“When pastoral plagiarism and the stealing and lying inherent recently became a topic of conversation due to a New York Times article on the matter that created a bit of a stir within Christian circles, I thought it would clean things up pretty fast. People were being exposed and then disciplined, sometimes even fired. But no.” - Church & Culture
“Isn’t it interesting that the man that Jesus rebukes for speaking Satan’s words is the man who rebukes Ananias for speaking Satan’s words.” - P&D
“Scripture also gives examples of conspiracy theories. Saul believed a conspiracy theory that David wanted to kill him (1 Sam. 22:8, 13), the Pharisees created a conspiracy theory to undermine and deceive others about the truth of Christ’s resurrection (Matt. 28:12-15), and Thomas chose to believe a conspiracy theory rather than the truth of Christ’s resurrection (Jn. 20:24-25).” - P&D
“’We lost. Someone must have cheated!’ This is also not a biblical response. To claim a conspiracy and delegitimize a duly elected official is also a way of putting your finger on the scale.” - P&D
“The fall of mankind began with a lie. “Has God really said, ‘You shall not eat from any tree of the garden’?” This was followed by a second lie. ‘You certainly will not die! For God knows that on the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will become like God, knowing good and evil.’” - Ref21
“…we express ourselves by passing on some claim that we got from someone who agrees with us, and we don’t check it because it’s obviously true. And within minutes scores of our ‘friends’ congratulate us for being so brave and insightful and smart” - Dan Olinger
(From Oct. of 2012)
Why are some people so eager to call others’ inaccurate statements “lies”?
Since we’re not far from another national election, the word “lie” is, as usual, getting an intense workout. But this phenomenon isn’t unique to election year politics. Over and over, and in a variety of settings, I’ve observed this: people encounter what they see as falsehood and immediately leap to the judgment that someone is lying—and say so.
I’ve always found this behavior puzzling, and sometimes head-against-wall maddening. Are these accusers unable to see that everyone (including themselves) is sincerely wrong about one thing or another nearly all the time? Have they managed to miss the memo that to err is human?
Maybe it’s a failure to adjust for bias. Do they believe that if they dislike someone, or strongly disapprove of his ideas or actions, they are entitled to judge his character by a completely different standard than they use against themselves? Do they not realize that if they want others to judge their character generously, they should judge the character of others generously?
Or do they just not know what a lie really is?
Why are some people so eager to call others’ inaccurate statements “lies”?
Since we’re about a week from a major election, the word “lie” is, as usual, getting an intense work out. But this phenomenon isn’t unique to election year politics. Over and over, and in a variety of settings, I’ve observed this: people encounter what they see as falsehood and immediately leap to the judgment that someone is lying—and say so.
I’ve always found this behavior puzzling, and sometimes head-against-wall maddening. Are these accusers unable to see that everyone (including themselves) is sincerely wrong about one thing or another nearly all the time? Have they managed to miss the memo that to err is human?
Maybe it’s a failure to adjust for bias. Could they really believe that if they dislike someone, or strongly disapprove of his ideas or actions, they are entitled to judge his character by a completely different standard than they use against themselves? Could they really not realize that if they want others to judge their character generously, they should judge the character of others generously?
Or do they just not know what a lie really is?
Sadly, opportunities to talk to people in the act of leaping to the “liar!” judgment haven’t shed much light on how they arrived at that conclusion. To them, it was just obvious.
Mysteries aside, it’s clear that Christians ought to be soberly and humbly cautious about characterizing others as “lying” or “liars.” Here’s why.
