Lies as a weapon of evil
By drs. Piet Guijt - translated by Ursula Moestapa
Contents
1. Introduction
2. What is a lie?
3. Sorts of untruths
4. Why do people lie? What are their motives?
5. Why do people believe a lie?
6. Disadvantages of lying
7. Consequences of a lie: deception, false teachings, deceit, damage, sorrow
8. Practical protection against lies
9. Delivered from the lie
10.List of literature
1. Introduction
Since the Fall, there has been a battle going on between light and darkness, between life and death, between freedom and bondage, between truth and lie.
The origin and the essence of the lie is Satan or the devil. Jesus said about him: “He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.” (John 8: 44). This means that he is the origin of the principle of ‘lying’. Therefore, by his lies he tempts all humanity to sin. Also the first sin is a result of deception and lies (c.f. Genesis 2: 16-17 to 3: 1 and 4). When we lie (proclaiming untruth, distorting the truth, keeping the truth down), we step into the traces of the devil (24). Because of the lie, man does no longer live in the full freedom of a close relationship with God. He who is separated from God, is entangled in the lie.
2. What is a lie?
A lie is an assertion or a written statement, which is not in agreement with the truth and reality. We speak of a mistake when there is no deliberate intent involved. Does this happen consciously? Then we speak of a lie. Below, we shall mention several sorts of lies, and examine why people do lie and/or believe lies.
A ‘lie’ can also be interpreted more broadly, e.g. as an error, namely everything that is not in agreement with the truth or reality, and we should take it even more broadly, namely in a normative sense, which is everything that is not according to God’s holy will. Everything that goes against the Word of God is a lie and is rebellion and wickedness. That is the work of the devil, who doesn’t want that men should be happy and he wants them to remain in the lie, which makes them miserable.
In this article, we will mainly elaborate on lies in the here and now and its consequences, though with the deep awareness that it cannot be separated from the spiritual background. After all, the Bible speaks in many texts about truth (especially in the Gospel of John) and lies, for example in Deutr. 5: 20; Ps. 119: 29, 163; Eph. 4: 25; Rev. 14: 5; 21: 27).
3. Sorts of untruths (24)
There are different kinds of untruths/lies, and there are degrees in the extents of deliberate intent and the extent to which an assertion deviates from the truth. Also the scale on which the lie has an impact, can differ.
a 1. In the absence of deliberate intent, we speak of fantasy or a mistake (pf e.g.) poor journalism, misinformation.
a 2. Sometimes a lie can be meant as a satire or a joke or it can be put as an excuse in hindsight. A so-called white lie is meant to achieve a good purpose and therefore it is often judged mildly (29). And as a matter of a certain tradition, e.g. Saint Nicolas, things are told to children which are actually not true.
b. In case of minor deviations from the truth, we speak of exaggeration or trivialization (29). This happens very often.
c. Half the truth. This is a deceiving statement, which includes some elements of the truth. The statement can be partly true. The statement as such can also be totally true, but may include just one part of the whole truth. The statement can also contain deceitful elements, such as ambiguity and incorrect punctuation. The intention of a halve truth is to deceive, to avoid, to blame others or to give a wrong idea of things (29).
Other examples are: deceiving advertisement, fraud, fake news, deep fakes.
We speak of deep fake when video-films are created and put on the internet about people that do and say things they have never done or said.
This deep fake technology can be very dangerous, and it “confirms a culture where the discernment between real and unreal is fading away. It’s not for nothing that many speak about a post-truth community … it all shows how much truth and lie are blurring” (6).
d. An oral or written assertion of which the speaker of writer knows that it is in conflict with the truth. E.g.: through propaganda, deliberately speaking of untruth with the intent to deceive and do evil and wrong to others. Scam through e.g. phishing and match fixing. Lying may lead to punishable facts such as forgery, defamation and perjury (29).
e1. Error, having a wrong idea. This can involve a lot of issues. E.g. having a wrong self-image. One may have continually heard: you’re nothing and you’re incapable of doing anything. And he will believe it. That’s very harmful. Error may also involve having a wrong view of Bible verses (therefore all things should be tested (16)) or a wrong view of supporting a wrong (false) religion.
e 2. Another kind of error are delusions or delusional thoughts. People live in a delusional world.
f. Self-deceit. A person may lie so much that he himself no longer knows what the reality in fact is. He believes his own lie and therefore his own reality (31).
4. Why do people lie? What are their motives? (24, 25, 26, 33)
Humanity that has fallen into sin, lives in a world where Satan is still the chief (John 12: 31; 14: 30; 16: 11). The selfish man that doesn’t live in freedom yet, is still focused on self-interest, which is also the basic cause of lying and deceiving).
a. Lying as a consolation. This happens because lies sometimes can offer consolation when the truth can be disturbing. But where is the limit? What is wisdom? When a physician knows that a patient is very vulnerable, he will consider to be silent about the patient’s brief life expectation, in order to make his final months more bearable, or to actually tell him the truth, in order to give the patient the opportunity to spend his final months meaningfully (32, 34). Sometimes, some people fool themselves by suppressing certain issues.
b.Lying out of consideration. People don’t want to hurt others. If I assume that I am telling the truth and the other person has another truth, how then do I prevent the other of getting hurt? For the truth can be painful in some cases, and even hurtful. Imagine me paying a maternity visit to an acquaintance or friend. I look into the crib and I think that I’ve never seen such an ugly baby. Do I tell that? No, because its mother thinks that her baby is the most beautiful baby of the world. I would hurt her by telling her about my opinion (32). But if the truth should not to be silenced, then it’s very important to deal with the matter with wisdom, understanding and tact, and to possibly offer some support (13).
c. People think to gain advantage out of lying, e.g.: people love to be considered nice, gentle or popular. With catching and or sensational headlines, (14) men try to draw the attention to themselves and to get more money out of it. They want to achieve something, to have their way, which is therefore manipulation.
