I don’t know about you, but frankly I am getting quite tired of all the lies and shenanigans that have become the norm in political discourse. Even the media outlets have become so partisan, that they appear incapable of simply reporting the news. It seems that the highest priority is to promote a particular political agenda, even if it means making up stories.
I, as virtually everyone else, have a personal point of view regarding political matters. That said, I have a belief about morality that supercedes my politics. I will admit that I hate it when my political point of view takes a hit. But I hate it even more when the truth is trampled upon. If the truth goes against my politics, I cringe and go with the truth.
But that is not the common attitude in modern society. Truth is no longer the highest priority – particularly with those who base their moral notions on naturalistic worldview beliefs. As Naturalism dominates most of society these days, lying has become a prominent (and for many, accepted) part of social discourse.
The lies that make up the atmosphere in modern society are both pervasive and dangerous. They are pervasive in that acceptance of lying dominates virtually every institution of modern society, and they are dangerous as they permit the taking of life, liberty, and property.
Pervasiveness
So just how pervasive are these lies?
Family – For a significant portion of the population, the notion of family no longer means the traditional family structure. Rather, alternative family groupings have become fully accepted – to the point that anyone who advocates for traditional family values is attacked.
Arts and Entertainment – A false narrative about the nature of sexuality and the proper place of sexual relations has become so commonplace, that illicit sexual expressions have become completely normalized. It is very difficult to even find art and entertainment these days that do not accept deviance as normal.
Education – Naturalistic philosophy, which is the basis for most of the lying and deceit we see in modern society, completely dominates our public educational institutions – from preschool to the university.
News Media – It is now seen as acceptable for the news media to promote fake news in their news broadcasts – even in the mainstream news outlets. It has gotten so common that the media does not even make a pretense of their biases.
Government – The rule of law has been largely set aside, in all three branches of government, and decisions and decrees are now made based on the personal preferences of those who have the power to get their way.
Business – Of course, the very purpose of business is to make money, but it must always be in the context of what is legal, moral, and based upon integrity. That has changed with regard to many business in that the acquisition of money has become the entire measure of success.
Church – Sadly, even many churches have begun to emphasize style above substance. This is expressed in both an “entertainment” mentality and in false theology.
Dangerous
The pervasiveness of these lies is not benign – they lead to actual consequences out in the world. Based on Christian values, these consequences are having a significant detrimental effect on society.
Family – The degrading of family is causing higher crime rates, more sickness and disease, more broken homes, more dependency, and more mental and emotional illnesses.
Arts and Entertainment – By normalizing sinful behavior, the arts and entertainment have created a social environment where evil has become normalized in a way that generates evil actions in society.
Education – Naturalistic philosophy is creating more and more young people who hold false beliefs about the very nature of reality. People who live life based on fantasy are not able to be tolerant of those who have other beliefs, and are not able to cope in the world when they bump up against actual reality. We are seeing an entire generation that is expressing these problems.
News Media – A news media based on the relativism of naturalistic philosophy has no compunction about reporting lies. These lies have become so pervasive that a large percentage of the population actually believes them.
Government – When the rule of law is set aside, the only thing left is the law of the jungle. As politicians govern based on personal preference rather than law, evil easily becomes the law of the land. We see this as legislative bodies pass laws that stifle freedom and encourage immoral behavior. We see it as executive officials abuse their power to punish political opponents and promote regulations that actually go contrary to the law of the land. We also see it as many in the judiciary rule in ways that actually contradict the law.
Business – When morality is defined by making money, integrity and concern for people go out the window. When we see Christian business people being attacked because of their beliefs, business men and women breaking the law, and unethical behavior normalized in business practice in order to make a buck, society begins falling apart – and all of these are commonplace in our day.
Church – False theologies have been created in order to justify false beliefs and immoral actions. These are dangerous because they cause spiritual destruction for individuals as it leads them away from God.
Christians must Be Bold to Confront the Lies
ALL of the destructive things listed above are happening in society right now. And while many people look at these and think we just need to change our behavior, the truth is, all of these are rooted in a spiritual problem. People live out lies in life because they are separated from God.
The only thing that will turn society around is for those who are living the lie to have their lives transformed by Jesus Christ. It is essential for Christians to be bold as they oppose the lies and share the truth of Jesus Christ.
During a recent men’s bible study meeting that I belong to we discussed the current President. We are all white, late 50’s to mid 60’s, fairly affluent Protestants (mostly) and a few Catholics. We all are self professed Christians, believers in Jesus and his teachings. The topic of lies and current Politics, including the President and News Media came up during our study of Acts (Chapter 13). It was interesting hearing the comments. Despite our common faith and spiritual beliefs, those of us who voted for the President, saw the other side and the Media as the primary source of lies, and visa versa for those who did not vote for the President. Neither side was willing to admit their side was to be blamed for any sinful deeds or falsehood. Despite our mutual foundation of Christianity, we could now get beyond our own individual worldviews. That is scary. Only Jesus Christ was perfect.
Very interesting dynamic, Lee. For most people it is very difficult to move past political expressions and bore down to the underlying truth, isn’t it? Typically, people are so focused in on their own perspective that they don’t see the third possibility – which is the actual truth. Political expression certainly is an expression of truth – or not – but unless our starting point is biblical truth, there is a strong tendency to fudge in the direction of our personal political preferences. If you have not looked at it, you might be interested in reading my book “Liberalism vs. Conservatism.” The title looks political, but it is really just a side by side comparison of Naturalism and Christian Theism. There is a chapter on politics, but mainly the purpose is to get a clear picture of where the values come from that dominate modern American society.
Thank you Mr. Davis, I will find your book as I find this an interesting topic. I, sir believe ones politics, liberal or conservative does not preclude one being a devout Christian and getting into heaven To me, politics seems to be more about one’s believe in the role of government. i.e. Should it be the government’s role to help the sick and needy, or is it the Church or family responsibility? I lived in Japan for 3 years, and the family tended to take care of their own. It worked very well as the Japanese were not by nature self-centered. I believe as a Christian that we should be very careful not to be self-centered and be willing to help others, keeping our focus on what would Jesus want us to do. The risk, if politics becomes predominate in our lives, is taking our eyes off Jesus and compromising our values. I think it is perfectly fine to be involved in liberal or conservative politics, but not loose sight of the fact that at the same time, we must be very careful that we are doing God’s will and not inadvertently Satan’s.
Lee, I concur with your thoughts. Our political views are not what determines our eternal salvation. That said, for a Christian, they should be an expression of a biblical worldview – which is, sadly, not always the case.
So, what took you to Japan? We served there as missionaries for nearly 12 years. We did our language study in Tokyo, then served the rest of our time in Okinawa. There definitely is a different way that they think of family than is typical in the U.S. Thanks for your input.