Bribery - Is it OK sometimes?

[mindlight]

The Bible seems to give many , sometimes contradictory views on Bribery.

Judas accepts a bribe to betray Jesus (Luke 22 v5), Paul refuses to give a bribe in order to get set free (Acts 24 v 6).
There are positive accounts of the effectiveness of a bribe for a wise man in proverbs which seem to say sometimes it might be the best thing in the circumstances to do:

A gift in secret averts anger, and a concealed bribe, strong wrath.

A man's gift makes room for him and brings him before the great.

A bribe is like a magic stone in the eyes of the one who gives it; wherever he turns he prospers.

But on the other hand bribes designed to pervert the course of justice are clearly frowned on. People who live in a culture characterised by bribery live in a kind of darkness.

The wicked accepts a bribe in secret to pervert the ways of justice.

Whoever is greedy for unjust gain troubles his own household, but he who hates bribes will live.

Business men who have to do business with countries where bribery is endemic like Indonesia, India, Nigeria or Mexico find that sometimes they cannot even move safely from the airport to the hotel without paying a bribe let alone complete major business projects.

A culture characterised by bribery is an evil culture. Also a Christian should not pervert the course of justice with bribes. But what if the only way to see justice done for a person is by bribing those who have unjustly accused them. What if the only way of getting something done was to offer a bribe to someone else.

I am going to stick my neck out and say that I think that bribery is OK to do in some circumstances. But that as far as possible it should be done discreetly and never to produce an unjust result in a court of law.
At the same time think that a culture characterised by bribery is a deeply corrupt one. One cannot help but feel soiled by the experience of such cultures.

 

[daydreamergurl15]

I don't think the bible is giving contradicting views, I think it's showing you people's choices when it comes to bribery.

Judas took a bribe to betray Christ. Judas killed himself.
Paul refuse to give a bribe to Felix (I think it was Felix, I could be wrong about the person's name) but even though it took Paul a long time to get out of prison, I believe we finally was set free and he got to preach Christ to the higher ups...Yeah!!!

As for the verses in Proverbs, I don't think they are condoning bribery at all.
I don't think Proverbs 17:8 is saying that it's good, it's just that in the eyes of the person who takes the bribe they believe they prosper. As for 18:16, I don' think that has anything to do with bribery but I could be wrong.

 

[PreachersWife2004]

I think it (as always) depends on context. As daydreamer pointed out before me, the bible gives a few different scenarios of positives and negatives.

 

[mindlight]

I don't think the bible is giving contradicting views, I think it's showing you people's choices when it comes to bribery.

Judas took a bribe to betray Christ. Judas killed himself.
Paul refuse to give a bribe to Felix (I think it was Felix, I could be wrong about the person's name) but even though it took Paul a long time to get out of prison, I believe we finally was set free and he got to preach Christ to the higher ups...Yeah!!!

As for the verses in Proverbs, I don't think they are condoning bribery at all.
I don't think Proverbs 17:8 is saying that it's good, it's just that in the eyes of the person who takes the bribe they believe they prosper. As for 18:16, I don' think that has anything to do with bribery but I could be wrong.

When the choice is between being knifed, robbed and stranded for no particularly holy reason or giving a small bribe to facilitate passage think I will go with the bribe.

Proverbs 21 v 4 - A gift in secret averts anger, and a concealed bribe, strong wrath.

On the other hand I cannot really see any circumstances where it is right to accept a bribe.

 

[wayseer]

I am going to stick my neck out and say that I think that bribery is OK to do in some circumstances.

Jesus seems to have a different take. Read Mark 10 lately?

Interestingly Jesus misquotes the Decalogue and has as one of the Commandments, 'you say not defraud' (v 19).

Bribery is but defrauding others.

 

[mindlight]

Jesus seems to have a different take. Read Mark 10 lately?

Interestingly Jesus misquotes the Decalogue and has as one of the Commandments, 'you say not defraud' (v 19).

Bribery is but defrauding others.

Accepting a bribe is defrauding the person who gives it when it is not the fair price for a service. The thing is most of these people are total charity cases and in the systems they inhabit they could hardly feed their families without the cash.

The Bible is clear that bribery is wrong and about accepting a bribe. It does not condemn those who are forced to provide extra gifts to others as part of the "price" of getting on in certain cultures at the risk of jeopardising life or property if they do not comply.

Are you sure you would refuse to pay the "guide" a fee when the cost was being beaten up by all his mates armed with guns and knives. This would not be for Jesus or as a witness to the gospel. Very often , in Nigeria for instance, these people would describe themselves as Christians.

 

[wayseer]

Accepting a bribe is defrauding the person who gives it when it is not the fair price for a service. The thing is most of these people are total charity cases and in the systems they inhabit they could hardly feed their families without the cash.

The Bible is clear that bribery is wrong and about accepting a bribe. It does not condemn those who are forced to provide extra gifts to others as part of the "price" of getting on in certain cultures at the risk of jeopardising life or property if they do not comply.

Are you sure you would refuse to pay the "guide" a fee when the cost was being beaten up by all his mates armed with guns and knives. This would not be for Jesus or as a witness to the gospel. Very often , in Nigeria for instance, these people would describe themselves as Christians.

I can see what you mean. I pass your message on. I'm sure Jesus will understand that he got his message wrong.

 

[razeontherock]

I am going to stick my neck out and say that I think that bribery is OK to do in some circumstances. But that as far as possible it should be done discreetly and never to produce an unjust result in a court of law.
At the same time think that a culture characterised by bribery is a deeply corrupt one. One cannot help but feel soiled by the experience of such cultures.

You realize you describe US right? Or what else could you possibly call "lobbying?"

 

[mindlight]

You realize you describe US right? Or what else could you possibly call "lobbying?"

I believe the bible says you should never accept a bribe. Giving a bribe is possible in certain circumstances (Prov 21 v 14). But even this is less than ideal and represents an ethical decision about which is the lesser of two evils in a given situation. In a way a bribe is an insult to the person you give it to.

Interesting comparison. If a candidate or party accepts money from a lobby group in order to do something having achieved office have they in effect accepted a bribe. Probably yes actually.

On the other hand if a candidate says he stands for something and then gets a whole load of money from someone that's a gift not a bribe.

But what about when the political candidate stands in a stadium in front of the members of a known lobby group and then promises them something he knows they will like if they vote for him and then holds out his hat.

Think the American campaign system steps very close to kind of bribery in that respect and probably needs reviewing.

 

[jason taylor]

I believe the bible says you should never accept a bribe. Giving a bribe is possible in certain circumstances (Prov 21 v 14). But even this is less than ideal and represents an ethical decision about which is the lesser of two evils in a given situation. In a way a bribe is an insult to the person you give it to.

Interesting comparison. If a candidate or party accepts money from a lobby group in order to do something having achieved office have they in effect accepted a bribe. Probably yes actually.

On the other hand if a candidate says he stands for something and then gets a whole load of money from someone that's a gift not a bribe.

But what about when the political candidate stands in a stadium in front of the members of a known lobby group and then promises them something he knows they will like if they vote for him and then holds out his hat.

Think the American campaign system steps very close to kind of bribery in that respect and probably needs reviewing.

As far as that goes, lobby groups are one of the few means of active self-government we have left. Without it we are reduced to having one two-hundred millionth of a franchise every four years, and grousing in between. I should be loathe to give that up unless it's proven that the Bible actually does say that lobbying is bribery, and bribery is always a sin.

Besides, don't think they didn't have lobbying in the Bible? What do you think Esther was doing? She just gave "heir production contributions" rather then campaign contributions.