Is the Golden Rule really the Gold Standard?

Upvote:-2

the Golden Rule is considered the universal maxim for a reason;

"do unto others as you would have them do unto you"

lie for (the sake of) others as you would have others lie for (the sake of) you; this example violates the golden rule by virtue of entailing (implicitly including) "lying to others"

in other words, your example (clever i admit) would be violating the Golden Rule by virtue of yourself not wanting others to lie to you.

Pax Christi

Upvote:1

Filmzy has identified where the Golden Rule is found in the Bible.

As for the 2nd part of your question, I would like to bring out this verse:

1 Corinthians 14:33 KJV

For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints.

Yes of course if following only the Golden rule sin may creep in. However if we do things in glory of God and following Golden rule, the scenario would probably be something like this:

A group of friends are together. One sinned. The others advised him and brought him back to righteousness, for each of the others too want their friends to bring them back if they make mistakes.

Upvote:3

The Golden Rule can indeed be found in the teachings of Jesus: Matthew 7:12:

So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.

The Wikipedia article claims that there are earlier antecedents for it, but they do not appear to be the same exact formulation; in particular they are all the 'negative' of it ("don't do bad" rather than "do good").

Upvote:3

The Golden Rule in its current form probably originated with Jesus. A similar saying is attributed to Rabbi Hillel, who lived in Jerusalem about a century before Jesus:

A Gentile came to Rabbi Hillel and said, "I will convert to Judaism if you can teach me the whole Torah while I stand on one foot." Hillel replied, "That which is distasteful to you do not do unto another. This is the whole Torah; all the rest is commentary. Go and learn it."

Jesus' version goes much further than Hillel's does, in requiring action from us.

Upvote:8

Matthew 7:12 (NIV) sounds a lot like the Golden rule:

So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.

But it also says it's only a summary of the Law and Prophets, not that it's actually a hard-and-fast rule.

The problem with your example is it puts "others" at odds with each other... There are two "theys"--your friends, and those you would lie to. The Golden Rule is not far-reaching enough to address these sorts of ethical situations.

I think the true "Gold Standard" is to love God and people (Luke 10:27). The Golden Rule is intended to provide a sort of definition of what it means to love others. That doesn't mean it's air-tight in a logical sense. But even so, if we all practiced the Golden Rule to the letter (even lying for our friends, as in your example), I suspect the world would be a much better place than it is now.

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