In some situations. Like if it's to spare feelings--to a degree. Over all I think the truth is the best way to go, even if it's to spare feelings (because eventually the truth will come out and it'll hurt more). But I think that there are some cases where lying is either a necessity or for the best. It isn't black and white.

Technically we lie to kids about Santa Claus but it's harmless enough. It helps make it the time of year more magical for them, when they find out the truth it'll feel like the end of the world but they'll get through it and it'll help them learn that they'll get through a bad situation eventually, and they can add their own spin to the fable of Santa to children.

I don't think lying is a good thing but sometimes you should twist the truth to be respectful. Like if you're given a terrible gift from someone, you can say it's very unique and unlike anything they've ever had. Besides, people will get mad no matter what you'll do. If you lie and they find out they're mad but if you tell the truth they'll get mad at you if it's not what they want to hear. You can't win with people when it comes to the truth in certain situations, so if you can find a middle ground, that's great. However, if someone is terrible at singing or something, I'm not going to hide that from them and let them have some delusion that they're great only to get disappointed when they find out the truth. Hell, everytime I see an episode of The Andy Griffith Show where Barney gets the chance to sing (HORRIBLY) and Andy tries to keep Barney from finding out that he's awful, I just wanna yell at Andy because he's only making it worse.

Anyway, it depends on the situations, I guess.

Sometimes you just have to lie.

Mephisto would probably say something along the lines of "humans are natural born liars".
It is pretty true.
I mean, infants will cry for no reason at night just to stop their parents from creating another child. Or they'll act hungry or cry for attention.

Depends from the situation.

Only if it's for a really good reason, because lying to certain people can save your ass and also the people you care about.

Absolutely! People always lie for a reason, sometimes it's to avoid trouble other times it's because you are afraid of how people will react to the truth, maybe about something personal.

lying can also protect the people you lie to.

I don't believe that this question can be answered by a simple Yes or No. It solely depends on the reason as many stated above. Anyway, sometimes a LITTLE lie is necessary to keep things moving along !!!!

It depends on the situation.
If it means life and death
Then of course yes!

If it's a means to an end and the end is a strong one then yes. It is definitely okay.