Of False Prophets, False Gods And Half-Truths

-Dr Rosemary Varghese

 For false messiahs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect -Matthew 24:24

The joyous season of Christmas has arrived and every heart and home prepares for the coming of the Blessed Infant, God’s own Son and the Word Incarnate. He came into this world with a mission set by His Father—to teach and heal, and deliver His Father’s chosen flock from the slavery of sin and death. On that historic December night in Bethlehem, Jesus was born in a stable, tended by Mother Mary and St Joseph, with animals and shepherds in attendance. The angels sang hymns of the glory of God and the Star of Bethlehem guided the faithful to His wondrous presence.  

There is another version of the Divine Birth in the Book of Revelation. John records a vision of a woman clothed in the sun, with the moon at her feet, and a crown of stars on her head. As she was about to give birth to Jesus, the evil dragon – the ancient serpent stood in front of her waiting to devour the Child.

In a sense both of these are true with regard to Christ’s presence with us today. For the true believer, Christmas is a commemoration of the moment that Jesus was born into our lives, when His Word found root in our minds and hearts. At another level, there are a growing number of Christians who reject the Word, and put their best efforts to devise ways to wipe out the name and worship of Jesus from the minds of those around them. This is easily done, considering that they pass their ideas onto an apathetic community whose worldly ways make them weak and vulnerable victims.

Matthew 24:24  prophesies the appearance of false prophets who deceive people by imitating the Messiah. As agents of the evil one, they are capable of performing signs and wonders that lead people astray— atleast those who experience little or no commitment to God. In our present generation, the task has been made much easier by the widespread audience available on social media, and these false evangelists persuade their gullible listeners by using a potent, mind poisoning devise termed as a half-truth.

To explain what a half truth is, I take an example of a talk on Youtube by an eminent speaker and writer. Wikipedia describes him as a prominent educator and theologian, who was former Principal of a well known institute of higher education in India. His half-hour talk criticizing Catholic priests has recorded 3000 views- which gives us an idea of his sphere of influence. He begins with a quote from Matthew 23, where Jesus calls the scribes and Pharisees hypocrites, and then goes on to insist that all priests of the present time are included in this condemnation. The Bible quote, the truth of God,  is used to blame a community of priests that have no connection with the group Jesus spoke against. The clergy of today claims its descent from the apostles whom Jesus taught, trained, and empowered to evangelize in His name. The Pharisees and scribes were the existing  priestly class during the time of Jesus. Fr Thomas J. Lane,  author of the book The Catholic Priesthood : Biblical Foundations explains the connection explicitly— The priesthood of Christ and of his apostles and their successors and assistants, who share in Christ’s priesthood, is the answer to the imperfection in the Levitical priesthood of the Old Covenant. We see the damaging influence of a half truth. A subtle juggle of the context allows him to falsely accuse a community in the name of Christ!

Even more interesting is the manner in which this eminent speaker targets the sacraments of baptism, matrimony and the anointing of the sick. Under the cover of his tirade against priests, he unceremoniously throws the sanctity of these important spiritual milestones out of the window, without even defending his argument. The casual listener is caught unawares, and the speaker succeeds in his ambitious scheme of  killing two birds with one stony half-truth!

Such is the power of the half-truths that empower the arguments of false prophets who often establish their credentials by quoting from the Bible, but lead their audience on an opposite path. Of  course, the use of these masked lies is not restricted to false teachers alone. There are many in the present generation who claim allegiance to the Almighty God, but have created a God to suit their own imagination. The God of Spinoza, who was endorsed by Einstein, seems to come closest to what people want in a God. This God advised people to live life unrestrained by rules and discipline. The only philosophy he shared with the true God in the Bible was that people should live and let live. Other than that , people were free to do as they please, with no fear of judgement or punishment. Here too we notice how half- truths interplay with diverse intentions, as people create their idols of worship. There are  many Christians who would like to believe that this figment of their imagination is God the Father, or Jesus Christ, but they never explore the Bible to understand God , and the Way He wants His people to follow. Even if they do, they dismiss it in favour of what Spinoza’s God offers.

For the rest of us who don’t belong to either category mentioned above, its still too early to celebrate our spiritual maturity and belief in the true God and in His Word. Half truths are never far away from our conversations, especially when we want to present a convincing argument. An unnecessary exaggeration, suppression of relevant facts, a subtle emphasis on a point, artful body language—these are but a few examples of how we convey falsehood without directly telling a lie. A half-truth is the worst form of a lie, and they rule our conversations and thought process. Its insidious nature leaves us unaware of the deception we are guilty of. It is cunning and subtle, masking lies as truth.

Christmas is a season where believers come together to celebrate the birth of Emmanuel-God with us. The manger in Bethlehem was surrounded by good shepherds and angels. While we prepare to receive our God, let us not be led astray by the master of deception –Satan— who “masquerades as the angel of light”-2 Cor 11:14. Half-truths are harmful and evil in intent and origin. May the Star of Bethlehem light up our way forward lest we lose ourselves in the darkness of deception.