d. A totally different kind of motive is that one can lie because of shame (one says ‘I don’t know’ – because he doesn’t dare to speak the truth). Or because he wants to avoid confrontations or out of the fear of consequences, or certain undesirable consequences, such as an escape from punishment or imprisonment. One can use excuses, e.g.: “The bus was delayed”. Peter lied three times: ‘I don’t know that person at all”, and in doing so he even cursed himself. And Abraham deliberately concealed the (full) truth, in fact that Sarah was also his wife (Gen. 12: 11-13; 20: 1-3). Or one lies, in order to escape from reality (28). Lying is a means to deny something. When after the departure of the Russian army from the Ukrainian Bucha, several people were found dead on the street and were killed by Russian soldiers, the Kremlin proclaimed the lie that it was all fake and doctored, in order to be able to accuse the Russians. Denying may have something dubious. It can be on the one hand a crude, brutal lie, but on the other hand an attempt to deny guilt, because otherwise you might completely lose your sanity out of guilt.
e. Lying to deliberately mislead or hurt one or more individuals. People withhold certain information, e.g. hidden defects of a car they want to sell. A fraud gives false information to extort an amount of money. People can also possibly conspire to lie to other people. E.g. a group of politicians that keep it secret that massive environmental contamination has been identified, because they want to be reelected (13).
f. Seeking to have influence, control, and power. People use lie as a rhetoric trick. Rhetoric is the metaphor that uses clichés and bombastic language. Originally, it was synonymous with rhetorica, but later degenerated into a negative reference to hollow phrases, meaning speaking broadly but saying little. It is therefore referred to as hollow rhetoric (31).
Sometimes people want to promote an ideology at all costs, even if it takes a lie and deceit. Often the hunger for power and money plays an important role. All impure and selfish motives. Powerful sectors still very much value lies as a way to manipulate the spirits of the people they want to influence. In that way they succeed in convincing people to nevertheless accept the inacceptable. Often, people also want to keep controlling the media and all institutions to convey their ideology (32).
The lie is being promoted via propaganda (the Latin term is propagare which means to propagate or to reproduce), which is a form of communication in which an attempt is made by the interested party to win supporters for its ideas. By deliberately spreading one-sided and or (even) fabricated information, attempts are made to manipulate public opinion. In this process, various propaganda techniques are used, such as repetition, tricks, deception, suggestive use of words, euphemisms, framing, symbols, slogans, camera techniques, photo falsification (30).
Propagandistic campaigns with the extent of that as it was in Nazi Germany, as well as that of e.g. the Soviet Union under the government of Joseph Stalin, North Korea and Iraq under the government of Saddam Hussein, are also known as indoctrination. They occur especially – and can remain to exist if uncorrected – in dictatorships without freedom of speech (30). There is often also coercion, where the recipient of freedom of choice can be (severely) limited. He who doesn’t believe the lie, waits years of imprisonment. A recent example is the Russian invasion of Ukraine. We see how a lie can cover it up or legitimize it. Putin wants to ‘liberate’ Ukraine from the ‘Nazi’ regime in Kiev. And former KGB agent, Kirill (now Patriarch of the Russian-Orthodox ‘Church’) legitimizes the war with the false argument of defending Russia against Western decadence. But that was not Putin’s argument and goal. And furthermore, one should not fight decadence with war and destruction, but with spiritual means. People should consider that legitimization depends on belief in the lie. The support base is partly to be blamed for the evil.
g. Sick spirits (15), for example lying pathologically (lying for the sake of lying). It can reach the point where it really becomes an addiction. A pathological liar knows full well (in contrast to the pseudological liar who believes in his own lies) that his assertions are not true, but cannot restrain the impulse to lie (10, 29). A special kind of lies and or delusional ideas are conspiracy theories. They are often made up and circulated by paranoid people who distrust the government (8).
I am amazed at what people like to believe. The American conspiracy thinker Alex Jones alleged, that the two shootings in the USA which were fatal for dozens of elementary school pupils, had been staged. And that the parents were actors.
Recently, Jones was convicted in a trial, but according to him it is a witch-hunt and the prosecutors, judges and the jury are all ‘demon possessed’ and ‘under the spell of the cult ideology of the New World Order (1).
In conclusion of this paragraph, we still want to note that not all lies have to do with selfishness or ‘evil’. Consider the Egyptian midwives Shiphrah and Puah (Exodus 1) and the harlot Rahab in Jericho who lied about the two spies (Joshua 2). And would you not lie when in the Second World War some Nazis would ask you whether you were hiding Jews in your house?
5. Why do people believe a lie?
a. Lies can sometimes be easier to be understood and believed than the truth (33)
b. People like to believe what they want to hear. They would rather not have a negative message (13). We all would (like) to believe news that are pleasing to our ears. People even prefer to believe something that goes against all evidences (33). An uneasy truth is even changed into an easily digestible lie and they violate the truth (27).
c. People who have difficulties (such as poverty, loneliness) are (more) susceptible to deception by nice enticing promises in advertisements or from scammers and criminals. Think of ‘phishing’ (scam by people who entice them to a false (bank) website, which is a copy of the real website) and ‘match fixing’ (the manipulation of a match through bribery, so that it ends in a predetermined score).
d. People who distrust the government would like to believe news that confirm their distrust. We saw it during the Corona crisis. Also people who hate certain (groups of) people would love to believe certain lies about them. So, when a deceiver tells lies to gain a base of support for his wrong intentions, then those who believe the lie and in that way contribute to the desired base of support, are also to be blamed for the detrimental consequences of that lie. Those who believe (or want to believe) certain lies, are therefore in a certain sense just as evil as those who tell or circulate these lies. He who is so ‘evil’ that he convinces himself that his lie is the truth, is indeed ‘evil’. So the question is always how much relevance the listener attaches to the truth.
6. The Disadvantages of lying
We can make a twofold distinction here, namely disadvantage for the one who tells (or believes) lies, and disadvantageous consequences for other people who are victims of lies (par. 7).
He who lies is in a certain sense a servant of the evil one. People think that with lying they can gain profit, but lying is much more destructive than most people think. If one lies often enough, he ultimately fools him/herself. And when he lies repetitively, the brain adapts and barely responds at all. Habituation sets in. This is why liars are able to consistently tell ever bigger and more destructive lies (26).
“The serious consequence is also a loss of morality and an increased inner state of restlessness” (28).
Moreover, it should be kept in mind that lying costs an unnecessarily amount of energy. When a person lies, he will quickly consider what the best story is, which factors should be changed, whom could or could not be fooled with which lie, etcetera. And when he tells something, he will always have to keep in mind what he had told earlier. All of this is just to avoid being caught. Because you can't be caught with the truth, it is just there, but a lie can be revealed (13). Ander furthermore, however fast the lie, the truth will catch up with it (26).
