By M.K. George
Rome, October 7, 2026: It goes back to the Old Testament: “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbour” (Exodus 20:16).
This seems to be the earliest known articulation of humans being warned not to tell lies.
There is an interesting debate going on in India now.
The current Election Commissioner says that the changes in Form 6, which virtually cut off 55.8 million of Indians from the voting list, were authorized by the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court says it never approved them.
Now, who is telling a lie?
When I was younger, there was a joke in my diocese that the then bishop had told a lie in the civil court to save a politician friend. We all laughed about it because we liked that politician. He was our man. And so, that was called a white lie.
Today, of course, there are those long-standing abuse cases in the Church in India/Kerala which confuse us. One of them is lying, either the alleged abuser or the victim.
Lies seem to be flying all around, both in the secular world and in religious circles.
One of the crudest and most popular ‘lies’ in India is that Christians are converting people by fraud and force, leading to the enactment of strict anti-conversion laws in 13 out of 28 states.
But the very government data shows that in 2011, the Christian population was 2.3 percent, and in 2025 estimates, it is only 2.2 percent.
It is a good time for some conceptual clarification. It is said that lies differ mainly according to their intention, consequences, and who benefits from the deception:
A white lie is usually told to protect someone’s feelings or avoid unnecessary harm.
A grey lie involves mixed motives, such as avoiding an uncomfortable situation.
A self-serving lie benefits the person who lies, often by gaining money or status, or avoiding responsibility.
A dark or malicious lie deliberately exploits, manipulates, or harms others.
A protective lie deceives someone to prevent serious harm.
Lies of omission conceal important information, while half-truths use technically true statements to create a misleading impression.
Wow, that is a lot!
Post-truth makes things worse.
Conceptually, the key difference between a lie and post-truth is that while the first is a false statement, the latter is a situation or communication environment in which factual truth has less influence on people’s beliefs and emotions, identity, or political loyalty.
With the absolute conquest of the communication world by social media, we do not know what is a lie or what is truth.
The world of advertisements is another tricky field. Some of the elders will remember a very popular ad in India about a face cream that ‘made dark skin white’, which eventually was withdrawn because of protests from various groups.
Disastrously, lies are entering even the very existential levels. Some, even at the top of political authority, say, ‘Climate change is a hoax’, when even the most illiterate experience the effects of climate change in erratic weather patterns, whether it is overheating, erratic rain, or floods.
Yet another lie that seems to be guiding political and economic leaders is that economic development is more important than environmental protection.
Discerning truth and sticking to truth is becoming more challenging than ever. The confusing factors are the multiplicity of information, the speed of communication, the conflicting nature of information, political and economic interests, and a decreasing sense of empathy and compassion among people.
What happens to a humanity which ignores reality/truth?
The Ten Commandments are no more popular, it looks like, even for church members. So where do we land? Do we say a lie?
There is an old saying: ‘You cannot be a little pregnant. Either you are pregnant or you are not.’ Would that be true about lies too?
Indian Jesuit Father George Mutholil, based in Rome, serves as the Society of Jesus’ General Counsellor and Regional Assistant for South Asia. He advises on matters specific to this region while also supporting the Superior General on broader issues of governance.