever right to mislead another person? Added to this, is it a lie to be wrong? In other words, if you give directions and say “turn left” but you should actually turn right; Did you lie? In this case, we use the category of mistake. But this opens up an interesting possibility: You can speak an untruth (go left) that misleads someone (they go to the wrong location) and yet not be a liar or a sinner. You just made a mistake. So, are there other occasions w