Lie

Gustave Doré's depiction of Satan from John Milton's Paradise Lost.

Jesus refers to Satan as the father of lies (John 8:44).

A lie is the deliberate fabrication or misrepresentation of the truth.

Lie by Omission

A lie by omission is a statement in which everything that is said may be factually true, but that is still deceptive because material information is omitted. For example, if a murderer who stabbed his victim denies his crime by saying he "did not shoot the victim", then this is technically truthful, because he stabbed the victim. However, it implies that he did not kill the victim, which is untrue.

Lying in Religion

Lying is prohibited by God in the Ten Commandments; Revelation 21:8 states that all liars will go to Hell. Satan is described in many religions as the Father of Lies. By contrast, the Bible says that God does not lie (Numbers 23:19, Titus 1:2).

Last Judgment by Johann Georg Unruhe - Damned souls going to Hell.

Revelation 21:8 states that all liars will go to Hell.

Lying in Buddhism

In Buddhist morality, the Five Precepts, which are required to receive as a formal oath or vow in order to be a Buddhist (unlike many liberals who call themselves Buddhists while ignoring morality), specifically forbid lying in the Fourth Precept which also forbids gossip or "divisive speech", lewd or lascivious speech (profanity) and harsh speech.

Leo Tolstoy on lying to oneself and its consequences on one's ability to discern truth

“Above all, don't lie to yourself. The man who lies to himself and listens to his own lie comes to a point that he cannot distinguish the truth within him, or around him, and so loses all respect for himself and for others. And having no respect he ceases to love.” - Fyodor Dostoevsky

See also

• Cherry picking
• Deceit
• Half-truth