{"id":1062,"date":"2011-04-21T22:11:29","date_gmt":"2011-04-22T02:11:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/on_the_front_lines_of_the_culture_wars\/?p=1062"},"modified":"2011-04-21T22:12:58","modified_gmt":"2011-04-22T02:12:58","slug":"is-it-still-a-sin-to-tell-a-lie","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/on_the_front_lines_of_the_culture_wars\/2011\/04\/is-it-still-a-sin-to-tell-a-lie.html","title":{"rendered":"Is it still a sin to tell a lie?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Is it still a sin to lie? Then why does America shrug off lying?<\/p>\n

When our politicians are caught lying, their supporters often resort to the old clich\u00e9: all politicians lie.<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Thomas Jefferson<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

But if you study American history, that is itself a lie. Statesmen didn\u2019t lie. It is difficult to find any time that George Washington lied. The same can be said for John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, James Garfield, Calvin Coolidge, Dwight Eisenhower or Ronald Reagan.<\/p>\n

Richard Nixon and Bill Clinton stand out as famous liars \u2013 intentionally making untrue statements to the American public and being caught in the act.\u00a0Among the presidents who did lie, there are enormous differences in the importance and frequency of the lies.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cUsually when politicians lie, they are trying to avoid political damage, or to make themselves look good,\u201d observes John Ellis in Front Page<\/em> magazine.<\/p>\n

Clinton lied and was disgraced by his impeachment trial. However, he did it to save himself from embarrassment about his sexual misbehavior. His wife, Hillary, lied to the press about coming under sniper fire at an airport in Bosnia. Why? Perhaps to enhance her nonexistent foreign affairs profile.<\/p>\n

\u201cNixon was forced from office because he lied to cover up his involvement in a political dirty trick,\u201d writes Ellis. \u201cJohn Kerry lied about his Vietnam combat experience to blunt his anti-military reputation.”<\/p>\n

But even scarier is how lying is becoming a part of American culture. The culprit is a lack of honesty in the media, higher education and the entertainment industry, writes Andrew Klavan in the New York City magazine City Journal. <\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cIn movies, TV shows, novels, even comedy routines, our intellectuals, entertainers, and others are busily reshaping reality,\u201d writes Klavan. \u201cSee if you can spot the difference between reality and American culture. Terri Schiavo was a severely brain-damaged woman who was judicially starved to death in 2005 at the request of her husband, while evangelical Christian right-to-life groups unsuccessfully petitioned to keep her alive.\u201d<\/p>\n

That\u2019s reality, however, how has it been twisted in modern American culture?<\/p>\n

\u201cAn episode of Law and Order entitled \u2018Age of Innocence\u2019 depicted a severely brain-damaged woman whose husband tried to euthanize her \u2013 until he was murdered at the instigation of an evangelical Christian right-to-lifer.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn reality, Christians try to keep people alive. In the media, they murder people.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnthropological studies have shown that primitive societies are even more violent than civilized ones,\u201d writes Klavan. \u201cPrimitive life is pretty miserable in general, with no protection against drought or famine, no medicine \u2013 so that even the simplest diseases can be deadly \u2013 and no equality for women, who have zero defense against pregnancy or oppression.\u201d<\/p>\n

But the media loves the myth of the noble savage.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn films such as Dances with Wolves, Pocahontas, <\/em>and Avatar<\/em> \u2013 which are really all the same film,\u201d writes Klavan, \u201ca civilized man enters primitive society and finds its values far superior to his own. The collectivist natives are peaceful, the women are treated with respect and ancient forms of medicine work as well as modern ones.<\/p>\n

\u201cSpot the difference?\u201d asks Klavan. \u201cRight! In reality, it\u2019s civilization, democracy, capitalism, and technology that give us greater health, equality, and happiness.\u201d<\/p>\n

So when you watch Dances with Wolves<\/em> and Avatar<\/em>,\u00a0while they worship the sacred Earth, but portray U.S. soldiers as evil sadists out to destroy native peoples, see if you can spot the difference between the myth of the films and, for example, Japan and Haiti.<\/p>\n

“There our old pal, the sacred Earth,” writes Klavan,\u00a0“slaughtered innocent people by the thousands and the U.S. military turned out in a massive rescue effort.”<\/p>\n

But in the media, notes Klavan, \u201cthe U.S. military is always evil, corporations are always corrupt and poverty is always the fault of wealthy people\u2019s greed.\u201d<\/p>\n

The problem, explains journalist Marsha West, is that too many in the media and entertainment think that lying is just fine. They don’t care about truth – they\u00a0are terrified of\u00a0being politically incorrect.<\/p>\n

\u201cMull this over in your mind,” ask West. “When was the last time you heard an abortion supporter say, \u2018I\u2019m pro-abortion\u2019? Pro-aborts proudly proclaim they\u2019re \u2018pro-choice,\u2019 or they\u2019re for \u2018abortion rights.\u2019 That\u2019s weird. I mean, think about it. A woman has no \u2018right\u2019 to kill an unwanted child.\u201d After all, what would the child’s choice be?<\/p>\n

So, what\u2019s wrong with a little political correctness?<\/p>\n

In Revelation 21:8, John warns \u201cBut for the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and immoral persons and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their part will be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.\u201d<\/p>\n

That\u2019s not open to much interpretation, notes author Dave Hintz. John also \u201cdescribes the character of those unfit to enter the pearly gates in Revelation 21:26-27, \u2018no one who practices abomination and lying, shall ever come into it.’<\/p>\n

In Revelation 22:15, John notes the character of those who do not reside in the heavenly city, \u201cOutside are the dogs and the sorcerers and the immoral persons and the murderers and the idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices lying.\u201d<\/p>\n

Only one sin makes all three lists. Lying.<\/em><\/p>\n

Of all sins why does God pick on this one?<\/p>\n

\u201cFirst of all,\u201d writes Hintz, \u201cliars do not trust in God. The second reason God hates lying is because He is a God of truth. He is trustworthy and reliable in both word and deed. Therefore, if we are to be holy as He is holy (Leviticus 19:2) we must not lie.<\/p>\n

\u201cA third reason why God hates liars,\u201d writes Hintz, \u201cis that this sin enslaves the liar. Lies are like potato chips \u2013 no one can have just one. When someone tells a lie, he must utter another fabrication to cover it up. With great speed, the liar spins a tangled web of falsehood which envelops himself.<\/p>\n

\u201cOnly the sharp sword of truth can cut him free.\u201d<\/p>\n

And that applies to America.<\/p>\n

Even when telling the truth is politically incorrect.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Is it still a sin to lie? Then why does America shrug off lying? When our politicians are caught lying, their supporters often resort to the old clich\u00e9: all politicians lie. But if you study American history, that is itself a lie. Statesmen didn\u2019t lie. It is difficult to find any time that George Washington…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":270,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,101,83,71,108,107,1],"tags":[379,18],"class_list":["post-1062","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-bible","category-history","category-inspirational","category-news","category-news-media","category-political-correctness","category-uncategorized","tag-abortion","tag-inspiration"],"yoast_head":"\nIs it still a sin to tell a lie? - On the Front Lines of the Culture Wars<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/on_the_front_lines_of_the_culture_wars\/2011\/04\/is-it-still-a-sin-to-tell-a-lie.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Is it still a sin to tell a lie? - On the Front Lines of the Culture Wars\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Is it still a sin to lie? Then why does America shrug off lying? When our politicians are caught lying, their supporters often resort to the old clich\u00e9: all politicians lie. But if you study American history, that is itself a lie. Statesmen didn\u2019t lie. 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