“No lies about your neighbor.”

• Exodus 20:16 (MSG)

This is one of the Ten Commandments. The first written laws that God gave to His people after their escape from Egypt. Being honest about others and to others is an integral part of the Christian faith. Other passages in the Bible talk about how people who lie do so out of hate (Proverbs 26:28) and that lying is the opponent of truth, which is the opposite of Jesus (John 8:44).

God and the Bible are clear about the problem of lying. Yet today, the Christian media and the church are at the center of many damaging lies that divide the church and the nation.

The problem with lying in the Christian media

See if you spot the trend here:

• In December 2020, Franklin Graham claimed that the presidential election was rigged and stolen from Donald Trump.
• Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council published a letter urging lawmakers to override the election results because Joe Biden is not the lawful election winner.
• Televangelist Pat Robinson proclaimed that Christians must not let the United States be taken over by this great fraud and that the United States will become socialist.

All of this was published by the Christian media. All of this was shared without a fair representation of opposing views and the facts. The result, as we all saw on January 6, culminated in the siege of the United States Capitol. 

Ultimately, this siege failed and law and order were restored. However, the damage has been done. This nation has been split by lies that people like these faith leaders spread with zero sources of evidence to support their positions. These lies have led to physical violence, death, and countless strained friendships and familial relationships.

All because people abused their positions to spread lies rather than to tell the truth and encourage unity.

Folks, Christians aren’t perfect. All of us tell lies. And all of us need to be responsible for our lies. However, it’s a serious problem when faith leaders knowingly mislead their followers with large, dangerous lies like these. The Christian media needs to hold leaders accountable for their words and always scrutinize stories and claims for truth. Christian citizens of the United States need to stand up and say no more to these leaders and to the media wing that gives them a platform to lie and mislead. By taking a stand and demanding accountability, we may be able to help prevent another disaster like the siege on the sixth.

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