Hey!, Wanna See Some Sin?
"Cry aloud, spare not, lift up your voice like a trumpet and show my people their transgressions and . . . their sins." Isa. 58:1.
22. Lies
22. 12. "Religions" teach us to lie.
Islamic teachers teach that lying is okay despite the words of the Koran and the Prophet:
"THE QURAN ABOUT LIARS
"God guides not one who is a prodigal, a liar" (40:28). "God guides not him who is a liar, an ingrate" (39:3). "God's curse will rest on him if he is a liar" (24:7).
THE MESSENGER ABOUT LIARS
a. "Verily, truth leads to virtue and virtue leads to paradise and a true man continues to speak truth until he becomes the most truthful person. Lies lead to evil and evil leads to hell and a liar continues to lie till he is listed as a highest ranking liar before God" (Bukhari).
b. The use of tongue for lying, backbiting, speaking ill, etc. Yusuf ibn Abdullah states that he asked Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), " 0 Messenger of God, what do you think most dreadful thing for me?" Yusuf said, the Messenger caught hold of his tongue and said "This." (Tirmidhi).
c. Bahz Ibn Hakim related that the Messenger said "Destruction is for the man who speaks lies for the amusement of other people. Destruction for him." (Tirmidhi).
d. Sufyan Ibn Usaid reported that the Messenger said "The biggest breach of trust is that you tell a thing to your brother who believes it to be true, whereas you have lied to him" (Abu Daud).
LYING EVER JUSTIFIED?
There are no absolute justifications in Islam and the Prophet has asked us to tell truth even under the harshest circumstances of oppression. However, one may choose not to tell the truth when:
a. He is under oppression and there is danger of losing his life if he told the truth. . . . Shaykh Saadi calls this a "lie with wisdom."
b. To promote mutual relationship between spouse, i.e., if wife asks you, "Am I beautiful?" or "Do you love me?" there is nothing wrong with saying "Yes," even if this is not the case.
c. While making peace between two quarreling parties, instead of igniting them against each other, i.e., "He said such and such bad thing about you," just say,"He says such and such good thing about you." Tradition: He is not a liar who tries to bring peace between two people by trying to tell the truth only as described in Surah al-Anbiya (21:62).
d. To make unbelievers realize the truth (21:62-65) . . .
Truthfulness is a command of God, part of faith, and a quality of must for all prophets and is mentioned in 100 places in the Quran. To name a few:
"So God may reward the truthful for their truthfulness" (33:24). "You who believe, heed God and stand by those who are truthful" (9:119). "You who believe, guard your duty to God, and speak words straight to the point" (33:70). "The steadfast and the truthful and the obedient and those who spend, those who pray for pardons in the watches of the night" (3:17). "Believers are merely the ones who believe in God and His Messenger They never doubt, and strive for God's sake with their property and persons. Those are the Truthful' (49:15).It is not necessary for me to relate the Traditions about truthfulness since the life of Muhammad ibn Abdullah (PBUH) was nothing but truth. He was confirmed as a truthful person even before he became Prophet and during his prophethood, even his enemies confirmed that he was truthful as described by Abu Sufyan in the court of the emperor of Rome.
"Reflections of an American Muslim", Shahid Athar , M. D.
http://www.islam-usa.com/r32.html (emphasis ours)
----------------------------------Catholics (Disputing, Redefining and Justifying Lying):
"There is some difference of opinion among the Fathers of the Christian Church.
Lying, as defined by St. Thomas Aquinas, is a statement at variance with the mind.
Following St. Augustine and St. Thomas, Catholic divines and ethical writers commonly make a distinction between (1) injurious, or hurtful, (2) officious, and (3) jocose lies.
" St. John Chrysostom held that it is lawful to deceive others for their benefit, and Cassian taught that we may sometimes lie as we take medicine, driven to it by sheer necessity."St. Augustine, however, took the opposite side, and wrote two short treatises to prove that it is never lawful to tell a lie."
"Others wished to change the received definition of a lie. A recent writer in Paris series, Science et Religion, wishes to add to the common definition some such words as "made to one who has the right to truth." So that a false statement knowingly made to one who has not a right to the truth will not be a lie.""http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/09469a.htm
"Therefore every lie is a sin, as also Augustine declares (Contra Mend. i)."
