Freedom From Lies With Hatred: Contamination From Deceitful Content Against The Church And How I Dealt It With The Truth

As an advocate of Media and Information Literacy (MIL), I am very much knowledgeable of the effects of having to deal with fake news, disinformation, and other forms of manipulation of media and information in our society. I am thankful that I have been connected with an organization that advocates MIL and helps educators deliver the best practices for dealing with the media and information ecosystem in the country.

Maria Ressa (Source: PBS.org)

In the many years of being a Christian, I was tricked on social media to believe lies about the church, and there I would like to share what just came into my mind about lies laced with anger and hatred. I remembered the documentary "A Thousand Cuts" in 2020 featuring Rappler CEO and Nobel Prize laureate Maria Ressa about what she had discovered about the problems with the information ecosystem in the Philippines and why it has become a primary target of disinformation syndicates. Ms. Ressa said in the documentary, to wit: "Facebook and other social media platforms allow lies laced with anger and hate to spread faster and further than facts, which are really boring... When you only look at content, it’s a whack-a-mole game. I want to figure out what the lie is and then look at the network that spreads the lies. That’s the nervous system." 

Source: Rappler.com

Come to think of it, if we align this observation from the mainstream secular media to what I have seen from social media about the church, it perfectly aligns with how the devil and his demons had formed a spiritual nervous system, a network that spread lies that target believers and those in the church. Indeed, Satan is the father of lies and he will do everything to pull us back from the faith. One of the things the devil influenced my view of the church was the false accusations being posted on an online forum that was responded to directly by our senior pastor at Destiny Church, Ps. Carlo Panlilio. Yet despite his replies, people continued to throw falsehoods that are even mixed with hate speech. From reading those lies, I became attached to my sinful pleasures including laughing at the failures of the church.

However, I found the truth and the truth set me free. Satan is already powerless because of how Jesus overcame by giving up His life on the cross. All we need to focus on is to dwell in the truth that God has provided to us through His Word. Satan is already like a dog trying to bark, show its fangs, maybe foam in the mouth, just to instill fear in us, but because our confidence is in Christ, we just have to outtruth him for him to flee.

"Satan is like that yappy little dog: deceiving people into fearing him more than God. His power is in the lie. He is the father of lies (John 8:44) who deceives the whole world (Revelation 12:9), and consequently, the whole world is under the influence of the evil one (1 John 5:19). He can do nothing about your position in Christ, but if he can deceive you into believing his lies about you and God, you will spend a lot of time on top of the pickup truck! You don't have to outshout him or outmuscle him to be free of his influence. You just have to outtruth him. Believe, declare, and act upon the truth of God's Word, and you will thwart Satan's strategy." - Neil T. Anderson, The Bondage Breaker

Today, I am freed from those lies which manifested in me as a secret, deep-seated hatred for the church. Now I continue to trust in God's people and those who are sharing the Good News that has transformed me and many others.

Keep Fighting for the Truth!