Also, he who believes or denies the truth, harms and damages himself (13). Think of e.g. a scammer who believes in his own lie. Or an alcoholic who claims not to be addicted at all and refuses any help. Another kind of deception is anorexia, whereby a person who is very thin, thinks that she is very fat and has to lose weight.
If lying is a mask for a deeper problem, or because a person doesn’t dare to face certain circumstances or wants to hide something, it is of great importance to face him/herself and to stop lying. The reality is after all that only the truth makes a person free. After all, becoming aware of lying, dealing with it and starting to be honest, can be a huge liberation for oneself, and for one’s environment.
7. Consequences of a lie are deception, false teachings, fraud, harm, sorrow.
There are ‘limitless’ situations in which lies and deception and delusions have led to very much grief and misery.
We shall mention some examples. First some on a small, more personal scale and then some examples on a larger scale.
Through scams, people can suffer great financial loss. In the (Dutch) television program Opgelicht (‘Scammed’) you hear the most distressing examples of this. In some cases there is also emotional damage when a person pretends to be a lover or a potential marriage partner, but is often only after the money. Lover boys can ensnare young girls with nice talks and promises and make their lives miserable.
Some people have the delusion of being in a wrong body and believe the lie that the problem could be solved by a surgery. But that’s no solution. On the contrary, for it often leads to even more problems, not only physical but also psychological and social problems.
As a result of the lies of the American conspiracy thinker Alex Jones, the parents of the murdered children were often harassed with death threats and they even had to move frequently. Remarkable was that the lies of this man found an eager audience with gun lobby supporters (1).
Because people think that the ivory tusks of elephants and the horns of rhinos would have a potency enhancing effect, many animals are killed unnecessarily.
Particularly in Pakistan, Christians are falsely accused by Muslims for something and therefore end up in jail for years. A well-known example is Asia Bibi who was innocently imprisoned for years. In North Korea, Christians are taken captive or taken to a labor camp because people believe the lie that these Christians would have a bad influence on the country. The contrary is true.
The Taliban in Afghanistan think that women are a danger for the public respectability or morality and should therefore be completely veiled, in such a way that you can’t see anything of them. And they are not to be educated. That’s very stupid and sad, because then women can't get medical education either. It is God’s will that people, even in public, may become who they are and that their talents may come to fruition, also to serve the country.
False religions are deceptive because they don’t lead to Jesus which is the (only) Way, the Truth and the Life. In addition, it’s often the result that Christians are totally unjustifiably persecuted in every possible way because of their faith. Think of the persecution by ISIS which, based on lies and delusions, kill their fellowmen. Extreme were the very brutal and bestial beheadings of namely Christians by ISIS in Iraq and Syria. We see that a lie often goes hand in hand with force and violence. In May 2022 in Nigeria, Deborah Samuel Takubu was lynched by fellow students because of a rumor that she would have insulted Muhammed on Whatsapp. In the first three months of 2022, almost 900 Nigerian Christians were killed by the attacks of extremist Muslims (Source: Open Doors).
The result of the false legitimacy (partly ‘owing to’ the supporting base provided by the Russian people) of the Russian invasion in Ukraine, there has been an inconceivable amount of grief, fear, pain, loss of human lives, destructions, etc. Moreover, one lie evokes another. Putin puts the blame of the cause of the invasion in Ukraine on NATO, and the Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov blames Ukraine for aggression, because it defends itself against Russia with Western weapons.
Likewise, sympathizing with amongst others anarchists who intend to put the government in a bad light, may lead to very negative social consequences. Think of the denial of the climate issue. Or the belief in conspiracy theory that the government would have deliberately created the Corona crisis, while it was later proven that the virus originated at an animal market in China.
A stunning example of how cunningly the truth is being distorted and in this way the entire world population is deceived, can be read in the book titled ‘Iedermans Ondergang’ (‘Everyone’s Downfall’) by Roelof Ham (9). In the end time, the Antichrist will be able to do the same, and therefore it is for us as Christians very important to be very vigilant and to remain faithful to the Word of God, even in great tribulation.
8. Practical defense against lies
A lot of information (as well as by text, image and video) is worldwide exchanged every day. Both in direct physical contact and via telephone as well. And furthermore via media such as radio and television, daily papers, magazines, advertisement flyers and in present days also via social media and many (about 2 million) websites (22). The big question is which information in the jungle of data is accurate and reliable. A big problem is actually, that not everyone who puts information on the internet, does it with pure intentions. Whom or what can you still believe and trust (22)?
The fact that we distrust the news journals more and more often, has created a new phenomenon, the so-called fact checkers that control whether the things claimed are true. But again, you can't just say with certainty that the label "true" or "false" placed by them on articles or claims is truly reliable. The German American philosopher from Jewish descent (female) Hannah Arendt, once said: “When a man no longer knows what is right or wrong, you can tell him anything. And in the world where good and evil, truth and lie have become dependent on each person's personal choice (which is increasingly the case), it has become easier than ever to influence people, which is a dangerous development” (22).
In order to recognize fake news on the internet, one should always examine where the news had been placed and what the source is of the information. You can google the source mentioned. And try to find the sender. If that’s not certain, you can search for the account online. On the large news websites you often see in Facebook a ‘blue check mark”. This means that they have been controlled and verified by Facebook. And of course you should also check the news with other media. And look at the photos and videos carefully.
So far, a few practical points. But way more important is it, that people are essentially being delivered from the deception and the deceiver.
9. Delivered from the lie
If one really and forever wants to be delivered from the lie, from the delusion, from evil, from satan, then there is only one single possibility, which is the faith in the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ, Who said: “I am the Way, the Truth and the Life” (John 14: 6a) Then he will be transferred into the Kingdom of God, where he finds his destination for ever in perfect peace, liberty and blissfulness. Then he will no longer have to lie and will no longer be a victim of deception and error, for he lives forever in the light of God’s love and glory. Then he lives in the truth with another normative dimension, which is that what is in accordance with what God has intended. Jesus says: “Sanctify them in Thy truth, Thy Word is the truth” (John 17:17). And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free (John 8:32). Truth is everything which is according to God’s will.
