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Tuesday 18 August 2015

Deceit: The Epidemic in America

A strange poem, incorrectly attributed to William Blake, and of an unknown writer gives the source of a popular child's refrain--"liar, liar, pants on fire".

 The Liar

Deceiver, dissembler
Your trousers are alight
From what pole or gallows
Shall they dangle in the night?
 
When I asked of your career
Why did you have to kick my rear
With that stinking lie of thine
Proclaiming that you owned a mine?
 
When you asked to borrow my stallion
To visit a nearby-moored galleon
How could I ever know that you
Intended only to turn him into glue?
 
What red devil of mendacity
Grips your soul with such tenacity?
Will one you cruelly shower with lies
Put a pistol ball between your eyes?
 
What infernal serpent
Has lent you his forked tongue?
From what pit of foul deceit
Are all these whoppers sprung?
 
Deceiver, dissembler
Your trousers are alight
From what pole or gallows
Do they dangle in the night?



One the other hand, we have this sublime truth from Our Lord Himself.

John 14:6 Douay-Rheims

6 Jesus saith to him: I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No man cometh to the Father, but by me.


This passage from Scripture is not merely a strong statement of the Identity of Christ, as the Way, the Truth, and the Life, but a clarion call to choose Him over deceit and eternal death. If Christ is the Truth, and He is, the Antichrist will be the Deceiver. Get ready.

People comment almost daily about the political leaders who have consistently lied to the public about foreign affairs, finances, even personal sins, which cannot be hidden and should not, in a public person's life.

People talk to me about betrayal in their families, children who lie, adult children who lie and, tragically, husbands and wives who live in various levels of deceit. When married couples lie to each other, this symptom of the complete breakdown of the trust in marriage leads to the inevitable break-up,

The world, and America face an enemy which does not consider lying to their enemies as a sin, as in their religious code, one may do so.

I have been told by some people "that everyone lies". Of course, this is not true. Many good Christians do not lie. Some good "nones" do not lie. However, this culture of deceit, which includes big business, as well as the kid on the block, seems to have been created almost overnight.

Perhaps one can blame the mad pursuit of money and status. Perhaps one can blame advertising, which is based on deceit. Perhaps one can blame the "texting culture", which fudges communication.

Or, perhaps we forget who is the Father of Lies and has managed, rather succinctly to undermine society and a civilization which must have trust in commerce and relationships as a basis for normal interactions.

I found these statistics, which is a way, do not surprise me, but show the prevalence of deceit in our culture. From here.

The Most Honest Cities for Online Dating

MEN
1. Houston
2. Phoenix
3. Boston
4. Pittsburgh
5. Chicago

WOMEN
1. Charlotte
2. Houston
3. Minneapolis
4. Seattle
5. Phoenix
The Least Honest Cities for Online Dating

MEN
1. Washington D.C. (Career & Education) 37%
2. San Francisco (Career & Money Earned) 35%
3. New York (Everything) 34%
4. Philadelphia (Height & Money Earned) 33%
5. Miami (Relationship Status & Height) 31%

WOMEN
1. Las Vegas (Age & Career) 39%
2. Washington D.C. (Career & Education) 37%
3. Atlanta (Age & Weight) 36%
4. Los Angeles (Age & Weight) 35%
5. New York (Age & Career) 33%


Scary, and I had a friend years ago who had to take out a restraining order on a man from a Catholic dating website. His life consisted of a huge spider's web of lies, including hiding a violent temperament.



Deceit is born in the desire not to suffer, to avoid suffering. Deceit denies Providence. Deceit covers other sins, like greed, gluttony, adultery, stealing, fornication, and contraception. When life is denied, in abortion and euthanasia, this denial comes from the deceit that God is God and is in charge of life, from conception to natural death.

But the real source of lying, the deep root of small and large lies, is self-deceit. When one refuses to face one's sins, when one refuses to admit evil in one's own soul, the pattern of deceit becomes a habit.

Some of us know compulsive liars. Some of us know those who always "get a deal" by lying or doing underhand business deals.  Some of us know those who lie about their own state of grace, thinking they will get to heaven without repentance or penance. Some of us know men and women who persist in unhealthy, even abusive relationships, because they lie about their boyfriend or girlfriend "changing" after marriage. The pursuit of security or "love" creates a life of deceit.

Now, with the recent SCOTUS decision, lying has been enshrined into law, a false law contrary to God's natural and revealed law.  This huge unnatural lie permeates the family lives of so many, that lies will not be able to be ignored to the cost of individual souls. People will go to hell not only for lying about God's perfect plan for humans and the real meaning of marriage, but for tolerating evil, which is a lie against conscience.

Tolerating evil is based on deceit, coupled with a fear of rejection. I know too many families which tolerate the evil of fornication, adultery, and sodomy in their families, creating an atmosphere of lies, setting up an entire false structure of family unity and security.

