Ethics on lies and how to tell other Christians that they are supporting liars.

Beatika said:

I am at my wits end as I regard lying as not only a sin, but something that is very dangerous to both a society and very core of the relationship between humans. I am not talking about innocent white lies or those necessary in war or conflict, but the fact that they have become so common, that so many are never called out and there are no consequences.
People are smeared and the very concept of truth itself is under attack, so what obligations do we have as Christians to call out this behaviour? And the most difficult, what are we to do when other Christians are spreading them or actively supporting people who do? Not raising their voice when they see other Christians are being lied about, both personal and in general?
Was not this what we were warned about, both in the Bible and throughout history, notably in the last century where Christians were persecuted by two totalitarian ideologies in Europe where one of them alas also spread to parts the rest of the world?

Click to expand...

Lying Christians do not have the love of Jesus Christ of Nazareth in them. They are what He called, hypocrites. That being said, there is also the Christian under the delusion sent by God Himself because they refuse to know the truth. Then there are Christians who spread lies among the sheep. What we need to do is DISCERN. We must research all claims, what is being claimed as truth and what is being refuted as truth. Liars are easily exposed by those who hold to truth. Exposing liars is the duty of a true Christian. It hurts us deeply when His Gospel is used to promote evil in His name.
Be blessed.

Consider that Jesus told His apostles that truth only comes from the Father when He said Simon had spoken a piece of the truth, and it was the Father's truth, not man's that He would build His church upon. Now consider that we in the 21st century ae living in a truly post-truth era where everything is a lie, no one cares about facts but only their own desires, and the powers and principalities (both man and elohim) are deluding us into thinking we are at our peek of wisdom. Even AI at present is seen as a threat because it doesn't yet know how to lie. Governments have lied to people for centuries into believing we are greater than we are, this while the people suffer, so it was only a matter of time that deluded truths would be adopted by the people and anything then goes. How can anyone make themselves great again, when they were never great to start with, but merely living the lie?

Jesus warned his disciples against hypocrisy. We tend to think of hypocrisy as intentional deception. However, the danger lies in self-deception. Consider the warning Paul gives to Timothy regarding Christians who are in error, that they are in the snare of the devil.

Truth is the key to avoiding error. However, it is also key to seeing if we are already in error. Sadly we do not often apply truth to ourselves to see if we are already in error. This requires real humility and is not that common.

Here is a short article that describes how people avoid truth because feeling good is more preferable. It has a political slant, but the basics about ruth are given.

Beatika said:

I am at my wits end as I regard lying as not only a sin, but something that is very dangerous to both a society and very core of the relationship between humans. I am not talking about innocent white lies or those necessary in war or conflict, but the fact that they have become so common, that so many are never called out and there are no consequences.

Click to expand...

Is a white lie so "innocent"? Is there such a thing as a "good lie"?
How many "good lies" can people get away with before they cross the line, or become known as liars?

Beatika said:

I am at my wits end as I regard lying as not only a sin, but something that is very dangerous to both a society and very core of the relationship between humans. I am not talking about innocent white lies or those necessary in war or conflict, but the fact that they have become so common, that so many are never called out and there are no consequences.

Click to expand...

I think at least partly because as a culture we have moved into modern times and thinking. We are now in the Post Modernist perios. Or maybe even beyond into a complete Nihilistic period.

But under Post Modernist thinking there is not single truth, fact or God. All is relative to self referential experiences. Narratives are the new truth and each person or group have their own truth. That is why we can even see how this power or narrative can overturn objective science. Everything is reimagined in a new reality of what makes truth.

But with any relative truth this denies reality. Denies the truths that humans have come to know that work in reality. Like science and rational thought.

So if there is no truth then there are no lies. Its not that people are lying. Its that they don't believe they are lying in the first place. But rather expressing an alternative truth that is their reality. In fact under this worldview the truth is actually believed to be a lie. Its a counter worldview. One says black and the other white and both believe they are the truth and not lying.

But in reality we know that the truth and reality sooner or later will come out and expose the lies and unreality. Its just a matter of time.

Beatika said:

People are smeared and the very concept of truth itself is under attack, so what obligations do we have as Christians to call out this behaviour? And the most difficult, what are we to do when other Christians are spreading them or actively supporting people who do? Not raising their voice when they see other Christians are being lied about, both personal and in general?
Was not this what we were warned about, both in the Bible and throughout history, notably in the last century where Christians were persecuted by two totalitarian ideologies in Europe where one of them alas also spread to parts the rest of the world?

Click to expand...

I think this same Post Modernist thinking has also entered the church. It includes many ideas like Woke or Egalitarianism or Social Justice ect. These are ideaological beliefs which are primarily based on relativism.

I don't think there is any way for a Christian to compete with these secular ideas of relativism. You can never win and become just another voice among many narratives.

So just like in secular society the same with the church. Sooner or later the lies and falsehoods and unreality comes out and is exposed. This is really the nature of Gods reality in that when we go against His truth it will have certain consequences and results. Or we could say fruits. We can tell by the fruits that will come as a result. Be it bad or good. Whether they align with Christ or not.

The important thing I think is the example and results of such ideas as to whether they are truth or lies. Words, and narratives are easy to speak. But it is the actions and what actually happens in reality that counts in the end. We will always be able to decern the difference when in Christ.

I do think there are Christians out there that want to expose the lies and are actively doing so. I'm bringing this up as an example (please don't debate me on this topic), there is someone on here actively trying to tell others about flat earth and how we have been lied to.

I currently have a channel where I discuss false teaching from a particular social media website and debunking it. I only have one article on there right now, but have been writing more content.

I think we should call out lies more. It has caused so much trouble and hurt so many people.

There has actually been someone on social media I have wanted to call out for quite some time. I haven't been sure what to do about it.

I think it's important to address the matter in prayer before acting and ask for the Lord's counsel beforehand. The burden of proof is on the person raising alarms and I'd stick to facts and what can be proven foremost. Opinions are murky waters and callimg out people can go sideways. The majority underestimate the backlash and personal attacks they'll receive.

Are you willing to get doxxed? Have your remarks directed to your employer? Have legal proceedings against you or untruths promoted? Depending on who it is or what it involves may bring larger factors into the fray. And don't forget their supporters. People are very vocal and it takes a lot of fortitude to stand against a crowd. Be honest about your mettle.

I've dealt with this before but it wasn't involving a christian and happened long ago. The individual was deceiving everyone most notably myself and two friends and had been at it for years. Everything was a lie and it came to ahead by a minor mistake. I spoke with the individual and asked for the truth and he admitted it. He assumed I'd keep it to myself because I was calm. That was his second mistake.

We exposed him and it wasn't a shouting match or he said she said. We addressed it through storytelling and well crafted solidarity. I had images created for the injured that mirrored one another and a slogan we posted in our signature that we and our supporters used. The responses were written the night before and fine tuned. We created a thread to tell our story and the messages were posted one after the other. Once the injured spoke my friends chimed in and shared their experiences with the individual and thoughts on the situation.

I had a very large tribe and understood the power of perception. Their comments confirmed our statements and were a buffer against naysayers. There were nearly 50 posts on the thread and we brought his duplicity to light and he was treated differently afterwards. He wasn't repentant and would do it again if given a chance. But our voices changed that and served as a warning for others which was the goal.

~bella