The Summa Theologica of St. Thomas Aquinas
Second and Revised Edition, 1920
Literally translated by Fathers of the English Dominican Province
Online Edition Copyright © 2000 by Kevin Knight
http://www.newadvent.org/summa/311003.htm
One problem with this system is determining who judges whether a lie is "harmful", "beneficial", or "harmless". Is it the teller or the hearer, or a third party? Also, a lie can be both harmful to one and beneficial to the other. But the Catholic system rates the first as mortal sin, the second as a mere venial sin. Who determines whether a lie is harmful or not? Only the first category is called "harmful", but in another secton of the article above, it is stated that, "in the concrete there is no sort of lie which is not injurious to somebody."
In short, the Catholic teaching is, "all lying is sin, some lies are worse than others, and some lies are harmless", but all lies are "injurious to somebody".
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Various "Christian" teachers justify lying:
Various justifications are proposed:
1. That one of various forms of "absolutism" apply. (See "absolutism" below.) In other words, lying may serve a good purpose and be "the greater good", or it may be the lessor of two evils. This is justification by philosophical (human) reasoning while ignoring God's law and the rest of scripture.2. That lying is wrong, but deception by half-truth or withholding information is justified by the actions of Abraham's half-truth/half-lies about Sarah (Gen. 12, 20), Samuel's explanation of "a sacrifice" when his purpose was to anoint David as king (1 Sam. 16), Ehud's deception in his murder of King Eglon (Judg. 3) and Rahab's deception regarding the Israelite spies (Josh. 2). This is justification by misunderstanding or mis-interpreting scriptures.
3. That the ban on lying only covers perjury (Ex. 20). This is justification by choosing to ignore the rest of scripture and by misunderstanding or mis-interpreting Ex.20.
4. That deception is not a form of lying (re: Rahab, Abraham, and others). This is justification by re-defining the term "lying".
5. That Christ lied (Jn. 7) but didn't sin. That God rewarded the midwives for lying (Ex. 1). That Moses lied to Pharaoh (Ex. 5:3). That Ananias and Sapphira were killed by God for lying to him (Acts 5). All this, they say, proves that you can lie like a dog, as long as your "heart is right with God". Specifically, they say that lying is not always a sin for a "Christian" (but it is for everyone else).
"While it is apparent that God requires His people to be honest and truthful in their heart toward God and his people, it is also clear that there can be situations where faithfulness and loyalty to God and His people is more important in the eyes of God than satisfying our own law of self-righteous honesty. Christians are to come to realize that we, as allies of God are fighting a spiritual battle against the Covenant breakers, the enemies of God."
http://www.fortifyingthefamily.com/Righteous_Lying.htmlApparently it is okay to lie to "non-Christians", but not to "Christians". This is the kind of attempted justification that gives "religion" a bad name and it gives atheists another excuse to not believe. Note that the paragraph above equates truthfulness with self-righteousness and lying with faithfulness to God.
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Various forms of "absolutism":"Something Called "Graded Absolutism"
Both Luther and Paher could be classified theologically as "graded absolutists." A graded absolutist believes that there are many moral absolutes taught in the Bible and that they sometimes conflict. He believes there are higher moral laws taught in the Bible and when moral laws conflict, one is under obligation to follow the higher law. Therefore, according to those who hold this position, lying is sometimes right because showing mercy to the innocent is a greater moral duty than telling the truth to the guilty. For instance, while listening to a religious radio station, I heard a denominational preacher teaching a lesson on the need to lie under certain circumstances. Like Paher, he used the story of Rahab the harlot to substantiate his teaching. This shows earthly wisdom on the part of these teachers, because even among those who know that the Bible condemns lying, the truth of what Rahab did (viz., she lied), and the fact she is mentioned in a positive manner in the New Testament, has caused some perplexity among God's people (cf. Hebrews 12:31 and James 2:25). During his lesson, the aforementioned preacher used this illustration:
Suppose there was someone chasing after me with a shotgun threatening to kill me. Here you come walking down the street and here I come running around the corner and pass you by. Soon, here comes the man with the shotgun. He stops and asks you which way I went; I hope, for my sake, you'll tell him a lie.What this teacher wanted those who heard him to think was that they were under a higher obligation to show mercy to him than they were to tell the truth to the man with the shotgun.
