Overcoming the Lies

When I began writing River of God: Where Religion Began and Why Grace and Love Will Triumph in 2012, I had no idea the world would soon be awash in lies.

Today, the popular name is “Fake News”–but that’s just a cute way of saying that much of what you hear in the mainstream media is fabricated and can’t be trusted.

Those falsehoods are getting more blaring as we near the 2020 presidential cycle.

Here are some lies we face and how we can overcome them.

Overcoming the Lies

Lying is a part of the Fall and all people do it in varying degrees.

It began with the serpent (the Devil) lying to our first parents about God and the tree of knowledge (Genesis 3:1-5). Adam and Eve believed the falsehood, disobeyed, and plunged the entire human race into moral depravity.

We have never recovered. Only God’s Providence and the redemptive work of Jesus Christ have reduced the ocean of lies sweeping the globe.

Jesus reaffirmed the origin of falsehood:

“You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to 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).

Lying is satanic–and when we tell one, we participate in the darkness.

When I wrote River of God, I sensed some divine help in the structuring of the book. Without prior thought, I began Section One with a chapter on “Lies,” discussed “Religion” as our deep longing for reality, then “Truth” and how we know it, and finished with the “Sources” of knowledge available to us.

In the opening chapter (“Lies”), I shared how my own life was altered by a lie and gave numerous examples of deceit in our world.

On this anniversary of 9-11–when some folks are trying to lie about it again–I want to share five destructive lies (there are many more) being foisted upon us in 2019 and what we need to do about them.

Lie #1 – Fossil fuels harm the planet.

The climate change alarm being spouted by progressive politicians and all 21 Democratic presidential nominees creates fear among children and anxiety among the poorly informed.

Truth be told, the efficient and innovative use of fracking, natural gas, and oil discovery has elevated hundreds of millions of people out of poverty in the past twenty years while much of the scientific community has lied to us about the world getting warmer.

It hasn’t for fifteen years.

Some honest scientists are sharing the truth. Gary Randall reports:

“Rex Fleming, a mathematician with a Ph.D. from Michigan, has over 50 years of experience as a scientist in climate research and has published peer-reviewed papers from 1971 to 2018. He now says that censoring evidence, fiddling with data and silencing skeptics were a part of his life at NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration). Fleming is now admitting that while he worked at NOAA, he attributed global warming to carbon dioxide despite having doubts.”

“He says: ‘Eventually I just read enough to realize it’s a totally wrong direction,’ and now disavows the argument that ‘carbon dioxide from emissions is causing so-called catastrophic climate change on a global scale.'”

In fact, he says climate scientists have literally turned the facts upside down—making their troubled theory little more than science fiction. He says, and other silenced scientists agree, that ‘carbon dioxide levels historically have risen due to warm temperatures rather than the other way around. Past climates have been warm and cold and warm and cold with no changes in carbon dioxide. How can that be a cause when there is no correlation?”

Let’s reject the Green New Deal.

Lie #2 -Socialism is a good form of government.

Two of the major presidential candidates (Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren) espouse socialism as does Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and others.  They want America to go socialist—quickly.

But socialism always destroys nations (e.g. Cuba and Venezuela) and amounts to a totalitarian power grab that produces death. One hundred million people died at the hands of Hitler, Stalin, and Mao in the 20th century. They were ALL socialists (communism is socialism with a gun).

The devil wants more carnage in the 21st century so he’s peddling the snake-oil of socialism.

Reject it at the ballot box.

Lie #3 – America is a racist nation.

The New York Times’ “1619 Project” is designed re-write American history that America was built on the back of slaves.

Nonsense.

Slavery was the world norm for thousands of years–and made its way into the New World as it had in every other place. Most of our founders saw its evil and gave the world a document which stated for the first time (outside the Bible) that “all men are created equal.” Some didn’t practice what they preached due to historical biases.

But 600,000 men died to vanquish it in the Civil War. It took another century to right slavery’s wrongs, but today, the USA is the most racially diverse and free nation on earth. We exist as  “One Nation Under God”–not a racist haven.

Beware trusting the New York Times (and similar propaganda organs).

Lie # 4 – Marriage can be anything you want.

No. Both nature and history tell us that marriage is between a man and a woman for expressing love and the procreation of children. All other forms including “Throuples” (three people) –the latest fad–are perversions and hurt both adults and especially children.

The truth couldn’t be clearer: “This explains why a man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one” (Genesis 2:24).

We must reject the marriage lie and help rebuild the family unit.

Lie #5 – There are more than two genders.

Only in a depraved mind. Biology, common sense and human history tells us that “God made them male and female” (Genesis 5:2).

Yes, men can share some feminine traits and women masculine ones. That’s just a beautiful part of human variety–meant for the glory of God.

The only “fluidity” in the gender debate is of brain cells (deception). If the gender hoax is being forced upon you at school, you may need to leave it (or stand up for the truth).

Lie #6 – Open borders are compassionate and good.

They aren’t. The goal of this lie is to destroy the United States as a free and sovereign nation which our borders secure. Here’s the applicable analogy. Open borders are no better for our nation than having no windows or doors in our homes (with no police) would be in our neighborhoods.

Comprende?

Lies have always existed in the world due to the devil and fallen human beings.  The difference today is size, i.e. more people (7.7 billion) and global technology which magnifies the lying voices.

What must we do about the growing crescendo of falsehood?

First, let’s pray for global revival–that God’s truth would touch billions of lives. Second, be careful not to vote for any politician who espouses the lies. Third, choose your news sources carefully while avoiding the mainstream media. Fourth, commit to a small group or mentoring relationship where God’s truth can be applied in your life. Finally, and most importantly, spend time in personal prayer each day and saturate your life with God’s Word–our perfect compass for living.

The biggest lie of all is that God doesn’t exist (more on that next week).

He does.

Hallelujah!

And no matter how dark the world may seem to be, His truth is marching on.