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There is much concern about the perception of lies that seem to abound in world we are living in right now. Whether it be politics, religion, medicine, news media, social media…the list seems endless, one side is pointing at the other side saying: “Lies, lies, lies!” Much time and energy are being spent looking for lies and some folks are pointing out the volume of lies as a sign of the uniqueness of our generation. Are we unique in this regard?
If we journey back over 2,600 years ago, we will discover the amount of lies back then. The Holy Prophet Isaiah declares:
“Truth has stumbled in the streets, honesty cannot enter. Truth is nowhere to be found.”
(Isaiah 59:14-15)
Truth was actually “stumbling in the streets” long before the Holy Prophet Isaiah. We are not a unique generation. This sort of thing has happened in every generation. We have an enemy in the spiritual realm that is known as “the father of all lies” who is also known as the devil (John 9:44). It all began in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3) with the words: “Did God really say…?” The enemy of our souls followed that up with the lie that would lead to the downfall of Adam and Eve: “You will surely not die.” Instead, he gave assurance that if they would eat of that tree, they would become like God.
In the first century, after Jesus had ascended into heaven, the early Church had to deal with an abundance of lies. Gnostics and false teachers abounded then as they do now. In Acts 20, St. Paul warns the elders of the Church in Ephesus (a word of warning to all generations of Christians) that “savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock. Also, from among yourselves men will rise up, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after themselves” (Acts 20:29-30).
This has proven true over the centuries as even some leaders within the Church, became the instruments of lies. The 1st Ecumenical Council was convened in the 4th century because a priest denied that Jesus was God come in the flesh. That Council and all 7 Ecumenical Councils looked back and affirmed the Truths Jesus handed down to His Apostles, who then handed those Truths down to their disciples and so on through each generation to keep those Truths alive.
The call of our generation of Christians is not to be obsessed with lies, but rather to keep these Truths alive for the next generation. So indeed, let us stay alert on the right path and hold fast to the Truths passed down to us from the beginning of the Church.
Here is a summary of the Truths that First Ecumenical Council passed down to us:
THE NICENE CREED
I believe in one God: the Father, the Almighty, Creator
of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and
invisible;
And in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of
God, begotten of the Father before all ages; Light of
Light, true God of true God, begotten, not created, of one
essence with the Father, through Whom all things were
made;
Who for us men and for our salvation came down from
the heavens and was incarnate by the Holy Spirit and the
Virgin Mary, and became man;
Crucified for us under Pontius Pilate, He suffered and
was buried;
Rising on the third day according to the Scriptures,
And ascending into the heavens, He is seated at the right
hand of the Father;
And coming again in glory to judge the living and the
dead, His Kingdom shall have no end.