List of literature
1. Jan van Benthem, Complotdenker Alex Jones moet de waarheid erkennen (Conspiracy thinker Alex Jones must confess the truth). Nederlands Dagblad, 5 augustus 2022. Bron (Source): https://www.nd.nl/nieuws/buitenland/1136095/de-amerikaanse-complotdenker-alex-jones-moet-de-waarheid-eindel#/reader?page=3
2. Ruben den Boer, Tuin er niet in (Do not be fooled): 7 soorten nepnieuws & voorbeelden (7 kinds of fake news & examples).
Bron (Source): Tuin er niet in: 7 soorten nepnieuws & voorbeelden - Frankwatching
3. Marlien Boom, Satan, de vader van de leugen (Satan, the father of all lies). Bron: Satan, de vader van de leugen - She-rises.net
4. Paul Boonefaes, Zwijg! (Be silent!) Waarom woke niet deugt (Why woke is no good).
5. Paul Boonefaes, Het woke-isme is een aanval op de redelijkheid. (Woke-ism is an attack on reasonability) Bron: Het woke-isme is een aanval op de redelijkheid - Wynia's Week (wyniasweek.nl)
6. Ad de Bruijne, Deep fake. Column in Nederlands Dagblad, 12 juni 2022
7. De legende over leugens en waarheid (The myth about lies and truth). Bron: De legende over leugens en waarheid - Verken je geest (Explore your spirit)
8. Piet Guijt, Het leugenmechanisme van complottheorieën (The lie mechanism of conspiracy theories) Bron: https://www.stichtingpromise.com/complottheorieeumln.html
9. Roelof Ham, Iedermans Ondergang (Everyone’s downfall). November 2020. ISBN 9789083027883
10. Info.nu. Wat is de reden waarom mensen liegen? (What’s the reason that men lie?) Bron: https://mens-en-samenleving.infonu.nl/communicatie/118899-wat-is-de-reden-waarom-mensen-liegen.html
11. Lotte Lambrecht, Fact check: nee, deze video toont geen protest tegen de coronamaatregelen (Fact Check: No, this video shows no protest against corona rules). In: Knack. 28-10-2021. Bron: Factcheck: nee, deze video toont geen protest tegen de coronamaatregelen (knack.be)
12. René Leverink, De macht van leugens (The power of lies). Bron: De macht van leugens - René Leverink Tekst
13. Ed Meester, Waarheid, geheimen en leugens (Truth, secrets and lies) - A different kind of honesty. Bron: https://www.nnic.nl/nnic-blog/waarheid-en-leugen.html
14. Online.nl, Hoe herken je nepnieuws? (How do you recognize fake news?) Bron: Hoe herken je nepnieuws? 5 handige tips (5 practical tips) | Online.nl
15. Hessel von Piekartz, Complotdenken ‘steeds extremer’ (Conspiracy thinking is ‘increasingly more extreme’. In Nederlands Dagblad van 28 april 2022. Bron: Poetin is de nieuwe held van kleine anti-overheidsgroepen (Putin is the new hero of small anti -government groups); extreemrechtse aanslag ‘voorstelbaar’ |(extreme right-wing attack ‘unimaginable’) Nederlands Dagblad
16. Willem Jan Pijnacker Hordijk. Toetst alles - waarheid en leugen in de christelijke gemeente (Test everything: Truth and lie in the Christian church). ISBN 9789058290021
17. Salt of the Earth, Verborgen in de schuilplaats van leugens (Hidden in the Hiding place of lies) | Salt of the earth
18. Carlijn Simons, Drie redenen om te liegen (Three reasons to lie) (en hoe je de waarheid kunt spreken (And how to speak the truth))
15/02/2022. Bron: https://www.quest.nl/mens/psychologie/a39073476/leugen-om-bestwil-redenen/
19. Margriet Sitskoorn, Hersenhack. (Brain hack) Update je brein (Update your brain). ISBN: 978-9044639124
20. Cor Stoker, De leugen van de ideologie (The lie of ideology). Bron: De leugen van de ideologie | Columns Cor Stoker (wordpress.com) - Search (bing.com)
21. Jurgen Tiekstra, Sentimenten en onjuistheden verdringen feiten in het klimaatdebat (Sentiments and inaccuracies supersede facts in the climate change debate) Bron: https://www.leugens.nl/2022/03/06/sentimenten-en-onjuistheden-verdringen-feiten-in-het-klimaatdebat/
22. Upstream, Seizoen 2022, Aflevering 8. Bron: Upstream | Family7
23. Julia Vanonte, De waarheid achter leugens (The truth behind lies): zo weet je dat iemand liegt (This is how you can know that someone is lying). Donders Instituut, 27 juli 2020. Bron: https://www.gelderlander.nl/nijmegen/de-waarheid-achter-leugens-zo-weet-je-dat-iemand-liegt~afa63714/?referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bing.com%2F
24. Waarheid en leugen (Truth and lie) (1). Bron: Waarheid en leugen (1) : Frisse Wateren
25. Waarheid en leugen (2). Bron: Waarheid en leugen (2) : Frisse Wateren (Refreshing waters)
26. Waarom blijven wij liegen als we weten dat het niet juist is (Why do we continue to lie if we know that it is not right? (2). Bron:
Waarom blijven wij liegen als we weten dat het niet juist is (psychologievansucces.nl) (The psychology of success)
27. Wat is waarheid? Bron: Wat is Waarheid - De waarheid kan gekend worden (What is Truth? - The truth can be known)!
28. Wat voor invloed hebben leugens op ons? (What influence do lies have on us?) Bron: https://verkenjegeest.com/invloed-leugens-op/
29. Wikipedia, Leugen. Bron: https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leugen
30. Wikipedia. Propaganda (communicatie). Bron: Propaganda (communicatie) - Wikipedia
31. Wikipedia, Retoriek (Rethorics). Bron: Retoriek - Wikipedia
32. Winneylicious, Getroost door een leugen of gekwetst door de waarheid? (Comforted by a lie or hurt by the truth?) 4 mei 2016. Bron: winneylicious (wordpress.com)
33. Wordt een leugen waarheid als deze duizend keer herhaald wordt? (Does a lie become truth when it has been repeated for a thousand times?) Bron: https://verkenjegeest.com/leugen-waarheid-herhaald-wordt/
34. J.J. Buskes, Waarheid en leugen aan het ziekbed. (Truth and lie at the sickbed) Uitgeverij: W. Ten Have N.V. Amsterdam, 1964. ISBN 9789025930233
Contents
1. Introduction
2. What is a lie?
3. Sorts of untruths
4. Why do people lie? What are their motives?
5. Why do people believe a lie?
6. Disadvantages of lying
7. Consequences of a lie: deception, false teachings, deceit, damage, sorrow
8. Practical protection against lies
9. Delivered from the lie
10.List of literature
1. Introduction
Since the Fall, there has been a battle going on between light and darkness, between life and death, between freedom and bondage, between truth and lie.
