by Rev. Benjamin Chung (鍾立恆牧師)
Our country is going through a moral revolution of sorts right now. We are dealing with the topic of lying, and we don’t even use the simplest of words. Some synonyms of lying are: deceitful, dishonest, two-faced, insincere, and false. Most recently, we are seeing lying taken to a whole new level.
We hear about “fake news”, where the truth is hidden by putting out false information first, thus confusing people with the lies first, before the true information is reported in the news. This also plays on our brains, as information that is received into our neural networks are embedded first and become harder to dislodge from memory. Therefore, it can be extremely difficult to convince someone of a lie they believe because they heard the “fake news” first. As of this writing, it is puzzling how several news agencies report different electoral college totals for the presidential election. Who is right? Many are not, because they’re claiming the Biden is president-elect, even though the vote totals have not been confirmed by a single state yet. Several states are also dealing with potential voter fraud with dead people voting and potential software manipulation.
Another term that is popping up is “gaslighting”. This is when people cause psychological confusion and create doubt in the victim by manipulating the situation to make the victim appear wrong and inferior. This is a psychological disorder called, narcissistic personality disorder. Such individuals believe the world revolves around them and they cause others to fall in line with their thinking through lies and manipulation. An example would be to hide your husband’s sunglasses somewhere and then say to him, “You’re so irresponsible! You keep misplacing your sunglasses.” It’s a lie, through and through, since the husband was framed by the wife.
This is what is happening today. We need to be careful of the news source we use and read. Another difficulty is when it is someone we know and trust. Perhaps a family member has heard some fake news and believes it is true. Convincing them of the truth becomes even more difficult. Then the lies they are espousing is not malicious, but due to another party. We must be wary of those who general “false truths”. Proverbs 12:22 says, “Lying lips are an abomination to the LORD, but those who act faithfully are his delight.”
This also reveals the importance of training up our children from the beginning in the fundamental truths found in Scripture and the Christian faith. We are to bring them up in discipline and instruction; not provoke them to anger. “Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the LORD” (Ephesians 6:4). Let us all be careful of the information we share and be willing to receive evidence that may be contrary to what we know. After all, there are still many who even deny that Jesus even existed. But we know He did, through the Bible and the miracles He has done in our lives! Hold on to the truth, brothers and sisters!
Translation:
我們的國家目前正在經歷著一場道德的革命。我們現要處理對付說謊的對策是不能以簡單的言辭可應付。說謊的一些同義詞是：欺騙，不誠實，兩面人，不誠懇和虛假。最近我們看到謊言的使用已達到了一個全新的高峯。
我們都聽過「假新聞」這回事吧，意思是在報導真實新聞信息之前，先發布虛假信息來掩蓋事實的真相，從而形成先入為主的情況，讓人們將事實與謊言混淆。這其實也會在我們的大腦上發揮作用，因為我們的神經網絡會把首先接收的信息烙印於腦海，之後要從記憶中清除並不容易。故此，要說服某些聽完「假新聞」的人相信自己所知的其實是謊言是件非常困難的事。在撰寫本文時，有件令我感到困惑的事，就是好幾個新聞通訊社報導是次總統選舉之中選舉團的總數有不同的數字。究竟誰是對的？許多是錯的，因為總票數尚未得到州的確認，通訊社已經聲稱拜登當選了總統。與此同時一些州亦正在處理選民的欺詐行為，包括有死人投票，與及潛在的選舉軟件操縱問題。
另一個最近出現的詞語就是「氣死你」。意思是人們通過操縱局勢，令受害者看似有錯，從而令受害者自慚形穢，心靈困惑，心中造成疑慮。這是一種心理障礙，我們稱之為「自戀型人格障礙」。這樣的人相信整個世界都是圍繞著他們旋轉的，他們透過撒謊和操縱別人令其他人與他的思維達成一致。舉個例子，有位妻子將丈夫的太陽眼鏡藏在某處，然後對丈夫說：「你
真沒責任感！總是隨意擱置你的太陽眼鏡。」這徹徹底底是一個謊言，因為整件事丈夫是被妻子陷害的。
這就像是今天正在發生的事。我們需要小心我們所用和所看的新聞來源。當新聞來源是由我們認識並信任的人發放時會造成另一個難題。或許有個家庭成員因聽到了一些假新聞後，相信了那是真的。要說服他們去重新了解真相會變得非常困難。惡毒的並不是他們所擁護的謊言，而是發謊言的那派人。我們必須警惕那些掌控「虛假事實」的人。箴言12：22 說：「說謊言的嘴為耶和華所憎惡；行事誠實的，為他所喜悅。」
這顯露了一件事，就是我們對孩子們要從小就開始訓練他們從聖經和基督教信仰中學習基本真理的重要性。我們要培養他們的紀律，要學習跟從指示； 我們並不是要激發他們的怒氦。「你們作父親的，不要惹兒女的氣，只要照著主的教訓和警戒養育他們。」（以弗所書6：4）。我們與别人分享信息時要小心，並要願意去接受一些可能與我們所知的是相反的證據。畢竟，仍有許多人否認耶穌的存在。但是我們都知道耶穌是存在的。衪透過聖經和衪在我們生活中所做的神蹟已顯明了！弟兄姐妹們，要持守真理啊！
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