The Real Truth About Lying: A comment to Jessica Bennett from Newsweek

In the article "The Truth About Lying" by Jessica Bennett from the Newsweek Web Exclusive, Bennett summarises how even though Americans want honesty in their leaders, deception and lying is deeply entrenched in the society. Most American young people lie constantly and cheat, as they see that liars in society are highly rewarded.

Having read the article, I was sickened to think that lying has become culturally acceptable in a nation that has impacted the world Christian and Jewish religious faiths tremendously.

To make matters even more sickening, I saw a companion article by Raina Kelley who argues that some type of lying can be good for marriages. She argues that little white lies are the things that keep marriages together.

These columnists are exalting deception, lies and lying in society. Be not deceived, for God's judgement is heavy on liars. Revelation 21:27 states that

"And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb's book of life."

Revelation 22:15 says that people who will be excluded from God's beautiful city will include liars:

"For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie."

Though the corrupt agents of Satan in the media wants us to think that lying is no big deal and that you can be successful if you practice lying, the Scriptures say otherwise.:

"Blessed is that man that maketh the LORD his trust, and respecteth not the proud, nor such as turn aside to lies." (Psalm 40:4, KJV)

In fact God wants us to exalt truth and not to respect liars. We must not honour liars, as this is to bring a curse upon us. That is why when Obama broke his first campaign promise about restricting campaign funding to what the Federal state provided, I rejected him as a liar. McCain too is a convenient liar, and I saw that the race for the White House in 2008 was a race between two men who could not be true to their words.





Proverbs 19:22 states that "a poor man is better than a liar."

Finally, Jesus argued that persons who accept lies, tell lies and despise truth are the children of Satan. In John 8:44, Jesus declares:

"Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it."

Finally, God classifies lies and deceptive lips in the same way he does homosexuality. He states in Proverbs 12:22:

Lying lips are abomination to the LORD: but they that deal truly are his delight.

Among the things that God hates, on his list, lies is one of them. In Proverbs 6:16-17 (King James Version), God says:

These six things doth the LORD hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him:

A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood,

Without even going to the ten commandments, God is explicit in declaring that he hates lies and deceptions, and whosoever loveth lies and deception will experience his wrath and judgement.



Reference:

Bennett, Jessica. "The Truth About Lying" Newsweek Web Exclusive Aug 26, 2009, Retrieved August 27, 2009 from http://www.newsweek.com/id/213575


Kelley, Raina. "Married, With Lies: Why a little deception can be good for a relationship." Newsweek Aug 26, 2009 Retrieved August 27, 2009 from http://www.newsweek.com/id/213574

The need for a Christian Museum

I am very supportive of the Memory of the World UNESCO programme, which is aimed at preserving "valuable archive holdings and library collections worldwide" (http://www.unesco.org/webworld/en/mow). This is another step at cultural preservation, which is very valuable in my perspective. I believe that the way of life and perspectives of ancient people should be documented for future generations to understand the past and where humanity and civilization is coming from. I admire for example, Judaism, which has preserved most of its traditions from centuries ago. Unlike Christianity, where our traditions have become so modified from the original traditions of the first apostles, Judaism can at any time return to the practice of what their ancestors practiced and believed, because these traditions are well documented and detailed.

For Christianity, the same cannot be said. Today’s Christian traditions are so far removed from those practiced by early Christians, and centuries of persons disputing the faith have changed what is practiced and believed, that what is handed down today that passes for Christianity is very distorted.

Today, if we had cultural preservation, today's Christian adherents would realise that their forerunners in the faith kept the sabbaths and operated differently from our formal and institutionalized way of operating today.

I must add that Satan has tried to derail Christianity from its inception.

Jude 1:3 (KJV) says

Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints.

This indicates that there were detractors who wanted to confuse and distort what Christians believed. In these last days however, G-d is about to unleash the prophetic spirit - and more understanding of the Scriptures so that we can return to our spiritual roots. As Daniel 12:4 says:

But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.

May G-d reveal and enlighten our pastors and spiritual leaders today that they may behold the stone from which we were hewn. May G-d reconcile the children to the Fathers, and avert the curse from being stricken on the earth (as stated in Malachi 4:5-6 (King James Version)).

Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD:

And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.

If I could establish a virtual Christian museum to facilitate this process of restoration.

A pamphlet on The Lies in Christendom

I will be writing a pamphlet entitled "The Lies in Christendom". This pamphlet covers my own evolution as a Christian, where G-d gradually brought me to a place where I have tested all that I have been taught and have discovered many errors and distortions in Christian doctrine.

Yet, I have a duty not to keep the errors to myself, but through dialogue in love and concern to share with church leaders, pastors and others some of the lies that they have been told and believed.

As I begin this project, i will keep you posted. Below are some excerpts from my first draft of the first chapter:

Before the book begins, it is important first to define the term, "LIES". What is a lie? A lie is misrepresentation or distortion of truth. It is deception in all its form.



A lie is not error! Error comes when there is something unknown and one attempts to guess, postulate or make a judgement based on information given, but fails to precisely comprehend the unknown.



This distinction must be very clear. Because not all the times that pastors, priests or churches teach things that distort the truth. Sometimes they teach things that are erroneous, or a misunderstanding of reality or truth. A misunderstanding, misconception or misconstruing are not lies. These are only failures in human thinking to perceive truth.



Lies however involves knowledge of truth and reality, yet a deliberate attempt to misrepresent or distort that reality.



In order to support this idea of what lies are, let us go to the source of all truth. Many if not most Christians agree that the Bible is the source of truth. If you believe this, then we can trust that the Bible will be able to define what LIES are. If you do not believe this, then you will have to trust the dictionary's definition.



Yet, it is strange that people are willing to trust dictionaries and not the Bible. While both sources have been around for a long time, the Bible is much older and is a compilation of writings from men who have experiences times and lives that we have not. The dictionary also is a compilation of words, with a shorter history, done by men.



There are between the dictionary and the Bible. Both deal with the written Word/word. Words communicated throughout the ages. Both have been written with cultural perspectives and lens.



Personally, the author trust both the Bible and the dictionary as recorded sources of knowledge. One is of historical and spiritual knowledge and power, while the other is the source of communicative power.



Humanity's knowledge of the spiritual and of monotheism begins in the Bible. All major monotheistic religions embrace the first few books in the Bible. Though they have their own interpretations and additions, all monotheistic faiths believe in the Pentateuch and the laws thereof.



It is in the Pentateuch that we first as humanity find a definition of lie as being immoral.



In Genesis - we have as our record the first lie ever told. The perpetrator - a mysterious serpent. This serpent contradicted G-d by telling the first human pair that if they disobeyed G-d, they would not "surely die."



It is from this passage we learn the origin of death. Thus, clearly, there is a link between death and lies. The first LIE was the cause for humanity's loss of immortality.



Consequently, if we today believe lies, it too can cause us loss of immortality. If we today believe lies, it can cost us life. Thus lies are not to be trifled with.