First of all, one is not under any obligation , morally or otherwise, to give an answer to the gunman. Jesus did not sin by refusing to answer some questions asked of Him (cf. Matthew 27:11-14; Luke 23:8,9), and neither do we! Secondly, as God's Word instructs, one ought to do unto his neighbor as he would have his neighbor do unto him. In this case, this might entail preventing or subduing the potential assailant, if possible. But under no circumstances is one under any Biblical obligation to aid, answer, or assist the evildoer.
Now, let's consider the case of Rahab. What Rahab did in assisting the spies to escape (viz., she lied) was wrong, and consequently, it is nowhere praised in the Scriptures. Those who use the case of Rahab to justify lying, simply "err not knowing the Scriptures, or the power of God" (Matthew 22:29). Neither Hebrews 11:31 nor James 2:25 commend Rahab for lying. Instead, she is commended for the faith she exercised in believing God. Likewise, when David, an adulterer and murderer, was identified as a man after God's own heart, one can be sure that these two sins were not being recommended to those of us trying to live godly lives. And maybe—notice that I said maybe—if the aforementioned denominational preacher understood this (i.e., that adultery is condemned in God's Word and is, therefore, always wrong), then maybe—again, I said maybe—he wouldn't be so concerned about conditioning his flock to lie for him whenever they see some man chasing him with a shotgun.
Something Called "Unqualified Absolutism"
When one tries to take the Lord's teaching on "the weightier matters of the law" (cf. Matthew 23:23) to justify breaking any part of God's law, one is simply "wresting the Scriptures." Yes, Jesus spoke of the weightier matters of the law (e.g., "justice," "mercy" and "faith"). And what the Lord was teaching was that we ought to put first things first. But, He made it clear that the other less weightier things ought not to be left undone. In other words, one ought to keep all of God's commandments, not just the ones that are convenient. This position, which is, I am convinced, the only Biblically tenable position, the theologians would call "unqualified absolutism." The unqualified absolutist believes there are many absolute moral laws, and none of them should ever be broken. In other words, the unqualified absolutist believes one cannot justify lying even when such lying is for the sole purpose of saving the life of another. The one who holds this position believes that lying is always wrong! To many, this just seems too harsh. Therefore, there is a third position to which some Christians turn.
Something Called "Conflicting Absolutism"
This third position is called "Conflicting Absolutism." I first heard it articulated by a fellow Christian who I would otherwise consider to be a very careful Bible student. The one who takes this position believes that we inherently live in an evil world where absolute moral laws sometime run into inevitable conflict. In such cases, the conflicting absolutist believes it is his responsibility to do the "lesser evil." He will break what he considers to be the lesser law (viz., lying) to uphold the greater law (i.e., preserving life). Then, after doing so, he prays for mercy and asks God to forgive him for breaking a lesser commandment that circumstantially conflicted with the "greater good."
In principle, this position is far removed from graded absolutism which says under certain circumstances lying is not a sin. On the contrary, and to his credit, the conflicting absolutist believes it is always wrong to break an absolute moral law of God. There are no exceptions or exemptions, he tells us. One's lying to save a life is always wrong (i.e., it is sinful), but it is truly the lesser evil and, therefore, must be done under the circumstances. But, just as it is wrong to lie, the conflicting absolutist believes it would be wrong (i.e., sinful) not to lie to save a life. Consequently, in practice, both the graded and conflicting absolutists would practice lying in order to do what they would consider to be the higher good.
But why would anyone want to think himself obligated, as the conflicting absolutist does, to do that which is evil? Such a position is morally absurd. In addition, this lesser-evil position implies that Jesus probably sinned during His earthly existence. Remember, this position claims that sin (i.e., the lesser evil) is actually unavoidable in this evil world in which we live. Of course, the Bible says that Jesus was tempted in all points as we are (Hebrews 4:15). If so—and if moral conflicts require us to do the lesser evil, as these folks claim, then Jesus must have sinned. But this conflicts with the remaining part of Hebrews 4:15 which says that Jesus was in all points tempted as we are, but without sin. Furthermore, if Christ is our complete moral example, and Paul says He is in 1 Corinthians 11:1,2, and if He was tempted in every way just as we are (Hebrews 4:15), then He either sinned by having to choose the lesser evil, or He never faced the moral dilemmas the rest of us face. If the former, then He was not the perfect sacrifice for our sins; and, if the latter, then He is not our complete moral example. Who can believe it?"
