Found nailed to the door of the Church, the following document on a page of parchment: Disputation on the Nature of the Sin of Lying
by Casilda Tametomo
Out of love for the truth and the desire to bring it to light, the following proposition will be discussed; wherefore I request that those who are unable to meet to debate orally with me, may do so by letter.
In the Name of our Radiant Lord.
Amen.
- The sin of lying is the sin of untruth.
- A man may tell the truth only as well as he knows it.
- Thus, a man who tells what he knows to be the truth has not lied, even if his knowledge was faulty; of him we say (thus) "he was mistaken".
- Likewise, a man who tells what he knows to be untruth has lied, even if he was mistaken in his knowledge; of him we say (thus) "he lied, but was wrong enough that his lie proved true". This does not absolve him of his attempt at deception.
- Of truth, it is said that the Eye of Soldeus sees all and His Radiant Light pierces through all lies and deceit; that those who shroud themselves in deception darken their spark and invite the dark and hateful one to tempt them further into shadow.
- It is furthermore said that always in the Word of Soldeus is the truth spoken, and thus do the faithful always act aright with honesty and integrity; that we must speak truth always, even in the face of danger and of the powers of the dark.
- No man should, then, lie, even with the purpose of making the truth to later conform to his lie.
- No priest or clergyman should do so, then, even with the possibility that his flock will help him to make the truth conform with the lie he uttered.
- To make even the most pious and faithful complicit in vouchsafing a lie is put temptation in the path of the righteous. Regardless of the temporal consequences, and regardless of the lack of apparent harm that results, the powers of the dark increase with this practice.
- If the truth of a matter can be made to conform to the lie once uttered about it, this only corrects the situation, and not the actor or actors in the situation; it nullifies the state of deception; it does not absolve the deceptor.
- The sin of the lie consists in the willful consciousness of difference between what is, and what is said to be. This does not go away when the difference is made up.
- Sin darkens the soul's Spark. The Lord of Light will require reconciliation of the sinner with His Illuminary Self.
- Reconciliation begins with recognition of the ongoing state of sin.
- Having recognised sin, the conscientious soul will despise it.
- Having despised the action which would separate the actor from the Radiant Lord, the faithful soul will not rejoice freely in the results of that action, nor congratulate others for saving him from its worldly consequences, without also expressing repentance and a firm resolve never to do the wrong again.
- The proper reconciliation of a sin publicly committed and with the collusion, even if well-meant, of the public, might be said to require public penance.
- Having been spared the consequences of a sin-- one might say, having been indulged in the matter-- is not the same as having been spared from sinning; responsibility is not something that can be borne away by others.