True Lies and Lying Truth

Is it really the loving thing to support someone’s belief in a lie? A Christian friend recently told me that he wears a mask at his retail job not because it is required or even because he thinks it reduces the spread of COVID. He knows the mask fiasco is based on lies, yet he wears one to make his customers feel more comfortable. During the pandemic of 2020, most state governments instituted mask requirements on some level even while the scientific support for them wavered and fell. I am at a loss to understand why masks became so critical.

The “woke” attitude that is sweeping our society as a result of critical race theory’s rising popularity creates a similar situation. Critical race theory (CRT) insists that all white people, especially white males, are inherently racist by virtue of their identity. CRT says that the history of America is a record of white domination over all people of color. While it is true that early treatment of Native Americans and enslavement of African peoples leaves stains on the pages of our past, these conditions have been systematically legislated out of existence. If anything, we now have reverse discrimination in that minorities are given opportunities that are denied to whites. It is a blatant lie to insist that America is currently a racist society.

The discovery of email communication by Anthony Fauci during the early days of the COVID pandemic reveals that the architect of America’s response was not only hiding information about the virus’ source; he was trying to cover up the fact that he may have had a hand in its generation. A false narrative was created by people at the highest levels of the scientific and governmental apparatus which steered our COVID response in the wrong direction in an effort to protect their interests. We will never know how many lives were unnecessarily lost due to the lies we were told about the true nature and origin of COVID 19.

We are also being lied to on a global scale concerning gender identity issues. The foundational lie here is that gender is a social construct. Hormone balances and genitalia are not social constructs; they are physical realities that are present in the womb from earliest stages of life and obvious to all after birth. Telling children as young as kindergarten that they can choose their gender is cruel manipulation by ideologues in positions of power. Allowing men to use women’s rest rooms puts perverts and predators frighteningly close to our private lives. Allowing transgender men to compete in women’s events is lunacy.

Ever since the 1970’s we have been told that a homosexual lifestyle is an acceptable, even healthy alternative for those so inclined. This too is a lie. Homosexual behavior, especially among males, carries its own judgment: HIV/AIDS and rampant STD transmission significantly lowers the life expectancy of practicing homosexuals. We are told that same-sex parents can raise normal, healthy children. Some do. However, even apart from the biblical standard of two-gender parenting, social science has demonstrated that having one parent from each gender increases the child’s chances of healthy development.

In Christian circles we are being fed that lie that God is all about love, and hell is a myth. To hold this position, one has to assume that the Bible is lying – that even Jesus told lies about hell. The Bible clearly teaches throughout that God will eventually judge all people. That judgment results in some spending eternity in God’s presence, and some spending eternity elsewhere. The exact location, dimensions and character of hell may be up for debate, but its existence is a certainty. To say otherwise is a lie of the most heinous kind.

It is not popular to talk about judgment and hell. Rob Bell used to say that it makes for an unappealing story. Too bad; that’s the truth and no amount of lying will change it. I think it is A.W. Tozer I am paraphrasing to say that if we are too concerned about causing offense, we will probably not be giving the true gospel to the lost. Similarly, we will not have a healthy society if we keep spreading lies. There is good reason why Jesus is called the stone of stumbling and the rock of offense. He also called Himself the Way, the Truth and the Life. No one gets to the Father except through the Truth. We must tell the truth even when it hurts.

In the last year I have been officially un-friended, strongly criticized and even excommunicated for presenting what I thought was a biblical view of the lies we are being told. It was suggested that I review the life of Jesus to determine what His view of current events might be. Over the last few months, I studied a harmony of the Gospels as my daily devotional reading. The strongest impression I came away with is that Jesus was a very critical person. He was a stickler for the truth and a warrior against lies. He called His arch enemy the father of lies. I think we do our Lord a disservice to suggest that He would stand meekly aside while a wave of lies washes the shores of our society.

Paul counsels believers to speak the truth in love. It is a struggle to know how to do that when the most loving proclamation is branded as hate speech. Those who suggested I look to Jesus for my example will be disappointed to hear that I think Jesus would be on my side. Failing to counter a lie has the same effect as telling a lie. As I wrote in a recent post, if we don’t stand for the truth now, we may lose the right to stand for anything.

Related posts: Critical Race Theory; Truth Dysphoria; Disagree Agreeably