Mission Omission (eBook)

Prologue

“He [the devil] was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.”

Jesus, The Gospel According to John 8:44, NIV

Do you agree that Satan has no truth in him, that he is the father of lies, and that when he lies, he speaks his native language? If so, then riddle me this. How is it that when he engineered the fall of man, the serpent never told a lie?

If you are skeptical regarding the accuracy of Satan’s statements to Eve, please check for yourself. For convenience, the relevant verses are provided in Illustration P.1.

Illustration P.1. The Genesis account of The Fall of Man, NIV

Questions:

1.Was anything the serpent said to Eve untrue?

• Per Genesis chapters 4 and 5, both Adam and Eve lived very long lives after being banished from Eden. How then could the serpent’s statement—“You will not certainly die” (Genesis 3:4)—have been false?

2.In explaining himself under direct questioning from God, was anything Adam said to God false?

• Doesn’t verse 3:6 affirm the facts, as stated by Adam, in verse 3:12?

3.In explaining herself under direct questioning from God, would anything Eve said to God constitute perjury in a court of law?

• Again, don’t verses 3:4–5 affirm the facts, as stated by Eve, in verse 3:13?

4.And most paradoxically of all, does not God in verse 3:22, in fact, confirm the factual accuracy of the serpent’s statement to Eve in verse 3:5?

We have now examined the incident that Judeo-Christians believe brought dishonesty, broken relationships, and all other forms of pain to the world. Given the entirety of the account, are we forced to conclude that Satan used the truth to incite all of this world’s suffering?

The answer is “yes,” almost, but actually “no.” Do you see why? The distinction is subtle because the inaccuracy of the statement, “Satan used the truth,” is so small. It could even be argued that the falsehood is invisible. For the statement to be accurate, it would have to read, “Satan misused truth.”

Through strategically selective disclosure of only some of the facts, Satan lied to Eve, by omission. Then, reflexively, Adam and Eve propagated Satan’s example. In their attempt to evade God’s direct questions, Adam and Eve re-lied on omission.

Do you think it is a coincidence that the first two lies Satan grandfathered were lies of omission? If so, do you believe that “it’s just another coincidence” that humans have followed Adam and Eve’s example ever since?

Though I had studied the Bible resolutely for years, I had never heard or recognized the central binding point that inspired this book. But then in the spring of 2016, during my daily pre-dawn reading, Psalm 91:12 cleared the scales from my eyes.

“they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.”

Psalm 91:12, NIV

But I could not have recognized what I did based on Psalm 91 alone. The key was recalling a subsequent account when Satan deployed his primary (and open secret) weapon; this time unsuccessfully:

“5Then the devil took him [Jesus] to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. 6‘If you are the Son of God,’ he [the devil] said, ‘throw yourself down. For it is written: “He [God] will command his angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.”’”

The Gospel According to Matthew, 4:5–6, NIV

Though I had heard, read, and studied the account from Matthew numerous times, I had never known what “It is also written…” referred to. But in Psalm 91, the text preceding what Satan selectively quoted to Jesus reads as follows:

“9If you make the Most High your dwelling—even the Lord, who is my refuge—10then no harm will befall you, no disaster will come near your tent. 11For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways; 12they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.”

Psalm 91:9–12, NIV

When I saw and understood the purposefully critical omission in Satan’s failed effort to tempt Jesus, the central binding truth behind this book hit me:

Omission is the ace up Satan’s sleeve.

I immediately noted the point in my Bible, and over the next several mornings, I compiled a stack of Post-it Notes reminding me of related thoughts. Two weeks later, after accumulating countless examples of suppressed or unrecognized lies of omission, I could see the moral obligation to write this book.

My duty exists for two reasons. First, I am obligated because I became aware, and I am not only aware of the facts but also the means by which many crimes are hidden in plain sight. Second, and most directly, I have a duty to inform because I understand the facts and means behind the truest crime ever.

The truest crime ever is the lie that all lies are false.

Because omission is the means of a lie without falsehood, omission is the means of the ultimate lie. Only by omission can a liar—even when all the facts become known to everyone involved—get away with claiming to have told the truth. And though I am embarrassed to admit it, when I started to compose this book in my mind, selfishness tempted me to exploit such a loophole. As if by instinct, I reflexively pondered deceiving you by omission.

I feared that revealing this book’s Christian inspiration would be detrimental. Detrimental to myself in terms of units sold and detrimental to society in that the fewer units sold, the less effective the book would be in helping combat the scourge of omission.

To be perfectly candid, this book’s subtitle reflects how I was tempted by an “ends justify the means” rationalization. As I said before, it initially occurred to me that “omission is the ace up Satan’s sleeve.” But because I was afraid that I would lose readers with that title (and even more so with the disclosure of my faith), I was tempted to use the less controversial term “evil’s sleeve.” Finally, because a term is necessary and the reality of evil in the world is not debated, I chose the term “Evil” for the subtitle, and in all of the pages to follow.

“You cannot defeat an unnamed enemy.”

Pastor Chet Pete

By providing transparency, my intent is to confess what self-interest tempted me to keep hidden. That said, couldn’t I have easily pulled off the deception by remaining silent (i.e., by omission)? Who else would have known where my inspiration came from, but for this disclosure? Thank you for understanding and, hopefully, your open-mindedness.a

“Mass movements can rise and spread without belief in a God, but never without a belief in a devil....