The Lies We Believe.

Mistreatment begins with the lies we believe, is sustained by the lies we repeat, and is carried out through the lies we act on.

Here are some of the lies defining this moment in the United States:

-The 2020 election was stolen

-There’s massive voter fraud

-There’s an epidemic of noncitizens voting

-We’ve been “invaded” by millions of criminals

-Political opponents are evil, radical, domestic terrorists.

-Only an authoritarian government can fix these problems

-This is all supported by God.

We Christians are, at our core, called to be a people of truth, which means we need to stand against falsehoods such as these rather than be the ones repeating them.

That commitment to truth is moral, spiritual, and deeply practical as well. Scripture warns repeatedly that deception distorts not only what we think, but how we live, whom we love, and what we are capable of justifying. History confirms this pattern with sobering clarity: when falsehoods take root in a society, they rarely remain confined to words. They shape beliefs. Beliefs shape systems. Systems shape actions.

And actions, over time, can become devastating.

Across the last century, some of the darkest chapters in human history were not fueled only by hatred, but by persuasive lies. Lies that were repeated often enough, framed convincingly enough, and rooted in fear deeply enough that ordinary people came to accept them. These lies often shared common features, like casting certain groups as threats, exaggerated or invented crises, blurred truth and falsehood, and appealed to moral or even religious duty.

Historical examples:

In 1930s Germany, what is often called the “stab-in-the-back” myth, which blamed Jews for Germany losing WW1 was a totally fabricated narrative used to shift blame and justify persecution towards Jews and other marginalized groups.

Rwanda:

When I went to the genocide memorial in Rwanda, I learned that extremist Hutu leaders and media spread several core falsehoods.

Such as: “Tutsis are foreign invaders, not real Rwandans.” This kind of propaganda (especially from Radio Télévision Libre des Mille Collines) portrayed Tutsis as outsiders from Ethiopia, denying their long history in Rwanda.

False claims were spread like “Tutsis are trying to enslave or exterminate Hutus” and “Tutsis are cockroaches (subhuman).” This framed preemptive violence as “self-defense,” despite no such coordinated plan existing and led to systematic dehumanization made mass killing easier to justify psychologically.

They also claimed that “All Tutsis are enemies, including civilians,” which erased distinctions between combatants and ordinary people.

Cambodia:

When I traveled to the Killing Fields of Cambodia, I learned that similar propaganda was used. Under Khmer Rouge led by Pol Pot, spread widespread lies that “Urban people and intellectuals are corrupt enemies” such as city residents, teachers, and professionals who were all labeled traitors or parasites.

They claimed that “Foreign influence is destroying Cambodia” and that “A pure agrarian society can be created instantly.”

This meant that anyone associated with Vietnam, the West, or education could be accused of disloyalty. This ideological falsehood justified forced evacuations and mass deaths.

They also repeatedly claimed, “Those accused are guilty by definition.”Many “confessions” were coerced, and accusations were treated as proof.

The United States:

Across multiple regions and centuries (especially in North America), several recurring similar false narratives justified violence and dispossession of indigenous peoples.

Such lies like, “Indigenous peoples are ‘savages’ or less than human.” This dehumanization rationalized killing and displacement.

Many Europeans also claimed that the land “was empty” or not “being used,” which was to suggest that the land was not legitimately owned if not farmed in European ways.

Many Europeans also claimed that “Expansion is a divine or civilizing mission.” In the U.S., ideas like Manifest Destiny framed conquest as morally justified and ordained by God.

Many also framed any Indigenous resistance as “illegitimate aggression” and they saw “assimilation” as benevolent.

This led to policies that destroyed cultures (e.g., boarding schools) were framed as “helping” Indigenous people.

In the system of chattel slavery in the U.S., especially before the American Civil War, several similar myths were widely promoted.

Lies like “Black people are inherently inferior,” which was backed by pseudoscientific racism was used to justify enslavement.

Many claimed that “slavery is a benevolent or paternal system,” which framed enslavers as if they were “caring for people” who could not care for themselves. This rhetoric was also used to ignore constant resistance and the brutality of the system.

They also claimed that the economy (and society) cannot function without slavery, which was used to resist abolition despite evidence to the contrary.

Women:

Across U.S. history (and much of the Western world), similar recurring false narratives were used to limit women’s rights, agency, and participation in society.

Lies such as “Women are naturally less rational or intellectually inferior to men” were widely promoted to justify excluding women from education, voting, and leadership. These claims were often presented as “scientific” or “biological,” despite lacking evidence.

Many argued that “a woman’s proper place is only in the home,” framing rigid gender roles as natural and morally right. This was used to deny women access to careers, property rights, and political power.

