Biblical perspectives on the offence of deceit. The legal archetype of deceit in the bible

• Author: Mirela Carmen Dobrila
• Position: Ph.D. Candidate, Assitant, Faculty of Law, 'Alexandru Ioan Cuza' University of Iasi, Department of Private Law
• Pages: 21-24

BIBLICAL PERSPECTIVES ON THE OFFENCE OF DECEIT. THE LEGA L ARCHETYPE OF

DECEIT IN THE BIBLE

Dobril Mirela Carmen*

Abstract

An ana lysis of th e offence of deceit thr ough the perspective of the Bible ha s a s primar y purpose to

emphasize that the spirit in which the Old and New Testament were written i s also found within the content of

the ar t. 215 in the Romamian Criminal Code. This hermeneutical pr ocess is meant to identify a legal ar chetype

in the Biblical texts, and showing that, despite the secularization of lega l science, it is impossible to completely

detach it from the spirit a nd teachings of the Bible.

Keywords: offence of deceit, Bible, sin of deceit, Decalogue.

Introduction

As an a ge-long source of mora l and theologica l wisdom, the Bible represen ts the origina ting muse for

many sciences, including legal science. Therefore, even in the field of criminal la w, these influences can be

demonstrated in a ca se such a s that of the offence of deceit. The legal system is the manner in which the sta te

implements its r ightful norms, which a re der ived a t least in par t out o f the Biblical texts, out of the laws and

norms offered by God through the Holy Scriptures.

1. The Biblical text, origin of the offence of deceit

Christianity establishes the principle that every man is responsible for his ac tions, being a subject to the

liability governed by human laws, but especially to the inevitable divine judg ments

1.

For acts of deception, everyone is subjected to human laws that establish a legal liability for such acts

affecting o ne person’s patrimony, such as criminal liability or civil liability, each with its o wn sanctions, but

beyond this point there is responsibility before the divine judgment2.

In theology, offences of deceit as described in the art. 215 of the Criminal Code correspond to what is

designated in religious ter ms as the concept of sin, taking the shape of the sin of lying, of deception, of trickery,

of avarice, of abuse, etc., which justifies a hermeneutical approach to the Biblical texts.

Both the Old Testament and the New Testament record the origin and evolution of lies, but each time

the Divine Law forbids it: “You shall not steal; you shall not deal falsely; you shall not lie to one another”3, “Do

not lie to one another”4, because “a lying mouth brings death to the souls”.5

Beginning with God’s incompatibility with lying and falseness, with causing damages whenever the law

is broken, co ntinuing with the fact that the lawmaker hi mself must hold true to the Biblical teachings, ensuring

the transposition of some of the divine la ws to the area of legal norms applying to human beings, it cannot be

pure coincidence that criminal la w condemns offences of deceit that in some way touch someone’s patrimony,

offences which imply malfoy and cause damages. This link is not without significance, as the Biblical texts do

not simply enunciate the principle of forbidden acts of deceit, but ma kes many references to the offence of

deceit, some verses having an explicit legal nature.

2. The offence of deceit and the sin of deceit

Based on the teachings of the Holy Scriptures, in the Old Testament it is shown that: “God made the

man upright, but they have sought out many schemes of deceit”.6

The penal liability for the offence of deceit has its corr espondent in the divine law in terms o f sin7;

sentencing and imposing criminal penalties for the offence of deceit has its starting point in t he Old and New

Testament, where the sin of deception was condemned.

The relationship between liability and penalty implicitly raises the issue of the role of the penalt y, which

re-establishes the moral order which has been broken, as in theology there is always the possibility of

rehabilitating oneself through repentance8. “Sin is unlawfulness” 9, and the term of “sin” has several meanings,

* Ph.D. Candidate, Assitant, Faculty of Law, “Alexandru Ioan Cuza” University of Iasi, Department of Private Law, email:

mirela.dobrila@uaic.ro;

1 E. Safta-Romano, Arhetipuri juridice în Biblie, Polirom Publishing House, Iai, 1997, p. 197;

2 St. Paul sais: “It is too little for me to be judged by you or any human court (…). It is the Lord who judges me”

(I Corinthians 4:4);

3 Leviticus 19:11; Isus Sirah VII, 13:14.

4 Colossians 3:9.

5 Solomon 1:11.

6 Ecclesiastes 7:29.

7 Lat. Peccatum.

8 E. Safta-Romano, op.cit. p. 170.

9 I John 3:4.