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


http://ed5015.tripod.com/