Hi Friend,

“Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor.”

The news reported the story of a couple that dropped their elderly, wheelchair bound mother off at the airport to catch a plane.  The flight was cancelled, and the attendants called the family who returned 45 minutes later to retrieve the mother.  All should have been well except the family went on social media to falsely report that their mother had been left overnight unattended, in her wheelchair.

While I can’t imagine a person leaving an invalid parent alone at a busy airport, their callous action was exacerbated by a lie.  Video and phone records prove that the accusation was false.

Is this where the story ends?

It isn’t.  When victimhood is the highest moral value then others aspire to it, thus abdicating responsibility for self.  This is mindboggling to previous generations where victimhood was a sign of weakness.  Now it’s a virtue.

What happens to the electoral process when a presidential candidate is slandered by a lie such as tying his dog to the top of his car while on a trip or fabricating a fictitious account of a perverted sexual encounter?  What happens when an exemplary candidate to our nation’s highest court can be torpedoed by lies from people who want to project their sins on to others?  In the end our nation suffers!

Is there nothing that can be done to prevent these atrocities before the collapse of a once great civilization?

There’s a scripture from the Old Testament law that could immediately make our nation better.  This one law would improve our culture immeasurably.

There is a reason that an image of Moses holding the Ten Commandments is over the rear entrance to the Supreme Court Building of the United States.  Moses established the principle of the presumption of innocence.  He wrote, “One witness is not enough to convict anyone accused of any crime or offense they may have committed. A matter must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.”  (Deut. 10:15)  Power to destroy a person cannot be entrusted to one individual without supporting evidence.  What if the accuser is malicious—or mentally ill?  Are any of us safe if the law does not provide a presumption of innocence?

But what is the remedy?  Moses continues, “If a malicious witness takes the stand to accuse someone of a crime…the judges must make a thorough investigation, and if the witness proves to be a liar, giving false testimony…then do to the false witness as that witness intended to do to the other party. You must purge the evil from among you.” (verses 16 thru 19)

We are in danger of losing the moral concept that a false accusation is equally as dangerous as the crime itself!

In her book, The Diversity Delusion, author Heather MacDonald decries the $250,000 salaries paid to Diversity Department heads at universities across America who frequently destroy the lives of innocent people by falsely accusing students.  The salaries are paid by your tax dollars to encourage accusations.

She calls it an “absolutist social theology” that extorts huge financial assets from corporations and American taxpayers.   Notice the term, “theology” suggesting the source of this madness is spiritual.  The Apostle John identifies the power behind false accusations when he writes, “the accuser of our brethren, who accused them before our God day and night…. (Rev. 12:10)  John is talking about Satan and he does not equivocate that he is a spiritual destroyer who desires to corrupt the justice system by encouraging men toward unbridled accusations.

What can be done?  Once again, Moses provides the solution. He points out that “the rest of the people will hear of this (punishment for making false accusations) and be afraid, and never again will such an evil thing be done among you.  Show no pity: life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.”  (Deut. 19:20-21)  Moses is telling us that truthfulness is absolutely essential to a nation’s survival—otherwise, we have lost any connection to justice, the cornerstone of civilization.

Do we want a civilized country?  Then we must require witnesses to tell the truth. And when they do not, they must receive the same punishment as would have been administered for the accused crime.

This age of man, beginning with the mainstream media, may be the most accusing of any that has ever existed.  It’s an infectious disease for which, once again, Moses provided the answer.

Until next time,

Jim O’Brien