LIES, TRUTH and JUDGMENT
Anonymous
(Investigator 210, 2023 May)
LIES HAVE CONSEQUENCES
A
flurry of conspiracy theories in 2021 blamed Donald Trump's defeat in
the US presidential election on vote rigging, deliberate miscounting,
and compromised vote-counting machines.
In
April 2023 Dominion Voting Systems obtained a US$787m settlement in its
defamation lawsuit against America's most watched cable news network
Fox News. Dominion had accused Fox News of publicizing conspiracies in
its news broadcasts that harmed the company.
The
dispute was resolved just as the court was seated to hear the opening
statements. The settlement did not represent accountability and Fox
News was not forced to apologize but acknowledged that "certain claims"
made about Dominion were false.
Outside Delaware Superior Court in Wilmington the Dominion lawyer declared: "The truth matters. Lies have consequences."
THEMES OF THE BIBLE
Lies
and truth and their consequences are themes of the Bible. Lies appear
in the Garden of Eden story; at the trial of Jesus; and at the final
judgment. The number of times the relevant words occur in the King
James Bible (by provisional count) are:
| Deceit; Deceitful; Deceitfully |
68 |
| Deceive; Deceiving; Deceived; Deceiver |
77 |
| False; Falsehood; Falsely |
62 |
| Feign(ed) |
2
|
| Liar(s) |
21 |
| Lie(s) |
98 |
| Pretence |
3 |
| Truth |
217 |
TRUTH, LIES and DECEIT
The Bible commands:
So then, putting away falsehood, let all of us speak the truth to our neighbors... (Ephesians 4:25)
Do not lie to one another... (Colossians 3:9)
The Encyclopedia of Biblical and Christian Ethics explains:
Statements
are thus regarded as true if they match in detail the manner in which
the events described actually occurred. (p. 416)
Deception
is thus a calculated and deliberate misrepresentation of people and
circumstances... It seeks to gain an advantage by direct lying or by
distorting the truth so that someone is wrongfully deprived or cheated
because of having been persuaded by the incomplete or inaccurate
information. (p. 102)
Verbal
lying consists of uttering statements which in part or whole are known
by the person making them to be contrary to fact. (p. 242)
The Bible teaches that the whole world is deceived due to lies and behind it is "Satan the Devil". (Revelation 12:9)
Areas
of life riddled with lies and deception include war, crime, espionage,
advertising, interpersonal relationships, religion, and the paranormal.
SLANDER
One type of lie called "slander" damages a person's reputation by publicly accusing him of deplorable things he is innocent of:
You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. (Exodus 20:16)
Those who walk blamelessly and do what is right ... do not slander with their tongue... (Psalm 15:2-3)
But now you must get rid of all such things — anger, wrath, malice, slander... (Colossians 3:8)
JUDGMENT
The Bible predicts a final judgment for all:
"I
tell you, on the day of judgment you will have to give an account for
every careless word you utter; for by your words you will be justified,
and by your words you will be condemned." (Matthew 12:36-37)
For
he [God] will repay according to each one's deeds: to those who by
patiently doing good seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will
give eternal life; while for those who are self-seeking and who obey
not the truth but wickedness, there will be wrath and fury.
(Romans 2:6-8)
But as for ... all liars, their place will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulphur... (Revelation 21:8)
BIBLICAL ETHICS
The
intention behind biblical ethics is to promote benefits such as long
life, health, prosperity, wellbeing, and peaceful relationships. The
command "Do not lie", if obeyed, advances these benefits.
By
giving a platform to false claims that harmed Dominion, Fox News
rejected the Bible's counsel regarding truthfulness and followed their
own wisdom and it's costing them US$787 million. It demonstrates that
"The wisdom of this world is foolishness with God." (I Corinthians
3:19)
People
lie, the Bible says, to "conceal hatred" (Proverbs 10:18) and to
facilitate evil intentions — "Deceit is in the mind of those who plan
evil." (Proverbs 12:20) "Hatred" and "evil intentions" reached
spectacular levels when Hitler declared he wants peace and has no more
territorial ambitions but then started World War II, and when President
Putin declared his troop concentrations were just standard training and
he's pulling them back, but then invaded Ukraine.
In
my more detailed article, "Lies and Liars: A Theme of the Bible"
(#101), I explained how the cumulative effect of all lies will be the
ruin of Earth, the best planet anyone knows of, which required billions
of years to prepare. That's why judgment will be horrific for people
who don't repent, because the crime is so great. The lawyer is right,
"Lies have consequences."
Harrison, R.K. (General Editor) 1987 Encyclopedia of Biblical and Christian Ethics, Thomas Nelson
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fox_News
https://www.nytimes.com/live/2023/04/18/business/fox-news-dominion-trial-settlement.html