"Is It Ever Right To Lie?"
http://allanturner.com/lying.html
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Martin Luther:
Martin Luther, the famous "reformer," was reported to have said: "What harm would it do, if a man told a good strong lie for the sake of the good and for the Christian church...a lie out of necessity, a useful lie, a helpful lie, such lies would not be against God, he would accept them" (Cited by Luther's secretary in a letter in Max Lenz, ed., Briefwechsel Landgraf Phillips des Grossmuthigen von Hessen mit Bucer, Vol. 1).
"Is It Ever Right To Lie?"
http://allanturner.com/lying.html
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Jewish rabbis teach that some lies are okay despite the Law:
"Even though the Tenach states that lying is one of the seven sins G-d hates rabbium say lying under certain situations in not wrong. I agree! In addition there are category of lies. some are more serious than others. That is true."
http://www.jewishpath.org/embracinglies(p2)1.html
Judaism condemns lying:
One who testifies falsely should be thrown to the dogs like an animal's corpse: Pesachim 118a; Makkot 23a
Specifically Forbidden Cases of Lying:
In dealing with one's children: Succah 46b
On one's taxes: Nedarim 28a
Hashem hates people who speak one thing and think another: Pesachim 113b
Lies are more popular than truth, but lies cannot stand: Shabbat 104a
Liars are not accepted in the "inner area" of HaShem: Shabbat 149b
Judaism approves lying:A Torah Scholar ought to lie if asked about his sexual habits: Bava Metzia 23b
A Torah Scholar ought to lie if asked about the hospitality of his host: Bava Metzia 24a
A Torah Scholar ought to lie if asked about his knowledge: Bava Metzia 23b
http://www.aishdas.org/webshas/baisdin/edus/sheker.htm
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Reformed catechism:(Calvinism) Presbyterian Doctrine condemns all lying:
Q. 14. Who are they that plead in favour of officious lies?
A. The Papists, Socinians, and most of our modern moralists.
Q. 15. What arguments do they allege in defence of this sort of lying?
A. That it has been practised by saints in scripture; and that it is so far from being hurtful to any, that it has been beneficial to some in certain cases.
Q. 16. What answer is to be given to the practice of the saints in this matter?
A. That their sinful failures, in this and other instances, are not recorded in scripture for imitation, but for caution and warning, that we fall not into the same snares.
Q. 17. How do you answer the other argument for officious lying, "That it is so far from being hurtful to any, that it has been beneficial and advantageous to some, in certain cases, particularly in saving the life of a dear friend, or useful member of society, which might otherwise have been manifestly endangered?"
A. It is answered thus, that in no case are we to do evil that good may come, Rom. 3:8. If we are not to speak wickedly for God, nor talk deceitfully for him, according to Job 13:7, neither are we to do so, though it were for the benefit of all mankind, or the best among them.
Q. 18. How do you prove lying to be sinful, or unlawful, in itself?
A. From this, that lying of all sorts, without exception, is condemned in scripture, as hateful and abominable to God, Prov. 6:17, 19, and 12:22; Col. 3:9.
Q. 19. Who is the author and father of lies?
A. The devil, John 8:44 -- "When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own; for he is a liar, and the father of it."
Q. 20. How does God testify his displeasure against lying of all kinds?
A. By declaring that "he who speaketh lies shall perish," Prov. 19:9; accordingly it is said, "ALL liars shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone," Rev. 21:8.
Fisher's Catechism
The great Scottish commentary on the Westminster Shorter Catechism.
http://www.reformed.org/documents/fisher/q078.html
http://www.reformed.org/info.html (emphasis ours)
The Study Catechism: Confirmation Version [approved by the 210th General Assembly (1998)]
. . .
Question 88. What is the ninth commandment?You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor (Ex. 20:16; Deut. 5:20).
Question 89. What do you learn from this commandment?
God forbids me to damage the honor or reputation of my neighbor. I should not say false things against anyone for the sake of money, favor or friendship, for the sake of revenge, or for any other reason. God requires me to speak well of my neighbor when I can, and to view the faults of my neighbor with tolerance when I cannot.
