The effect of not being forthright

What’s wonderful is that everyone is so shocked, that the fallout is

so sweeping. Put this in perspective: A generation ago, they would

have swept the whole thing under the carpet. You and I wouldn’t have

a clue.

Not so long ago, the withholding and falsification of information

lay at the basis of society. It was taken for granted, considered a

necessity. The modern ethic began when the likes of Abraham and Moses

challenged that system -- and the cause has been struggling ever

since. It’s taken this long to arrive at a generation that truly

believes in truth as a universal, sacrosanct property. Kudos to the

New York Times for its courage to be up front.

Rabbi Reuven Mintz,

Chabad Jewish Center

Newport Beach

Honesty and righteousness are fundamentals of the Islamic faith.

One’s faith is not complete until he incorporates honesty and truth

in his daily life. The 11th successor to Prophet Mohammad says,

“Wickedness and evil were put inside a house, and the key to the door

was rendered to be deception.”

Another saying from the sixth successor of the Prophet states, “If

one wants to examine the level of the faith of a person, one must not

look at how he offers his prayers and fastings. Instead, one must

look at his honesty and truthfulness. The consequences of deception

have a terrible impact on the person himself, his family, and his

community.

Imam Moustafa Al-Qazwini,

Islamic Educational Center

of Orange County

The moral consequence of deception is the loss of real truth. When

“we deceive ourselves ... the truth is not in us ... .” so we learn

in 1 John 1:8, as used four times in the Book of Common Prayer, l979

(pages 38, 76, 320, 362) of the Episcopal Church. When we do less

than we are able, we become less than we can be. When we are untrue,

we lose bits and pieces of our real self; the more we deceive, the

less we become who we are created to be. “The wages of sin is death

... “ (Romans 6:23a) is another way our scriptures teach this truth;

“death” means becoming less and less human.

As a minister on the campus of the UC Berkeley for 15 years,

cheating is the “deception” I have encountered most frequently. All

students learn how to define “cheating” and regularly become aware of

ever-new ways to cheat. Good students know that such deception cheats

themselves. To chose cheating means loss of understanding, loss of

knowledge, loss of learning, loss of wisdom. Our choices shape us.

Lies guard and invade secrecy; secrecy allows lies to accumulate and

to deceive; deception distorts, perverts and obliterates real truth.

When we chose to be less than who we are intended to be, we lose!

The Very Rev. Canon

Peter D. Haynes,

St. Michael & All Angels

Episcopal Parish Church,

Corona del Mar