America's culture has Christianity as a foundation. It is the foundation upon which our nation rests. Destroy the foundation and you have successfully destroyed the nation. Regardless of how difficult it is to accept - we DO have a segment of our society that hates America and everything it stands for. It is Hemingway's "fifth column" coined in Spain's civil war just prior to World War II. They cry for "Social Justice" and their preachers cry, "God damn America." They accuse America of being an empire and a colonial power, when both charges fail to meet the historical definition of either. If America were an empire, as charged by some, gasoline would be back to 25 cents, or so, per gallon instead of what it is!
Judging from media, lying is no longer verboten or even frowned on. One of the virtues of Achilles, as I recall from my Grammar School, was that he would not lie, even to his enemies. As a youngster, I was impressed. Most of us are familiar with the bit doggerel, "Liar, liar, pants on fire." A current TV ad makes visual use of this theme. Then there is Walt Disney who makes famous Pinocchio (1940), whose nose grew whenever he was untruthful or told a lie. All of this, of course, reflects the Christian doctrine of always being truthful. In the old West, this principle was personified in "a man's word was his bond."
Jesus admonished His disciples, "let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil" (Matthew 5:37). Paul echoed this basic principle of Christianity when he wrote, "And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness. Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbour: for we are members one of another" (Ephesians 4:24-25).
God the Father lists a lying tongue among the things that He hates and that are an abomination to Him (Proverbs 6:16-17). He included, "Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour" (Exodus 20:16), in the Ten Commandments. Many of us make a distinction between "little" lies and "big" lies; between "white" lies and "black" lies. The bottom line, according to the Book of Books, is "the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death" (Revelation 21:8).
The principle of always telling the truth must be a part of preachers as well as politicians, of sales people as well as statesmen, and women as well as men. When is it is ever right to lie?
Dale
I. Royal, Elk City OK
