Thou shall not bear false witness … unless your false witness is in the form of an e-mail. In that case, feel free to forward your lies to everyone in your address book. For although God is truth and His followers must walk in truth, it’s really not a big deal to pass on an e-mail that might not be completely true. I mean most of it is probably true and anyway, it does a great job of proving our preconceived opinion and we’re just sending it to a few of our friends. So what’s the big deal.

Thou shall not bear false witness … unless you’re discussing politics. In that case, you can say whatever you want to win the argument. Remember that politicians and pundits are allowed to exist in their own morally ambiguous realm. The purpose of political discourse is not truth but triumph. The ultimate goal is victory for our side. Even if we might have to exaggerate the truth a bit or completely demonize our opponents to win the war.

Thou shall not bear false witness … unless you have your own talk show or syndicated column. In that case, feel free to daily polarize the dialogue with half truths and downright falsehoods. Call individuals with sincere social convictions Nazis, label moderates Marxists, and smear the integrity and name of every single person or organization that gets in your way.

Thou shall not bear false witness … unless your false witness wins the war, unless your false witness sways the masses, unless your false witness destroys your enemies, unless your false witness appears to go unnoticed.

What if Christians were known for their truthfulness? What if Christians valued truth so much that they refused to participate in anything that hinted of a lie or even a manipulation? What if Christians never forwarded e-mails unless they were completely certain that every single word was true. What if Christians refused to engage in the political power struggles that reek of an anti-Christ spirit? What if Christians stopped following and listening to leaders who perpetually twist the truth for political, religious and social gain?

Thou shall not bear false witness! From the mouth of God, to the world, to the garbage. What an impossible commandment. Without false

witness, the Internet might cease to exist.

Worse yet, I’d have to find another way to win an argument.

“Live from Seattle with Doug Bursch” can be heard 4-6 p.m. weekdays on KGNW 820 AM. Doug Bursch also pastors Evergreen Foursquare Church. Evergreen meets at 10 a.m. Sundays at 2407 M St. SE next to Pioneer Elementary School. He can be reached at www.fairlyspiritual.org or doug@fairlyspiritual.org.