The origin and the essence of the lie is Satan or the devil. Jesus said about him: “He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.” (John 8: 44). This means that he is the origin of the principle of ‘lying’. Therefore, by his lies he tempts all humanity to sin. Also the first sin is a result of deception and lies (c.f. Genesis 2: 16-17 to 3: 1 and 4). When we lie (proclaiming untruth, distorting the truth, keeping the truth down), we step into the traces of the devil (24). Because of the lie, man does no longer live in the full freedom of a close relationship with God. He who is separated from God, is entangled in the lie.
2. What is a lie?
A lie is an assertion or a written statement, which is not in agreement with the truth and reality. We speak of a mistake when there is no deliberate intent involved. Does this happen consciously? Then we speak of a lie. Below, we shall mention several sorts of lies, and examine why people do lie and/or believe lies.
A ‘lie’ can also be interpreted more broadly, e.g. as an error, namely everything that is not in agreement with the truth or reality, and we should take it even more broadly, namely in a normative sense, which is everything that is not according to God’s holy will. Everything that goes against the Word of God is a lie and is rebellion and wickedness. That is the work of the devil, who doesn’t want that men should be happy and he wants them to remain in the lie, which makes them miserable.
In this article, we will mainly elaborate on lies in the here and now and its consequences, though with the deep awareness that it cannot be separated from the spiritual background. After all, the Bible speaks in many texts about truth (especially in the Gospel of John) and lies, for example in Deutr. 5: 20; Ps. 119: 29, 163; Eph. 4: 25; Rev. 14: 5; 21: 27).
3. Sorts of untruths (24)
There are different kinds of untruths/lies, and there are degrees in the extents of deliberate intent and the extent to which an assertion deviates from the truth. Also the scale on which the lie has an impact, can differ.
a 1. In the absence of deliberate intent, we speak of fantasy or a mistake (pf e.g.) poor journalism, misinformation.
a 2. Sometimes a lie can be meant as a satire or a joke or it can be put as an excuse in hindsight. A so-called white lie is meant to achieve a good purpose and therefore it is often judged mildly (29). And as a matter of a certain tradition, e.g. Saint Nicolas, things are told to children which are actually not true.
b. In case of minor deviations from the truth, we speak of exaggeration or trivialization (29). This happens very often.
c. Half the truth. This is a deceiving statement, which includes some elements of the truth. The statement can be partly true. The statement as such can also be totally true, but may include just one part of the whole truth. The statement can also contain deceitful elements, such as ambiguity and incorrect punctuation. The intention of a halve truth is to deceive, to avoid, to blame others or to give a wrong idea of things (29).
Other examples are: deceiving advertisement, fraud, fake news, deep fakes.
We speak of deep fake when video-films are created and put on the internet about people that do and say things they have never done or said.
This deep fake technology can be very dangerous, and it “confirms a culture where the discernment between real and unreal is fading away. It’s not for nothing that many speak about a post-truth community … it all shows how much truth and lie are blurring” (6).
d. An oral or written assertion of which the speaker of writer knows that it is in conflict with the truth. E.g.: through propaganda, deliberately speaking of untruth with the intent to deceive and do evil and wrong to others. Scam through e.g. phishing and match fixing. Lying may lead to punishable facts such as forgery, defamation and perjury (29).
e1. Error, having a wrong idea. This can involve a lot of issues. E.g. having a wrong self-image. One may have continually heard: you’re nothing and you’re incapable of doing anything. And he will believe it. That’s very harmful. Error may also involve having a wrong view of Bible verses (therefore all things should be tested (16)) or a wrong view of supporting a wrong (false) religion.
e 2. Another kind of error are delusions or delusional thoughts. People live in a delusional world.
f. Self-deceit. A person may lie so much that he himself no longer knows what the reality in fact is. He believes his own lie and therefore his own reality (31).
4. Why do people lie? What are their motives? (24, 25, 26, 33)
Humanity that has fallen into sin, lives in a world where Satan is still the chief (John 12: 31; 14: 30; 16: 11). The selfish man that doesn’t live in freedom yet, is still focused on self-interest, which is also the basic cause of lying and deceiving).
a. Lying as a consolation. This happens because lies sometimes can offer consolation when the truth can be disturbing. But where is the limit? What is wisdom? When a physician knows that a patient is very vulnerable, he will consider to be silent about the patient’s brief life expectation, in order to make his final months more bearable, or to actually tell him the truth, in order to give the patient the opportunity to spend his final months meaningfully (32, 34). Sometimes, some people fool themselves by suppressing certain issues.
b.Lying out of consideration. People don’t want to hurt others. If I assume that I am telling the truth and the other person has another truth, how then do I prevent the other of getting hurt? For the truth can be painful in some cases, and even hurtful. Imagine me paying a maternity visit to an acquaintance or friend. I look into the crib and I think that I’ve never seen such an ugly baby. Do I tell that? No, because its mother thinks that her baby is the most beautiful baby of the world. I would hurt her by telling her about my opinion (32). But if the truth should not to be silenced, then it’s very important to deal with the matter with wisdom, understanding and tact, and to possibly offer some support (13).
c. People think to gain advantage out of lying, e.g.: people love to be considered nice, gentle or popular. With catching and or sensational headlines, (14) men try to draw the attention to themselves and to get more money out of it. They want to achieve something, to have their way, which is therefore manipulation.
