Big Bible Questions: Did Ananias and Sapphira Deserve to Die?

As a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, I believe the Bible to be the word of God, as far as it is translated correctly.

We study the Bible along with the Book of Mormon; you could say they go hand in hand with each other. Claiming only one book as "the right book" makes about as much sense as saying there's only one dependable book on the subject of math, chemistry, or astrology. While the Bible depicts what took place in the Holy Land, the Book of Mormon focuses on what took place on the other side of the globe at about the same time, since it's a pretty well known fact that God has many children, and therefore a single book (or a single nation) can only give you so much information.

For that matter, I doubt we could write enough books for every single story and every single person that has ever lived or will ever live in this world. That's also excluding the fact that God's not the God of just one planet; even if you deem yourself a purely practical, logical person, surely you can agree that we wouldn't have so many worlds drifting through our universe only to have life exist on a single one.

Anyway, while we consider the Bible Holy Scripture along with the rest, it's important to note the line, "as far as it is translated correctly." Since the Bible spans so many years and has passed through so many hands, it's safe to say there have been a great many errors in its conversion to the "current" language, both intentional and non-intentional.

On one hand, some people knew everybody believed what the Bible said, without question. You could face social disgrace, serious legal consequences, and even death for merely implying the Bible wasn't 100% accurate. So certain writers took advantage of "telling" the Bible their own way; it was their little twisted idea of power.

On the other hand, there were some honest mistakes while converting the sacred writings from one language to another. As anyone can tell you, even the simplest foreign language takes years to learn, and in a way, you never stop learning, and so you're bound to make a mistake here and there. And as any writer can tell you, one small difference in a certain word or phrase can make a world of difference.

This alone serves as proof of Joseph Smith's surprising accuracy in his translation of the Book of Mormon. Even to this day, a few people assume Joseph Smith just made the whole book up on his own. But if those folks did their research properly, they would know almost right away that Joseph Smith was a very simple farm boy, with nothing greater than a junior high education. He couldn't even spell all that well, so how could he possibly "invent" such a complex and fascinating story, let alone in such a short time?

After all, J.R.R. Tolkien was a distinguished Oxford professor, always dabbling in foreign languages, a true master of speech and writing...and his books took no less than 15 years to complete, and he must have gone through countless drafts until he was satisfied. Even C.S. Lewis, while his books were much shorter and simpler, took several years to finish them. If there's one thing I've learned from my college writing courses and my own personal projects, it's that even the world's most talented, most creative writer takes time and work just to think up something decent.

Therefore, as C.S. Lewis would deduce it, the only conclusion we can come to is that Joseph Smith translated a legitimate ancient record with God's help, since the Book of Mormon was not only accurate on paper, but he even made some necessary corrections to the Bible itself.

 

So, today, I will be asking one of those "Big Bible Questions," questions about certain aspects of the Bible that have got a lot of people baffled, myself included. 

Today, we will focus on the story of Ananias and his wife Sapphira, which can be found in chapter 5 of the Book of Acts. While they are relatively minor figures, they are remembered as the couple who lied to the Lord, and thus the Apostle Peter, supposedly, cursed them both to death.

While we can all agree that lying to the Lord isn't good, that conspiring with your spouse isn't good, the question is: did Ananias and Sapphira deserve to die? 

As it is with all sins, what starts out small and insignificant can all too quickly escalate into something huge and dreadful. And you don't have to always commit heinous acts against the Lord to offend Him or jeopardize your own soul. Sometimes it's the cheater who's in more danger of God's justice than the thief, the rapist, or the adulterer. A person may not harm you physically, but they're not above lying to you, and so you still have to watch out for them.

What makes Ananias and Sapphira's act so disgraceful is they were essentially cheating the Church, and they just happened to be Church members themselves. They thought, in essence, they could serve two masters: God and Satan.

They could pay a handsome tithe to the Lord while not quite paying Him in full.

They could give generously to the poor while still keeping a good part of their pockets lined.

They could tell three quarters of the truth while their fingers stayed crossed behind their backs.

They could have the best of both worlds.

They could have their cake and eat it, too.

Unfortunately for them, that's not how it works...not in the long term.

God sees everything, and confessing our sins to Him is more of a matter of our willingness to come clean than about Him needing to know the facts. The parent already knows what the child has done, but does the child have the maturity to admit the deed?

