Wellspring: Truth and Falsehood
Every Christian knows that the devil is a liar—the father of lies, as Jesus declares in John 8:44. But when we dig deeper into the original Greek language used in this passage, the significance becomes even clearer. The word "liar" in this verse is ‘pseustēs,’ and for "lie," it is ‘pseudos.’ These terms are rooted in ‘pseudo,’ which denotes something false, deceptive, or fake. In our time, this ancient understanding of deceit takes on a new and modern resonance.
We live in an age of pervasive fakery. Everywhere we look, we are confronted with pseudos—falsity. Fake news saturates our media, blurring the lines between truth and falsehood. Fake food fills our plates with artificial ingredients that leave us disconnected from nature’s bounty. We transform our appearances with filters, makeup, and plastic surgery, projecting a fake image that doesn’t reflect the real person behind the screen. Social media has become a playground for creating fake personas, allowing us to craft digital images of our lives that don’t match reality.
But it doesn’t end there. We live, work, and play under fake light in artificial environments that separate us from God’s creation. We spend countless hours in front of screens, consuming and participating in mediated realities—movies, TV shows, video games, and increasingly, AI-generated images and videos. These virtual worlds, these pseudos, are becoming harder and harder to distinguish from the real. And as technology progresses, they are becoming more ubiquitous, seductive, and dangerous.
This constant exposure to fakery impacts us deeply. Is it any wonder that many of us are disoriented, ill, and anxious? We instinctively know that something is off, that we’re adrift in a sea of lies, even if we can’t identify our discomfort's source. The more we interact with these false realities, the more we lose touch with the truth—the authentic. And at the spiritual level, this disconnection has profound implications.
When you understand, or are at least aware of, the spiritual substrate of our reality, you begin to discern what’s truly happening. We are living in a world that is not just full of lies but is constructed on pseudos. The god of this world, Satan, is actively working to blur the lines between truth and falsehood, between reality and deception. His tools—falsity, distortion, and deceit—are not new, but they are amplified and accelerated by modern technologies. The devil uses everything at his disposal to deceive, demoralize, and debase us. And the more immersed we become in these fake realities, the more susceptible we are to his lies.
The spiritual struggle we face isn’t just about resisting temptation or avoiding sin. It’s about recognizing the pervasive falsehoods around us and choosing to live in the truth. As Christians, we are called to see through the pseudos of this world and understand that the devil is constantly working to replace God’s truth with artificial, deceptive substitutes. But while the devil’s lies may be powerful, they are not omnipotent. He hasn’t been permanently defeated yet, but we know his defeat is inevitable.
In this age of falsehood and illusion, Christ stands out as the ultimate truth. He is the way, the truth, and the life (John 14:6). In a world filled with fake food, artificial environments, deceptive messaging, and false images, Christ offers us a solid foundation. His truth is unchanging, authentic, and life-giving. When we anchor ourselves in Christ, we are not swayed by the pseudos of the world. We can discern the fake from the real, the lies from the truth, because we know that Christ’s truth is not just a doctrine to be believed but a reality to be lived.
In a world where artificial intelligence, virtual realities, and media distortions are becoming increasingly sophisticated, it is more critical than ever to cling to what is real. The devil may be the father of lies, but we serve the Father of truth. Our task, as Christians, is to see through the lies and live in the truth of Christ.
So today, I am grateful that in a world saturated with pseudos, Christ is there for us as the way, the truth, and the life. He provides the clarity and authenticity we need to navigate this age of deception, grounding us in His eternal truth and helping us live in alignment with the reality He has created. In Christ, we are no longer lost in a sea of lies—we are anchored in the truth that sets us free.