d. A totally different kind of motive is that one can lie because of shame (one says ‘I don’t know’ – because he doesn’t dare to speak the truth). Or because he wants to avoid confrontations or out of the fear of consequences, or certain undesirable consequences, such as an escape from punishment or imprisonment. One can use excuses, e.g.: “The bus was delayed”. Peter lied three times: ‘I don’t know that person at all”, and in doing so he even cursed himself. And Abraham deliberately concealed the (full) truth, in fact that Sarah was also his wife (Gen. 12: 11-13; 20: 1-3). Or one lies, in order to escape from reality (28). Lying is a means to deny something. When after the departure of the Russian army from the Ukrainian Bucha, several people were found dead on the street and were killed by Russian soldiers, the Kremlin proclaimed the lie that it was all fake and doctored, in order to be able to accuse the Russians. Denying may have something dubious. It can be on the one hand a crude, brutal lie, but on the other hand an attempt to deny guilt, because otherwise you might completely lose your sanity out of guilt.
e. Lying to deliberately mislead or hurt one or more individuals. People withhold certain information, e.g. hidden defects of a car they want to sell. A fraud gives false information to extort an amount of money. People can also possibly conspire to lie to other people. E.g. a group of politicians that keep it secret that massive environmental contamination has been identified, because they want to be reelected (13).
f. Seeking to have influence, control, and power. People use lie as a rhetoric trick. Rhetoric is the metaphor that uses clichés and bombastic language. Originally, it was synonymous with rhetorica, but later degenerated into a negative reference to hollow phrases, meaning speaking broadly but saying little. It is therefore referred to as hollow rhetoric (31).
Sometimes people want to promote an ideology at all costs, even if it takes a lie and deceit. Often the hunger for power and money plays an important role. All impure and selfish motives. Powerful sectors still very much value lies as a way to manipulate the spirits of the people they want to influence. In that way they succeed in convincing people to nevertheless accept the inacceptable. Often, people also want to keep controlling the media and all institutions to convey their ideology (32).
The lie is being promoted via propaganda (the Latin term is propagare which means to propagate or to reproduce), which is a form of communication in which an attempt is made by the interested party to win supporters for its ideas. By deliberately spreading one-sided and or (even) fabricated information, attempts are made to manipulate public opinion. In this process, various propaganda techniques are used, such as repetition, tricks, deception, suggestive use of words, euphemisms, framing, symbols, slogans, camera techniques, photo falsification (30).
Propagandistic campaigns with the extent of that as it was in Nazi Germany, as well as that of e.g. the Soviet Union under the government of Joseph Stalin, North Korea and Iraq under the government of Saddam Hussein, are also known as indoctrination. They occur especially – and can remain to exist if uncorrected – in dictatorships without freedom of speech (30). There is often also coercion, where the recipient of freedom of choice can be (severely) limited. He who doesn’t believe the lie, waits years of imprisonment. A recent example is the Russian invasion of Ukraine. We see how a lie can cover it up or legitimize it. Putin wants to ‘liberate’ Ukraine from the ‘Nazi’ regime in Kiev. And former KGB agent, Kirill (now Patriarch of the Russian-Orthodox ‘Church’) legitimizes the war with the false argument of defending Russia against Western decadence. But that was not Putin’s argument and goal. And furthermore, one should not fight decadence with war and destruction, but with spiritual means. People should consider that legitimization depends on belief in the lie. The support base is partly to be blamed for the evil.
g. Sick spirits (15), for example lying pathologically (lying for the sake of lying). It can reach the point where it really becomes an addiction. A pathological liar knows full well (in contrast to the pseudological liar who believes in his own lies) that his assertions are not true, but cannot restrain the impulse to lie (10, 29). A special kind of lies and or delusional ideas are conspiracy theories. They are often made up and circulated by paranoid people who distrust the government (8).
I am amazed at what people like to believe. The American conspiracy thinker Alex Jones alleged, that the two shootings in the USA which were fatal for dozens of elementary school pupils, had been staged. And that the parents were actors.
Recently, Jones was convicted in a trial, but according to him it is a witch-hunt and the prosecutors, judges and the jury are all ‘demon possessed’ and ‘under the spell of the cult ideology of the New World Order (1).
In conclusion of this paragraph, we still want to note that not all lies have to do with selfishness or ‘evil’. Consider the Egyptian midwives Shiphrah and Puah (Exodus 1) and the harlot Rahab in Jericho who lied about the two spies (Joshua 2). And would you not lie when in the Second World War some Nazis would ask you whether you were hiding Jews in your house?
5. Why do people believe a lie?
a. Lies can sometimes be easier to be understood and believed than the truth (33)
b. People like to believe what they want to hear. They would rather not have a negative message (13). We all would (like) to believe news that are pleasing to our ears. People even prefer to believe something that goes against all evidences (33). An uneasy truth is even changed into an easily digestible lie and they violate the truth (27).
c. People who have difficulties (such as poverty, loneliness) are (more) susceptible to deception by nice enticing promises in advertisements or from scammers and criminals. Think of ‘phishing’ (scam by people who entice them to a false (bank) website, which is a copy of the real website) and ‘match fixing’ (the manipulation of a match through bribery, so that it ends in a predetermined score).
d. People who distrust the government would like to believe news that confirm their distrust. We saw it during the Corona crisis. Also people who hate certain (groups of) people would love to believe certain lies about them. So, when a deceiver tells lies to gain a base of support for his wrong intentions, then those who believe the lie and in that way contribute to the desired base of support, are also to be blamed for the detrimental consequences of that lie. Those who believe (or want to believe) certain lies, are therefore in a certain sense just as evil as those who tell or circulate these lies. He who is so ‘evil’ that he convinces himself that his lie is the truth, is indeed ‘evil’. So the question is always how much relevance the listener attaches to the truth.
6. The Disadvantages of lying
We can make a twofold distinction here, namely disadvantage for the one who tells (or believes) lies, and disadvantageous consequences for other people who are victims of lies (par. 7).
He who lies is in a certain sense a servant of the evil one. People think that with lying they can gain profit, but lying is much more destructive than most people think. If one lies often enough, he ultimately fools him/herself. And when he lies repetitively, the brain adapts and barely responds at all. Habituation sets in. This is why liars are able to consistently tell ever bigger and more destructive lies (26).
“The serious consequence is also a loss of morality and an increased inner state of restlessness” (28).
Moreover, it should be kept in mind that lying costs an unnecessarily amount of energy. When a person lies, he will quickly consider what the best story is, which factors should be changed, whom could or could not be fooled with which lie, etcetera. And when he tells something, he will always have to keep in mind what he had told earlier. All of this is just to avoid being caught. Because you can't be caught with the truth, it is just there, but a lie can be revealed (13). Ander furthermore, however fast the lie, the truth will catch up with it (26).