Even as adults, we try to take "the easy way out" when we get caught, when it's really so much easier just to confess and get it over with. I, for one, find it's easier to stick to the facts, and thus I'm saved from having to keep track of a crazy, headache-inducing story. To me, lying is just way more trouble than it's worth. There's enough piled onto my plate as it is.

Unfortunately, many people don't see it that way, and it's easy enough to see how much of a stumbling block pride becomes. Even when a person does repent, that repentance may stem more from fear of punishment than genuine remorse.

And when all is said and done, nothing we have truly belongs to us. Everything belongs to the Lord; He's just kind enough to share with us, since wealth is meant to be shared.

So Ananias and Sapphira were trying to hold onto something that wasn't theirs in the first place, which basically made them thieves. And as it is with every thief, their "luck" could only last so long, and sure enough, that luck runs out soon enough.

But still, we must ask: was something like this worth a penalty as severe as death?

After all, even to this day, inside and outside the Church, plenty of people lie, cheat, and put dirty plans together, and they're still alive and well.

Why doesn't God strike them down, too?

Well, I can't very well speak for God Himself. Ultimately, this is something only He can judge.

However, I believe it's worth noting that Ananias and Sapphira were both members of the Church, so they had to have known better, and they did what they did anyway. A person who does something wrong in ignorance is quite a far cry from a person who does something wrong when they know it's wrong. I remember listening to a dramatized New Testament tape from my dad's collection, and one line of dialogue that stands out to me is: "When a blind man falls, all you know is he's a blind man. But when a seeing man falls on smooth ground in plain daylight, then you know he chose not to see, and cares not for seeing, and deserves to fall."

Perhaps this couple died out of sheer shock; it's possible neither of them were in the best health (in those days, you were lucky if you lived to see 40) and so they suffered some kind of heart attack or stroke on the spot. It's even possible they died by their own hands; Judas Iscariot, whom we all recall as the traitorous Apostle who sold Jesus Christ out to His enemies for thirty meager pieces of silver, was quick to commit suicide when the magnitude of his crime hit him.

Even if God did mean for them to die, perhaps He did this to prove to His Church that crime doesn't pay, least of all in that place. Depending on how well Ananias and Sapphira were known and how much of an influence they had, at least someone was bound to notice them and decide to follow their example. "If they can get away with it, so can I!"

And if there's one thing we can take away from both the Bible and the Book of Mormon, along with modern history, it's that one person, however small, can still have a significant influence, for good or bad.

So maybe God sought to nip this problem in the bud before it got too out of hand. At that time, the Church was still in the early stages, with people still reeling from Jesus's execution, the Apostles still finding their feet, and the number of enemies rising along with the number of followers. The foundation was still somewhat rickety, and people like Ananias and his wife posed a serious threat to that foundation.

It's also possible that this was God's act of mercy toward them as well as the Church.

The Great Flood in the days of Noah, as terrible as it was, proved to be beneficial because the people were only heading downhill, and so the only thing God could do for them was save them from getting any worse. It took at least a century to put the entire ark together, so no one can accuse God of not giving the people a fair chance. Only when they proved they were a lost cause was God finally obliged to step in and take the necessary action.

Moreover, the Apostasy came about not because of the persecution and deaths of the Apostles and the Saints, but because the surviving Saints twisted God's word to suit their own standards, and the Restoration came about because Joseph Smith had enough faith and confidence to approach God on his own. When all is said and done, God has always been there and has always been loving and merciful; we are the ones who turn our backs on him and refuse to listen.

If He always intervened every time we made a mistake, that goes against His entire principle of free agency. Anyone can do anything they're forced to do; it's what people do of their own accord that determines their true worthiness, and it would appear that God makes exceptions for "extreme cases," like Noah's people, the people of Sodom and Gomorrah, Gehazi, Laman and Lemuel, King Noah, Alma the Younger, the city of Ammonihah, King Herod, Saul of Tarsus...and Ananias and Sapphira.

However you interpret this story, however "extreme" Ananias and Sapphira's case might have been, how well you believe the punishment fits the crime, the fact remains that God should not and will not be mocked.

Even if you're not struck down where you stand, you won't be able to elude divine justice forever.

Just like with Pinocchio and Stromboli, you may think you're living the good life now...but as soon as the enemy's got you where he wants you, the show (and fun) is over. Your so-called "friend" becomes your captor, and only the grace and mercy of Jesus Christ can set you free.

(Pinocchio screenshots courtesy of Animation Screencaps)