Copyright ©1998 Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). All rights Reserved.
Famous Presbyterians:
John Knox - the founder of Scottish Presbyterianism
Andrew Jackson - 7th U.S. President
James Knox Polk - 11th U.S. President (converted from Presbyterianism to Methodism)
James Buchanan - 15th U.S. President
Grover Cleveland - 22nd and 24th U.S. President
Benjamin Harrison - 23rd U.S. President
Woodrow Wilson - 28th U.S. President
Dwight D. Eisenhower - 34th U.S. PresidentJohn Witherspoon - only clergyman to sign the Declaration of Independence
Aaron Burr - U.S. Vice-President under Jefferson; killed Alexander Hamilton in a duel
Daniel D. Tompkins - U.S. Vice-President under Monroe
John C. Calhoun - U.S. Vice-President under Adams and Jackson
John C. Breckinridge - U.S. Vice-President under Buchanan
William A. Wheeler - U.S. Vice-President under Hayes
Henry A. Wallace - U.S. Vice-President under F.D. RooseveltJohn Foster Dulles - U.S. Secretary of State in the 1950s
Christie Todd Whitman - former governor of New Jersey; known for being Republican yet opposing pro-life measures; head of the Environmental Protection Agency under Pres. G. W. Bush
Dick Armey - U.S. Representative; conservative Republican from Texas
Rev. Aaron Burr - co-founder of Princeton University
John Glenn - U.S. astronaut, SenatorJimmy Stewart - actor; star of such films as It's a Wonderful Life and Mr. Krueger's Christmas
Brian DePalma - film director; raised as a Presbyterian
Mark Twain - American author
Frederick Buechner - author of fantasy novels and non-fiction religious books
http://www.adherents.com/largecom/fam_pres.html
Notice that 17 of the 24 most famous Presbyterians were/are politicians. It is an accepted axiom that politicians cannot be successful politicians without lying.
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Baptist "presentable" Lying:
""Lie" still sounds a bit harsh, so often we use other words to soften untruth. In Baptist life, we joke that a leader is ministerially speaking when he exaggerates the attendance at an event or the number of decisions during evangelistic meetings. The rest of us do the same thing when we're not careful with the truth. Deliberately exaggerating is just the opposite of deliberately understating. Both fall short of the truth. Both are forms of lying that go by more presentable names."
Bill Webb is editor of Word&Way
http://www.wordandway.org/Archives/051701editorial.htm
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Evangelical Lying"You've probably heard it by now. Henry Lyons, president of the National Baptist Convention [reportedly the nation's largest African-American church] has been telling some whoppers. The National Baptist Convention denomination turns out to not have 33,000 churches and eight million members after all. It is more like 3,700 churches and less than a million members. A bit of exaggeration there, Henry.
I suppose one might argue such number stretching was all done for the kingdom's sake, of course. Henry's sake too. He is currently facing criminal investigation for accepting commissions as high as 75% from businesses trying to reach his denomination's members in marketing schemes for long distance telephone service, credit cards, and funeral services. When the story breaks we'll all be embarrassed that he is one of us, and we'll scold all denominational leaders who stretch the truth for financial or political purposes.
Sure, denominational leaders sometimes stretch the truth. They don't even have to tell outright lies to do it. Statistics provide a dozen ways to make bad numbers look good. We can talk about growing segments, growing elements, or worldwide growth (most denominations, faced with stagnant North American numbers and burgeoning overseas numbers, now prefer worldwide figures). It is simply putting a positive spin on the numbers. Face it, that's what Americans pay their leaders for -- boosterism, not bad news. Henry might have gotten away with his number stretching if he hadn't gotten into accepting commissions.
Get ready. Once the story breaks most ministers will loudly condemn Henry Lyons' fibs. OK, reporting numbers at a factor of eight is a little much, but the real question is what numerical beam sticks out your own eye? Local pastors sometimes lie too.
