Liar Liar
Several years ago I sat across from someone who lied to me. At the time I would have called him a friend. He certainly was no friend. However, in the moment he lied to me I had one up on him. I knew the very story he was attempting to falsify. I knew that every word dribbling off of his tongue was a lie. Thankfully that situation is rare in the lives of most people, if not, you had better find new friends! However, in the last several months as I have watched the news media I have felt as if I were sitting across from that old friend of mine.
For example, during the Kenosha, Wisconsin riots Wolf Blitzer was interviewing a reporter on the ground when this statement scrolled across the bottom of the screen, ““8PM Curfew Ordered After Violent Protests Over Police Shooting Of Unarmed Black Man In Wisconsin.” Within five seconds the word “violent” was removed.[1] Obviously “violent” didn’t fit the narrative of peaceful protests. Something similar happened when CNN reporter Omar Jimenez reported in front of a blazing background with the caption underneath that read, “Fiery but mostly peaceful protests after police shooting.”[2] It makes me want to shout, “Come on, man!” Do these news outlets believe we are that stupid or do they think that they lie that well?
Do you remember when we were told that the riots were not being caused by the Black Lives Matter protestors but rather by right wing extremists? What is more, it was said that president Trump accused this peaceful civil rights group of being anarchists and Marxists.[3] But a little fact check will flesh out the truth. The Black Lives Matter organization has admitted their Marxist’s roots and methods.[4] What is more, the majority of riots have been linked to the Black Lives Matter efforts.[5] I mean, come on, man! I saw people being harassed in downtown Pittsburgh for the crime of white privilege!
What of the Covid-19 virus? We were put on lock down. Our economy was destroyed. Our friends lost businesses and our family members lost jobs. If you turned on CNN these last several months, no matter the news, the death toll was staring you in the face on the right side of the screen. It was that important. And then November 3rd rolled around and I have not seen those statistics since. Someone might say, “Well, it’s the election and that’s vital to the country.” Funny, I thought human life would trump an election. Not surprisingly, it is another lie and we know it. Lives were never the issue. All you have to do is listen to Chris Cuomo talk about how masks save lives and how it’s irresponsible to be without one and then read the letter he was sent by his building manager reprimanding him for not wearing his mask in the apartment building! This reprimand came after Cuomo had been warned several times previously.[6] No, it was never about lives. That was just a lie. It was always about a political agenda. Scare and manipulation are the name of the game.
How can I not say a word about the election? An illustration might help but I need to warn you it is not for the weak. Imagine you are visiting with a bunch of friends and your little toddler is at play in the middle of the room when all of a sudden you smell something. So you ask your little fella if he has relieved himself. He says, no. Everyone in the room smiles and looks at each other as you scoop your little guy up and head off to the bathroom. That is how this election feels. The mess is obvious, one party is lying about it and everybody knows it.
When I was a college student my Bible professor and I were having lunch. He was wise and I always enjoyed spending the time with him. On this particular day he said, “Jeff, lying is a sure sign of immaturity. When you catch someone in a lie you know at least one thing about them and likely a few other things but you know at least this, they are immature.” But the wisdom he shared that day comes right from the pages of Scripture. Jesus said that the devil is “a liar and the father of lies.” Unfortunately, this is not a toddler’s tale. It is a mess. It’s a mess that Big Tech, the Leftist media (or should I say propagandists) and the Democatic party have decided to make. But it’s more than a mess. It’s a lie. And like all lies it will only corrode and destroy. Or maybe I could put it the way that Chris Cuomo said it to his friend Michael Cohen, “The media is not your friend.”[7]
Jeffrey A Stivason (Ph.D. Westminster Theological Seminary) is pastor of Grace Reformed Presbyterian Church in Gibsonia, PA. He is also Professor of New Testament Studies at the Reformed Presbyterian Theological Seminary in Pittsburgh, PA. Jeff is also an online instructor for Westminster Theological Seminary, Philadelphia, PA. He is the author of From Inscrutability to Concursus (P&R), he has contributed to The Jonathan Edwards Encyclopedia (Eerdmans) and has published academic articles and book reviews in various journals. Jeff is the Senior Editor of Place for Truth (placefortruth.org) an online magazine for the Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals.
[7] https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8687881/CNN-host-Chris-Cuomo-ca...
