Why all this interest in the pursuit of knowledge of lying? I don't know for sure. If I go with the idea that people pursue in life what they most need, then I have one of those reasons. It has been hypothesized that people become psychologists because they are exploring some deep-seated need of their own. People become lawyers in order to put order to the chaos of their own world. People become firemen or policemen in order to learn more of their fascination of destruction and control, respectively. The list goes on. I guess I would want to dissect the lie because of need to understand where deception and betrayal come from or the need to set the record straight. Of course, there are other hypotheses for pursuing something in life. People are generally speaking, opportunists when given the chance. This means that I have seen an opportunity that will get me ahead in the game of life.
I really do think lying is despicable when it affects others. Nearly all lying does, but when lying causes people to alter their lives because of the advantage others might gain by lying, that's when I turn red and blow fuses. I'm not powerful enough or well conncected enough to hold people in check, but through knowledge of lying, perhaps I can help in making sure that people don't get taken advantage through some people's darker, deceptive nature.
I think I get this idea from my religious values. I find that the Great Teacher had a similar view to mine. He didn't mince words when he came into contact with some of the most ostensibly religious people of his time and place. On one particular occasion these very pious Jews were criticizing him for putting himself in a higher position than they were in relation to God. The Teacher retorted: "You are the children of your father, the Devil, and you want to follow your father's desires. From the very beginning he was a murderer and has never been on the side of truth, because there is no truth in him. When he tells a lie, he is only doing what is natural to him, because he is a liar and the father of all lies" (John 8.44). Now that's a strong statement - telling people they are the children of the father of all lies. Another example comes from the Apocalypse of John. In one of the scenes of his visions, he sees a war in heaven. During the course of this war, Satan is thrown out of heaven. The author uses much of the same idea in his description and function of Satan that Jesus did. "The huge dragon was thrown out–that ancient serpent, named the Devil, or Satan, that deceived the whole world. He was thrown down to earth, and all his angels with him. Then I heard a loud voice in heaven saying, 'Now God's salvation has come! Now God has shown his power as King! Now his Messiah has shown his authority! For the one who stood before our God and accused believers day and night has been thrown out of heaven'" (Revelation 12.9-10). There he is, the evil one, still deceiving, still accusing, still lying in this vision.
Because there is such a strong reaction to lying in a book I deem sacred, then I believe I have taken that to heart because it matches some of my other desires, interests, experiences, and training in life. Many have pursued other parts of the Good Book and done well. This is my way of becoming leaven on the earth to create a little niche for good in an otherwise very evil, illusionary world. So, I try to track down the tangles in the web when people practice to deceive. It's a small niche The Maker of Interests has allowed me to fill.
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