Perhaps you've heard of the church in Iowa who regularly added 50 to their attendance each week to cover those in the rest rooms? Or, about the church that consistently averaged 350 until their pastor retired and the church dropped a hundred in average attendance. The predecessor admitted he had simply looked over the crowd each Sunday and estimated the crowd at 350. The new pastor's mistake: actually counting heads. And, who can figure out how to sort out double-counting the choir in multiple services? Not me. Apparently neither can most pastors -- they count em twice. And, I suppose we've all heard the joke about the pastor who counted cars in the parking lot and multiplied by four. But, the real stories are almost as crazy. One Michigan pastor's exaggeration had become such a laughing matter to the town that they secretly dubbed him Pastor Pinocchio.
Worse, some evangelicals have even slipped so low as to kiddingly call this sort of lying, evangelistically speaking. Shame on us. This is not evangelistic. It is devilish.
So, why do evangelicals exaggerate? The simple answer is, it works. We've been taught how to create a growth climate, how to cast a vision. We know that growth breeds more growth, and stinking thinking brings decline. So we let our vision leak into our reporting. Leaders are dealers in hope. So we sell hope by announcing victory before it happens -- sort of faith-promise reporting. It seems like good leadership. Announcing growth will breed more growth. So, we take a short cut. We announce the growth before it actually happens, and presto, the (fabricated) numbers create a growth climate that produces the growth we have already announced. Exaggeration sounds like good leadership.
It might be good leadership, but it is poor Christianity. The Christian way is to let your yes be yes, and your no be no. Your 100 be 100, and your 350 be 350. Anything more comes from the evil one.
. . ."By Keith Drury, 1996.
http://www.indwes.edu/tuesday/liars.htm
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Philosophy -- Sometimes lying is "better", "profitable", and acceptable "if you do it well":[Note: While philosophy is not considered a religion, for some it replaces a belief in God and so, becomes a substitute "religion".]
"Truth has always been disregarded even among some of the renowned pagans who taught that a lie was to be preferred before the Truth. Meander once said, "A lie is better than a hurtful truth." Proclus said, Good is better than Truth." Darius in HERODITUS said, "When telling a lie will be profitable, let it be told." Plato said, "He may lie who knows how to do it in a suitable time." Maximus Tyrius said, "There is nothing decorous in Truth but when it is profitable, yea, sometimes Truth is hurtful, and lying is profitable to men."
In describing the wicked man, the Bible always includes deceit as one of his main characteristics. King David said of the wicked in Psalm 36:3, "The words of his mouth are iniquity and deceit..." In Psalm 50:19 Asaph said of the wicked, "...thy tongue frameth deceit." In Psalm 52:3 David again said, "Thou lovest evil more than good; and lying rather than to speak righteousness." In Psalm 58:3 he said, " The wicked are estranged from the womb: they go astray as soon as they be born, speaking lies." In Proverbs 10:18 Solomon mentioned those who hid hatred with lying lips.
Again, in Proverbs 26:24 he said of those who hated others - "...dissembleth with his lips, and layeth up deceit within him." Lastly, the Apostle Paul described the Last Days people
as those who would be "Speaking lies in hypocrisy."(1 Timothy 4:2)On the other hand, the Scriptures tell us that the righteous man hates lying. In Psalm 119:163 the Psalmist said, "I hate and abhor lying." In Psalm 119:29 he earnestly cried out to God, "Remove from me the way of lying..." In Proverbs 13:5 Solomon outrightly declared, "A righteous man hateth lying..." The Prophet Isaiah openly declared , "For He said, Surely they are My people, children that will not lie: so He was their Saviour."(Isaiah 63:8) The Prophet Zephaniah described God's Holy People as - "The remnant of Israel shall not do iniquity, nor speak lies; neither shall a deceitful tongue be found in their mouth..."(Zephaniah 3:13)
"Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds." --- Colossians 3:9
Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man Truth with his neighbor..." ---Ephesians 4:25
http://www.faithwebbin.net/edibles/guests/2001/connie05.html
"Aristotle, in his Ethics, seems to hold that it is never allowable to tell a lie, while Plato, in his Republic, is more accommodating; he allows doctors and statesmen to lie occasionally for the good of their patients and for the common weal [good]. Modern philosophers are divided in the same way. Kant allowed a lie under no circumstance."
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/09469a.htm
---------------------------------On the subject of lying, there is a significant discrepancy between "Christianity" on the one side, and the words of God, Christ, the prophets, and the apostles on the other side. The same is true for Islam and Judaism, which also claim to worship the God of Abraham.