To begin: I’ve been very frustrated this recent election cycle with the willingness of Christians to easily accept lies. For example, the “Obama is a Muslim” thing. Quite aside from the fact that I, as a Christian, am more than willing to vote for someone with differing religious beliefs (I voted for Bush in 2000 on the theory that I felt more confident that he had similar beliefs to mine and later concluded that was a mistake), the reality is that that rumor is a lie. And not a very difficult one to uncover. It was also a lie spread by Christians with the clear aim of deceiving other Christians. How utterly sick is that?

For the record, as a Bible-believing Christian, I hereby disown the religious right. Not all the people who consider themselves as such, but the certainly all the politicians and pundits who take advantage of that identity.

Anyway, sorry, way off topic. What I’m actually thinking about is recognition of lies. James 1:5 tells us, “If any of you need wisdom, you should ask God, and it will be given to you. God is generous and won’t correct you for asking” (CEV). So, number one and cheif is asking Yahweh for wisdom.

But another element, one right beside that, is a willingness to be aware of lies. Or, to put it another way, I must make a decision to test even those ideas and purported knowledge that fit my prejudices. Paul, in closing on his first (at least first listed in the Bible) letter to the church of Thessalonians, throws out a series of general instructions. One of them is simply “Test everything” (1 Thessalonians 5:21, CEV). Now, for a one liner, it’s probably best not to make sweeping applications, but it is a reminder to not let my prejudices determine my belief.

It’s easy to research to death claims with which I disagree, finding any reason to reject those claims. Just as easy (indeed, easier), is to see a purported fact that is “what I want” and add it to my “base of knowledge”, thus exagerating the support for my pre-conceived ideas. There is no doubt a balance between being too quick to find problems with any idea and being too quick to accept an idea.

Perhaps, then, one key is simply taking time to consider. If I don’t let any new piece of purported knowledge into my general accepted knowledge of a subject for at least, say, a day, I have a much better chance of evaluating it properly. If I instead accept or reject it immediately, my pride (which is yet another issue) dictates that I now find any reason to support the claim I’ve already accepted. No good, that.

So, ask God for wisdom, examine new information regardless of my prejudices, and wait before accepting any new information as definite fact. That’s a start, there.