Christ instructs us plainly as to what Truth is--Himself, the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity.

When we lie, we reject Christ, choosing other gods, such as family members, or status, or security.

One of the greatest lies has to do with the reality of "love". Love is not sex, or passion, or lust.

We cannot label something love which is impure, immoral, unnatural.

But, the greatest lie is the denial of God being God. Idolatry of any kind comes from self-deceit.

The other day, I posted an article about a bishop who may go to prison for up to six years for upholding Church teaching regarding ssm in his diocese in Switzerland.

What struck me most in that article was the great lie that the Bible truths cannot be applied to daily life. Can you imagine laws of this land and in Europe no longer being based on Biblical truths, on Revelation? Can you imagine a life lived without Bibles, and the trust in God's Own Word?

Recall this statement, 

The bishop had crossed a “red line,” said the head of Pink Cross, in a statement reported by Newsweek. “We believe in freedom of expression, and taking quotes from the bible is fine. But then he said the words should be applied to real life, which is the equivalent of calling for the death penalty for gay people. We were worried about that. He is the leader of a big church, and he was calling for people to follow his words, and we thought this could be dangerous.”


Two lies can be spotted here. The first is that the passage quoted called for the death of homosexual people; the second is that the Bible cannot be used to apply to life.

See how far Western culture has fallen into deceit?


If one is not faithful in small things, one cannot be faithful in large things. Those who grew up lying, or fell into deceit through repeated sin, must heed Christ's words.

Luke 16:10-12 Douay-Rheims

10 He that is faithful in that which is least, is faithful also in that which is greater: and he that is unjust in that which is little, is unjust also in that which is greater.

11 If then you have not been faithful in the unjust mammon; who will trust you with that which is the true?

12 And if you have not been faithful in that which is another's; who will give you that which is your own?


Teach your children to be honest. Do not think that deceit is a lesser sin. It comes out of the damned spirit, the Father of Lies. Christ addressed those living in lies, as those in the religious system had created a false religion, far from the deep spirituality of the Revelation of the Old Testament.

May God preserve us from such hypocrisy.

John 8:44 Douay-Rheims 


44 You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and he stood not in the truth; because truth is not in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father thereof.

Lying about one's spiritual life has to be the worst symptom of deep-seated deceit. Some think that they are holier than they are because they act holy, do good works, or attend Sunday, even daily Mass.

Years ago, I had to speak with a priest about my trying to understand how a woman I know who was embezzling money, (I tried to tell her board members of her company as I discovered this, as well as another woman with whom I was working),  I could not understand how this woman could go to daily Mass, receive Christ, and continue her stealing and misuse of funds. Several of us tried to convince those who ran the company that this was happening. They did not want to admit this, as the people were all "friends" as well as business partners.

The priest, from the FSSP congregation, told me that one does not receive grace if one receives Communion unworthily. I was struck by the level of deceit, not only in this woman, but in those who refused to admit what she was doing. Some did come to the truth later, after I left the company, but they did not press charges. Fear kept them from doing so. Fear and the fact that they had chosen to live in self-deceit for years concerning this problem involving their friend kept the lie going. They would have had to face repentance for not listening to me and others. who brought this sin to their attention. One person was fired, and two of us resigned rather than take part in this charade.

Fear of repercussions makes people accept deceit. I do not mind telling people that I was a whistleblower years ago, and acted honestly, which interfered with and finally ended an academic career. Before I brought a serious situation to light, some of my friends told me to be quiet and not bring the evil thing to light. However, the situation was serious, very, and I suffered the consequences of not being able to continue in my position, being forced out, not being protected by those in authority who said they would do so.

I could not have lived with myself for overlooking a dangerous situation for students.  And, I am convinced that if more people were willing to suffer for the truth, evil would vanish from this land. But, no, people allow evil to grow and grow and grow. They cooperate with evil.

There is no doubt that God will judge us for complicity with evil.

When we lie, or ignore others lies, reparation has to be made. God will have His Justice done. I have seen this in my own life as well, that personal purgation involves facing one's sins not only of the day, but of the past. Thank God if He lets you be purged now, in this world, accepting your purgatory not only for your own sake, but for the sake of the Church. Purgation brings self-knowledge and truth into one's own life and into the society around one.

The Holocaust happened because people were complicit with evil, not ignorant, but willing to either turn a blind eye, or tolerate, or even support great evil. This type of persecution, but against Catholics, will happen for the same reasons--cowardice, fear, and deceit.

Cowardice and fear allow deceit to flourish.  We allow lying to flourish by compromise and false tolerance.  A civilization, a culture, a family, a marriage, a friendship, cannot endure in deceit. Our nation will not endure, lying about Who is God and what are His eternal laws.

When the Bible is attacked, deceit has been allowed to have the upper hand. 

The Church, even you, even me, will be persecuted for upholding the Truth.

But, being that strong involves the daily encounter with one;s own sins. Self-knowledge marks the saint.