Living in a Culture of Lies

I recently read Live Not by Lies, by Rod Dreher (an official review is forthcoming!). The book details the impacts on churches and persecuted Christians during the rise of totalitarian regimes throughout the 20th century, and how networks of individual Christians were able to persevere as these governments attempted to eradicate them. It draws eerie parallels between the situations in 1910’s Russia, 1930’s Germany and 1960’s Soviet dominated Eastern Europe, and some of the cultural changes and soft totalitarianism (e.g. “cancel culture”) that we are now witnessing in the United States. One of the common tools of totalitarianism is the predominance of lies these regimes use to shape the culture, maintain their power, and control the masses.

Rarely has a book had such an immediate impact on me. I became convicted that I have been an accomplice in the promotion of these lies. It’s not that I believe the lies are true. It’s that I allow them to be told without opposition, or I silently acquiesce to them in order to protect myself from being considered outside of mainstream thinking. “It is what it is” or “Better to go along to get along”. As I began to open my eyes to the lies that permeate our daily lives, I realized how much our culture is saturated in them. The media, education, entertainment, “journalists”, advertisements, music, and academia promote narratives that are almost exclusively from the progressive left perspective. Many of them based on objectively false premises.

Three primary examples of this phenomenon that have become prominent in these narratives over the past ten years are the cultural promotion of transgenderism, “gay marriage”, and critical social justice.

· What was recently a psychological disorder, called gender dysphoria, has now become one of the pillars of the ever-expanding initialism (LGBTQ…) for normalization of sexual perversity. The speed with which transgenderism went from dysfunction to honored lifestyle choice has been stunning. During a meeting I attended two years ago, with a group of people I work with to advocate for foster youth, I stated that I thought it unhealthy and dangerous to introduce high-levels of female hormones into the biologically male body of a youth that decided to identify as a girl. Amidst the conference table of stunned faces, the leader of the organization firmly stated, “Mike, I think you need to take some time to educate yourself.” I was quite effectively silenced and, to my shame, remained silent for the duration of the meeting. By the time I arrived home, an email was awaiting me with an illustration of a “gender unicorn” (no irony there! – see attached photo). Gender is no longer determined by biology, but by feelings.

· On June 26, 2015, the Supreme Court of the United States made a landmark ruling that arbitrarily and capriciously changed the definition of marriage. Instead of the biblical, biological and traditional union of a man and a woman in life-long holy covenant, the court ruled that same-sex couples now had the “fundamental” right to marry. A mere six years later, this 5-4 Supreme Court decision is considered unassailable. Try discussing the biblical definition of marriage in any social setting and you will almost certainly reap a whirlwind of hatred as a bigot and a homophobe.

· Critical Justice Theory is based on the anti-biblical view that our relationships to others and to society are based on our group identities – race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, religion, and familial origins. Everything must be viewed through the lens of group identity and power dynamics between groups, instead of each of us being made in the image of God. All inequities, or anything that may result in differing outcomes between groups, must be the result of power imposed by one group to oppress another. Power is derived based solely on our group identities, with some identities being oppressed (“people of color”, gays, Muslims), and some being oppressors (European, heterosexual, Christian). True “social justice” can only be achieved by taking power away from oppressor groups and giving that power to oppressed groups. It is important to note that this power struggle is eternal. There can be no forgiveness, reconciliation, or resolution. The only solution offered is an enforced equity by means of totalitarianism – the forced oppression of the oppressors. This is the dystopian vision that is currently being heavily promoted, not just in our universities, but in our local public-school systems.

These lies, and others like them, form the foundation of our new national religion of unencumbered hedonism. Those that stand against the lies must be marginalized.

Morally, spiritually, and intellectually lies crumble before the Truth. Lies cannot stand on their own unless the Truth is forcefully suppressed. It is impossible to argue a logical fallacy, such as a man is a woman or that a woman is a man, without imposing some external penalty against speaking the truth of the counter-argument. Clearly, gender is determined by chromosomes, and a man is not a woman, but you are ostracized from “right-thinking” society as a bigot, uninformed, and lacking in education should you speak it. Once ostracized, one’s opinions are no longer valid and one’s arguments no longer merit refutation.

I firmly believe that the evangelical Church in America will soon be forced to embrace these types of lies, or pay a heavy price. Many mainline protestant denominations have already willingly succumbed. It will begin with the loss of tax exemptions (which is already being discussed in Congress), but where it ends, I cannot predict. Based on the events of 2020, I have very little confidence that the majority of our Church leaders will have the courage to stand on the Truth that they proclaim, and many will succumb enthusiastically in the name of “love and tolerance”. But by acquiescing to these lies we become captive to them, and we defile ourselves and the ideals we are supposed to represent. We either represent biblical truth, or we don’t – it’s a binary choice.

What then shall we do? On our own, we lack the numbers, platforms, and strength to prevail against the forces that are aligned against us. But we serve a God that is far greater than any force in the universe. A God that is fully in control and whose victory is certain. The lies cannot overcome the Truth. Those of us that consider ourselves believers must be willing to stand up for the Truth – no matter the short-term cost.