Therefore beware of murmuring, which is unprofitable; and refrain your tongue from backbiting: for there is no word so secret, that shall go for nought: and the mouth that belieth slayeth the soul.
Read Chapter 1
Augustine of Hippo
AD 430
"I have the power to give my life and the power to take it up again." In another passage of the Gospel it says that it is not only the Father who raises the Son but the Son also raises himself. "I will destroy this temple," he says, "and in three days I will raise it up again." And the Evangelist notes, "he spoke of the temple of his body." In fact, he had to raise what had died; now, the Word is not dead, and neither is his soul. Could the Lord"s soul die, when not even your soul dies? How do I know, you ask, that my soul does not die? If you do not kill it, it will not die. In what sense, you ask, can I kill my soul? "A lying mouth destroys the soul," to not speak of other sins. How can I be sure, you insist, that it does not die? Listen to the Lord, who gives this assurance to his servant: "You must not fear those who kill the body and, after that, can do nothing more." And more exactly, what did he say? "Fear, rather, him who has the power to cause both body and soul to perish in G...
"Do not fear those who kill the body, but do not have power to kill the soul." Whoever wants to kill you can so do in the body but not in the soul. Your soul will not die, unless you yourself want to kill it. Another"s wickedness can kill your flesh, but the truth would preserve your soul in righteousness. If you abandon the truth, what other evil could your enemy do to you that would be greater than what you have done to yourself? Your enemy, if he wanted to harm you, could at most kill your flesh. You, however, by giving false testimony, kill the soul. Listen to Scripture: "A lying mouth destroys the soul." - "Expositions of the Psalms 79.13"
The Lord demands that there be no difference between our oaths and our ordinary speech. If this were not so, then it could be admitted that there is a sort of deception in our oath. Likewise, there must be no lie whatsoever in our words, because both a deceiving oath and a lie fall under the condemnation of divine judgment. Scripture attests to this: "A lying mouth destroys the soul." To speak the truth is already an oath, given that we read, "The truthful witness does not lie." For this reason Scripture justly asserts that God often utters oaths. God is true, and he cannot lie. Everything he says can be considered an oath, given that everything God says is entirely true. It is true, of course, that sometimes Scripture says that God swears an oath. If he does so, however, it is because human beings are incredulous. He swears, then, because of the devious infidelity of the Jews, who believe that truth is found only in words given with an oath. It is for this reason alone that God at tim...