Also, he who believes or denies the truth, harms and damages himself (13). Think of e.g. a scammer who believes in his own lie. Or an alcoholic who claims not to be addicted at all and refuses any help. Another kind of deception is anorexia, whereby a person who is very thin, thinks that she is very fat and has to lose weight.
If lying is a mask for a deeper problem, or because a person doesn’t dare to face certain circumstances or wants to hide something, it is of great importance to face him/herself and to stop lying. The reality is after all that only the truth makes a person free. After all, becoming aware of lying, dealing with it and starting to be honest, can be a huge liberation for oneself, and for one’s environment.
7. Consequences of a lie are deception, false teachings, fraud, harm, sorrow.
There are ‘limitless’ situations in which lies and deception and delusions have led to very much grief and misery.
We shall mention some examples. First some on a small, more personal scale and then some examples on a larger scale.
Through scams, people can suffer great financial loss. In the (Dutch) television program Opgelicht (‘Scammed’) you hear the most distressing examples of this. In some cases there is also emotional damage when a person pretends to be a lover or a potential marriage partner, but is often only after the money. Lover boys can ensnare young girls with nice talks and promises and make their lives miserable.
Some people have the delusion of being in a wrong body and believe the lie that the problem could be solved by a surgery. But that’s no solution. On the contrary, for it often leads to even more problems, not only physical but also psychological and social problems.
As a result of the lies of the American conspiracy thinker Alex Jones, the parents of the murdered children were often harassed with death threats and they even had to move frequently. Remarkable was that the lies of this man found an eager audience with gun lobby supporters (1).
Because people think that the ivory tusks of elephants and the horns of rhinos would have a potency enhancing effect, many animals are killed unnecessarily.
Particularly in Pakistan, Christians are falsely accused by Muslims for something and therefore end up in jail for years. A well-known example is Asia Bibi who was innocently imprisoned for years. In North Korea, Christians are taken captive or taken to a labor camp because people believe the lie that these Christians would have a bad influence on the country. The contrary is true.
The Taliban in Afghanistan think that women are a danger for the public respectability or morality and should therefore be completely veiled, in such a way that you can’t see anything of them. And they are not to be educated. That’s very stupid and sad, because then women can't get medical education either. It is God’s will that people, even in public, may become who they are and that their talents may come to fruition, also to serve the country.
False religions are deceptive because they don’t lead to Jesus which is the (only) Way, the Truth and the Life. In addition, it’s often the result that Christians are totally unjustifiably persecuted in every possible way because of their faith. Think of the persecution by ISIS which, based on lies and delusions, kill their fellowmen. Extreme were the very brutal and bestial beheadings of namely Christians by ISIS in Iraq and Syria. We see that a lie often goes hand in hand with force and violence. In May 2022 in Nigeria, Deborah Samuel Takubu was lynched by fellow students because of a rumor that she would have insulted Muhammed on Whatsapp. In the first three months of 2022, almost 900 Nigerian Christians were killed by the attacks of extremist Muslims (Source: Open Doors).
The result of the false legitimacy (partly ‘owing to’ the supporting base provided by the Russian people) of the Russian invasion in Ukraine, there has been an inconceivable amount of grief, fear, pain, loss of human lives, destructions, etc. Moreover, one lie evokes another. Putin puts the blame of the cause of the invasion in Ukraine on NATO, and the Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov blames Ukraine for aggression, because it defends itself against Russia with Western weapons.
Likewise, sympathizing with amongst others anarchists who intend to put the government in a bad light, may lead to very negative social consequences. Think of the denial of the climate issue. Or the belief in conspiracy theory that the government would have deliberately created the Corona crisis, while it was later proven that the virus originated at an animal market in China.
A stunning example of how cunningly the truth is being distorted and in this way the entire world population is deceived, can be read in the book titled ‘Iedermans Ondergang’ (‘Everyone’s Downfall’) by Roelof Ham (9). In the end time, the Antichrist will be able to do the same, and therefore it is for us as Christians very important to be very vigilant and to remain faithful to the Word of God, even in great tribulation.
8. Practical defense against lies
A lot of information (as well as by text, image and video) is worldwide exchanged every day. Both in direct physical contact and via telephone as well. And furthermore via media such as radio and television, daily papers, magazines, advertisement flyers and in present days also via social media and many (about 2 million) websites (22). The big question is which information in the jungle of data is accurate and reliable. A big problem is actually, that not everyone who puts information on the internet, does it with pure intentions. Whom or what can you still believe and trust (22)?
The fact that we distrust the news journals more and more often, has created a new phenomenon, the so-called fact checkers that control whether the things claimed are true. But again, you can't just say with certainty that the label "true" or "false" placed by them on articles or claims is truly reliable. The German American philosopher from Jewish descent (female) Hannah Arendt, once said: “When a man no longer knows what is right or wrong, you can tell him anything. And in the world where good and evil, truth and lie have become dependent on each person's personal choice (which is increasingly the case), it has become easier than ever to influence people, which is a dangerous development” (22).
In order to recognize fake news on the internet, one should always examine where the news had been placed and what the source is of the information. You can google the source mentioned. And try to find the sender. If that’s not certain, you can search for the account online. On the large news websites you often see in Facebook a ‘blue check mark”. This means that they have been controlled and verified by Facebook. And of course you should also check the news with other media. And look at the photos and videos carefully.
So far, a few practical points. But way more important is it, that people are essentially being delivered from the deception and the deceiver.
9. Delivered from the lie
If one really and forever wants to be delivered from the lie, from the delusion, from evil, from satan, then there is only one single possibility, which is the faith in the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ, Who said: “I am the Way, the Truth and the Life” (John 14: 6a) Then he will be transferred into the Kingdom of God, where he finds his destination for ever in perfect peace, liberty and blissfulness. Then he will no longer have to lie and will no longer be a victim of deception and error, for he lives forever in the light of God’s love and glory. Then he lives in the truth with another normative dimension, which is that what is in accordance with what God has intended. Jesus says: “Sanctify them in Thy truth, Thy Word is the truth” (John 17:17). And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free (John 8:32). Truth is everything which is according to God’s will.
