Conspiring To Lie!

But they could not stand up against the wisdom the Spirit gave him as he spoke.Then they secretly persuaded some men to say, “We have heard Stephen speak blasphemous words against Moses and against God.” So they stirred up the people and the elders and the teachers of the law. They seized Stephen and brought him before the Sanhedrin. They produced false witnesses, who testified, “This fellow never stops speaking against this holy place and against the law. For we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and change the customs Moses handed down to us.” All who were sitting in the Sanhedrin looked intently at Stephen, and they saw that his face was like the face of an angel. Acts 6:10-15 NIV

When people are determined to ruin others–by any means possible–they conspire with others to spread false rumors–thinking that the more the lies are repeated, the greater the likelihood people will believe them–eventually.

Stephen was not the first person to fall victim to this malady of envious human nature. He was simply the victim  of egotistical people who thought if people heard the truth, they would lose whatever control over them, they had.

Jesus suffered this fate–when the Pharisees–the religious sect were afraid of losing their influence and control over what people did. They conspired with Judas to have him arrested and many false witnesses testified against him.

Unfortunately, when we don’t know history, we cannot learn from it or perhaps, our egos just get in the way and we determine to plod through another episode of falsehoods, lobbied against a person. We see this in our political climate and quite frankly, it’s enough to make a person physically ill–just the hatred demonstrated by those who claim to be followers of Christ. The same was true with those who falsely accused Jesus and Stephen–they claimed to know God.

How do people create lies out of partial trues to support their falsehoods? They take bits and pieces of truth and coat it with layer upon layer of lies and repeat it and repeat until they believe the lie to be truth. In the case of Stephen, the naysayers said, “he never stops speaking against this holy place and the law,” which was truly stated, but not the truth. Stephen was proclaiming the Good News–that we were no longer under the law (observing various religious acts), but under Grace and the temple that we worship–was not a building made by hands, but the body God created where Holy Spirit dwells. And because those in authority were upset about losing their influence, they had Stephen stoned to death. This is what happens when religious people–who do not understand how Holy Spirit works–are in a position to destroy others.

If we look at the Republican party–the “so-called party of religious liberties” we see the same scenario being played out over and over again. Some have conspired to lie and create falsehoods that others can repeat until they believe them. And the perpetrators are more dangerous now since we have “instant” technological advances that portray images–most of which are laminated with lies.

Pictures–have been used to distort truth by those in position to broadcast it on television stations that produce false news as a living.

People with grudges write books filled with lies and those who are gullible and not interested in truth–attempt to use the lies as evidence for their contempt. And then there are those who create manipulated videos to further compound the lies and since people don’t realize how “digital technology” can be manipulated–they believe what they see because it is what they want to see, not necessarily a representation of truth, but they promote it–anyway.

Events–have been distorted by truly stating something happened, but layering it with lies so the truth is no longer recognized.

And even when truth is revealed–with evidence–the lies have been told so long that people are not interested in the truth because the truth does not support what they want to believe about a person. That is really sad, but also destructive and God is watching. He knows what the truth is and He knows who is conspiring to distort the truth for personal advantage.

No matter who is conspiring to promote lies and deception, Truth will always win and history will always expose the conspirators–because they cannot hide from God.

If people are conspiring to lie out of fear–for any reason–it is evidence that love does not reside within them since perfect love casts aside fear.

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Let’s Stick To The Issues!

This man was seized by the Jews and they were about to kill him, but I came with my troops and rescued him, for I had learned that he is a Roman citizen. I wanted to know why they were accusing him, so I brought him to their Sanhedrin. I found that the accusation had to do with questions about their law, but there was no charge against him that deserved death or imprisonment. When I was informed of a plot to be carried out against the man, I sent him to you at once. I also ordered his accusers to present to you their case against him. Acts 23:27-30 NIV

Whenever people have nothing of substance to add to a discussion, they inevitably turn to talking points that have nothing to do with the issues at hand. We know–those who Believe and accept God’s Word as true–that Jesus was arrested, illegally tried, and crucified as part of a plot by those who were envious of the attention He received. And now, some years later in this passage of scripture, we see a repeat of the motive–envy and jealously over things the religious leaders did not understand. And since they did not understand it–it couldn’t be true or right–according to their logic.

Throughout history, if we examined and analyzed every event microscopically, we’d see this scenario playing out over and over again and it hasn’t stopped yet. When people “blow things out of proportion” because they do not understand them, it is a sign that they will do anything to accomplish their own self-centered goals to destroy another. When people are “outside the loop” of knowing–they tend to see conspiracy in all that others do, yet they are so blinded by their envy and agenda, they do not see truth about themselves. Why? Because they have nothing of substance to say about “real issues” that affect the lives of others.

There are serious flaws in our political system that allow a person who knows nothing to run for President of the United States. There should be some sort of vetting by a committee–not necessarily government officials, but people in the know--who determine the competency of anyone running for President. And this is beyond the criteria already established regarding citizenship and age.

What do we need to know about political candidates?

• Do they know and understand our nation’s history–from beginning to present–and all of the changes that had to take place in order for this country to be “united” as one?
• Do they understand how government works? Were they paying attention in civics classes?
• Do they understand how global economy works and that a nation’s economy can not be compromised by “bankruptcy” when debts are owed?
• Do they understand the importance of “relationships to develop partnerships” with other countries?
• Do they understand that conflicts with other countries cannot be solved by endangering civilians with “just bombing entire regions” to root out evil?
• Do they understand the potential fall-out from other countries who have been disrespected and maligned simply because no knowledge about how things are done “right” is known?
• Do they understand the potential for civil unrest and violence when promoting hate-mongering and fear-mongering when those tactics are only used by those who are insecure and love to intimidate others?
• Do they understand the importance of keeping Americans safe from the angst of other countries when we speak without thinking?
• Are they willing to set aside their personal interests when it conflicts with “what’s best” for the country?

These are the issues that should be addressed before anyone is allowed to become “a great pretender” and think they have what it takes to sit in the White House. For if the answer to the above questions is “yes” then political campaigns can stick to the issues in setting methods to solve problems, not create them or waste their time with personal attacks which have no relevance in the greater scheme of things.

Though I may seem to be beating a dead horse on this issue of politicism, I have to say that comments regarding Bill Clinton have nothing to do with Hilary Clinton’s ability to serve this country in the White House. It is merely a distraction and opportunity for those who keep bringing up his past because they have nothing of substance to present in making a case for bumbling ignorance we see in the other candidate. 

When it comes to the criticism of Hilary being untrustworthy and a liar–how does someone who has filed bankruptcy four times, leading to others losing their businesses, think they are trustworthy? And perhaps, he doesn’t understand that constantly back-pedaling on issues he should have kept quiet about from the beginning–is lying. He apparently doesn’t understand the principle behind “the pot calling the kettle black.”

I simply pray that Hilary will not stoop to this level of personal attack that have no relevance in the greater scheme of things and that she’ll stick to the issues and present a case to the American public that ensures the continued greatness of this country–in spite of what others say.

And for the rest of us–the voters in America–I hope we can make a decision that sticks to the issues and not personal biases about who is the best qualified for the job–whether we agree with a party platform or not.