There was also the claim that “giving women equal rights would destroy the family or social order.” This fear-based narrative was used to oppose women’s suffrage and later movements for equality, despite no evidence that equality leads to societal collapse.

Another common idea was that “men must ‘protect’ women by limiting their freedom.” While framed as care or honor, this often functioned to justify control over women’s choices, bodies, and legal autonomy.

In many cases, women who challenged these norms were labeled as immoral, unstable, or dangerous, which discouraged dissent and reinforced the system.

Tragically, during many of these historical events, many Christians were using the Bible to justify them and even leading the charge.

“Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities.” — Voltaire

Now this isn’t to say that we will follow the exact same path as these historical examples. The point is that the patterns of rhetoric that preceded injustice and violence in those examples are not unique to them. They are human patterns, recurring, recognizable, and dangerous when left unchallenged. What is more, except for the Cambodian genocide, which was led by an atheistic regime, the rest is all part of Christian history.

We are seeing versions of those patterns now.

We hear claims that the 2020 election was “stolen,” despite a lack of credible evidence sufficient to overturn its results. We hear persistent assertions of widespread voter fraud and noncitizen voting that are not supported by the weight of available data. We hear immigration described not as a complex policy issue, but as an “invasion” of criminals, a framing that amplifies fear rather than truth. We hear dehumanizing racist myths of immigrants like the president saying, “they poisoning the blood of our nation,” and “thy are eating our cats and dogs” and “they are animals.” We hear warnings that only extraordinary, even authoritarian, measures can “fix” these supposed crises.

These myths and propaganda not only give a false view of reality, but it makes it easier for people to justify inhumane treatment of those they consider “enemies.”

At the same time, political opponents of the administration are increasingly described not simply as wrong, but as evil, radical, or even enemies of the nation, labels that erode the possibility of mutual recognition and shared citizenship. When fellow Americans are cast as existential threats or “domestic terrorists,” it becomes easier to justify hostility toward them, and harder to love them as neighbors.

None of this automatically leads to violence, but history shows that this kind of rhetoric lowers the threshold at which violence becomes thinkable.

For Christians, this should be deeply unsettling. Especially as so much of this rhetoric is being justified with Christian and biblical language by those in power.

Our faith does not permit us to bear false witness against our neighbors, even when it is politically convenient. It does not permit us to dehumanize, even when we feel threatened. It does not permit us to confuse fear with discernment, or power with righteousness. And it certainly does not permit us to wrap exaggeration, distortion, or conspiracy theories in the language of spiritual warfare or divine mission.

When political narratives are given a sacred gloss, when they are presented not just as strategic positions but as moral absolutes endorsed by God, they become far more powerful and far more dangerous. They become resistant to correction, immune to evidence, and capable of justifying actions that would otherwise deeply trouble the conscience.

“Men never do evil so completely and cheerfully as when they do it from religious conviction.” — Blaise Pascal

This is why vigilance matters, not panic, not alarmism, but clarity.

We Christians are called to be people who resist falsehood, who refuse to reduce others to caricatures, and who recognize the image of God even in those with whom we strongly disagree. That calling becomes more, not less, important in moments of deep cultural and political tension like we are living through today.

The test is not whether we can identify lies told by those we already distrust. The test is whether we are willing to question narratives that stoke our fears, confirm our biases, or serve our preferred outcomes.

Because once we accept what is untrue, it does not stay contained. It reshapes how we see people. It narrows our moral imagination. And over time, it can lead us somewhere we never intended or imagined we would go.

As followers of Jesus, we are called to something higher. Not to whatever is loudest, or most repeated, or most politically useful but to truth. To justice. To the dignity of every person.

Truth requires humility. It requires checking what we hear, especially when it confirms our fears. Justice requires courage. It asks us to stand against intimidation, even when it’s subtle and especially when it’s popular.

History shows us what happens when we don’t. History does not repeat itself in exact form. But it does, often, repeat its warnings.

The question is whether we are willing to hear and learn from them.

“Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter.” -Isaiah 5:20

“Do not call conspiracy everything this people calls a conspiracy; do not fear what they fear, and do not dread it.” -Isaiah 8:12-13

“Lying lips are an abomination to the Lord, but those who act faithfully are his delight.” -Proverbs 12:22

“Speak the truth to one another; render in your gates judgments that are true and make for peace.” -Zechariah 8:16

“They exchanged the truth about God for a lie,and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator.” -Romans 1:25

“Test everything; hold fast what is good. Abstain from every form of evil.” -1 Thessalonians 5:21–22

“Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God…” -1 John 4:1

“But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.” -Hebrews 5:14

“Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor…” -Ephesians 4:25

“Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.” -Philippians 4:8