List of literature
1. Jan van Benthem, Complotdenker Alex Jones moet de waarheid erkennen (Conspiracy thinker Alex Jones must confess the truth). Nederlands Dagblad, 5 augustus 2022. Bron (Source): https://www.nd.nl/nieuws/buitenland/1136095/de-amerikaanse-complotdenker-alex-jones-moet-de-waarheid-eindel#/reader?page=3
2. Ruben den Boer, Tuin er niet in (Do not be fooled): 7 soorten nepnieuws & voorbeelden (7 kinds of fake news & examples).
Bron (Source): Tuin er niet in: 7 soorten nepnieuws & voorbeelden - Frankwatching
3. Marlien Boom, Satan, de vader van de leugen (Satan, the father of all lies). Bron: Satan, de vader van de leugen - She-rises.net
4. Paul Boonefaes, Zwijg! (Be silent!) Waarom woke niet deugt (Why woke is no good).
5. Paul Boonefaes, Het woke-isme is een aanval op de redelijkheid. (Woke-ism is an attack on reasonability) Bron: Het woke-isme is een aanval op de redelijkheid - Wynia's Week (wyniasweek.nl)
6. Ad de Bruijne, Deep fake. Column in Nederlands Dagblad, 12 juni 2022
7. De legende over leugens en waarheid (The myth about lies and truth). Bron: De legende over leugens en waarheid - Verken je geest (Explore your spirit)
8. Piet Guijt, Het leugenmechanisme van complottheorieën (The lie mechanism of conspiracy theories) Bron: https://www.stichtingpromise.com/complottheorieeumln.html
9. Roelof Ham, Iedermans Ondergang (Everyone’s downfall). November 2020. ISBN 9789083027883
10. Info.nu. Wat is de reden waarom mensen liegen? (What’s the reason that men lie?) Bron: https://mens-en-samenleving.infonu.nl/communicatie/118899-wat-is-de-reden-waarom-mensen-liegen.html
11. Lotte Lambrecht, Fact check: nee, deze video toont geen protest tegen de coronamaatregelen (Fact Check: No, this video shows no protest against corona rules). In: Knack. 28-10-2021. Bron: Factcheck: nee, deze video toont geen protest tegen de coronamaatregelen (knack.be)
12. René Leverink, De macht van leugens (The power of lies). Bron: De macht van leugens - René Leverink Tekst
13. Ed Meester, Waarheid, geheimen en leugens (Truth, secrets and lies) - A different kind of honesty. Bron: https://www.nnic.nl/nnic-blog/waarheid-en-leugen.html
14. Online.nl, Hoe herken je nepnieuws? (How do you recognize fake news?) Bron: Hoe herken je nepnieuws? 5 handige tips (5 practical tips) | Online.nl
15. Hessel von Piekartz, Complotdenken ‘steeds extremer’ (Conspiracy thinking is ‘increasingly more extreme’. In Nederlands Dagblad van 28 april 2022. Bron: Poetin is de nieuwe held van kleine anti-overheidsgroepen (Putin is the new hero of small anti -government groups); extreemrechtse aanslag ‘voorstelbaar’ |(extreme right-wing attack ‘unimaginable’) Nederlands Dagblad
16. Willem Jan Pijnacker Hordijk. Toetst alles - waarheid en leugen in de christelijke gemeente (Test everything: Truth and lie in the Christian church). ISBN 9789058290021
17. Salt of the Earth, Verborgen in de schuilplaats van leugens (Hidden in the Hiding place of lies) | Salt of the earth
18. Carlijn Simons, Drie redenen om te liegen (Three reasons to lie) (en hoe je de waarheid kunt spreken (And how to speak the truth))
15/02/2022. Bron: https://www.quest.nl/mens/psychologie/a39073476/leugen-om-bestwil-redenen/
19. Margriet Sitskoorn, Hersenhack. (Brain hack) Update je brein (Update your brain). ISBN: 978-9044639124
20. Cor Stoker, De leugen van de ideologie (The lie of ideology). Bron: De leugen van de ideologie | Columns Cor Stoker (wordpress.com) - Search (bing.com)
21. Jurgen Tiekstra, Sentimenten en onjuistheden verdringen feiten in het klimaatdebat (Sentiments and inaccuracies supersede facts in the climate change debate) Bron: https://www.leugens.nl/2022/03/06/sentimenten-en-onjuistheden-verdringen-feiten-in-het-klimaatdebat/
22. Upstream, Seizoen 2022, Aflevering 8. Bron: Upstream | Family7
23. Julia Vanonte, De waarheid achter leugens (The truth behind lies): zo weet je dat iemand liegt (This is how you can know that someone is lying). Donders Instituut, 27 juli 2020. Bron: https://www.gelderlander.nl/nijmegen/de-waarheid-achter-leugens-zo-weet-je-dat-iemand-liegt~afa63714/?referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bing.com%2F
24. Waarheid en leugen (Truth and lie) (1). Bron: Waarheid en leugen (1) : Frisse Wateren
25. Waarheid en leugen (2). Bron: Waarheid en leugen (2) : Frisse Wateren (Refreshing waters)
26. Waarom blijven wij liegen als we weten dat het niet juist is (Why do we continue to lie if we know that it is not right? (2). Bron:
Waarom blijven wij liegen als we weten dat het niet juist is (psychologievansucces.nl) (The psychology of success)
27. Wat is waarheid? Bron: Wat is Waarheid - De waarheid kan gekend worden (What is Truth? - The truth can be known)!
28. Wat voor invloed hebben leugens op ons? (What influence do lies have on us?) Bron: https://verkenjegeest.com/invloed-leugens-op/
29. Wikipedia, Leugen. Bron: https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leugen
30. Wikipedia. Propaganda (communicatie). Bron: Propaganda (communicatie) - Wikipedia
31. Wikipedia, Retoriek (Rethorics). Bron: Retoriek - Wikipedia
32. Winneylicious, Getroost door een leugen of gekwetst door de waarheid? (Comforted by a lie or hurt by the truth?) 4 mei 2016. Bron: winneylicious (wordpress.com)
33. Wordt een leugen waarheid als deze duizend keer herhaald wordt? (Does a lie become truth when it has been repeated for a thousand times?) Bron: https://verkenjegeest.com/leugen-waarheid-herhaald-wordt/
34. J.J. Buskes, Waarheid en leugen aan het ziekbed. (Truth and lie at the sickbed) Uitgeverij: W. Ten Have N.V. Amsterdam, 1964. ISBN 9789025930233