This is the conclusion of Kevin O’Connor in his article Did Christianity generate a culture of lies in Uganda? published online today in Uganda’s national paper The Monitor’s Sunday edition Sunday Monitor. Known for his observations of Ugandan society, the “acclaimed [British] newspaper columnist” in today’s article writes of a culture of lies that has come to life in Uganda not by the sinfulness of people but by the overlaying of Christianity with its monogamous ideal. All in all the article while treating serious material is misguided, especially coming from a professional observationist; but let’s leave ad hominem execrations behind us and look closely at his argument which he believes arrives at the truthful conclusion of a Christian-generated culture of lies in this east African nation.

First Source: Corruption

First, O’Connor admits that “lies are told in every country of the world,” which he follows up by saying, “but I have been told more lies in Uganda than in any other country I have lived.” He continues by noting one cause of lies, corruption, by way of illustration:

“[T]he road engineer says, ‘I have inspected the road. Its construction meets the required standards.’ But the engineer has been bribed by the contractor and tells a lie. The road has not been built to the required standards and a few months later, potholes begin to emerge.”

Second Source: Christianity

Our interest lies primarily in his proposed second source of lying in Uganda which he “controversially” argues is Christianity.

“If the telling of lies finds its way into most aspects of life in Uganda, it begs the question – why? What is the source of such wide-spread lying? Of course, there may be more than one source. But on this Sunday, let me controversially argue that an important source of deception in Uganda is Christianity.”

Biblical Source: Sin

Before examining his argument more closely, I find it meet to first address his initial question from a biblical standpoint. Said plainly, there is confusion in his observation. Ultimately, the source of lying lies even farther behind corruption, his first offered source. The source of lying and corruption in the view of the Bible is sin; corruption is merely a manifestation of both lying and sin. “A lying tongue hates its victims, and a flattering mouth works ruin” (Proverbs 26:28). Corruption does not explain lying for it is in itself a form of lying. Sin, however, is the clear biblical answer for, Whence cometh lying? Jesus speaking of Satan said that “When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies” (John 8:44). What then is Satan’s character but sinfulness which breeds lying and corruption. This is the biblical answer to O’Connor’s question, an answer which may catch a non-Christian unawares.

The Argument

What leads O’Connor to his controversial conclusion that Christianity, among other sources, breeds lying in Ugandan culture? It is a rather easy argument to follow. Being in the country for numerous years, O’Connor observes that “before the coming of Christianity, Uganda was a truthfully polygamous society [sic] i.e. when a man had more than one wife, the co-wives would know of each other’s existence.” What effect then did Christianity have? “But Christianity overlaid traditional polygamy with monogamy and the result was an untruthful polygamous society i.e. polygamy continued, but became based on deception.”

An example resulting situation is the following: “Thus, a husband might say to his ‘official wife’, ‘Darling, I will be working late at the office tonight.’ But it is a lie. He will not be working in his office, but will be having sex with his kyana [girlfriend] in a lodge.”

Assumptions

The above argument is interlarded with several easily distinguished assumptions. First, Uganda before Christianity was a truthfully polygamous society. This conclusion follows naturally from his assertion that Christianity is the source of lying. No Christianity, no lying. Insert Christianity, insert lying. However, as has been demonstrated above, the ultimate source of lying is sin. Based on the biblical assertion of the sin source, the polygamous society was by no means wholly truthful but veracious and mendacious. Lying follows sin, not Christianity, therefore before Christianity, there were disingenuous polygamous relationships in addition to truthful. Consequently, to characterize the entire society as truthful is an incorrect observation. It cannot be easily demonstrated or argued to any satisfaction that there were no disingenuous polygamous relationships prior to Christianity. Moreover briefly, extra-marital affairs happen in both polygamous and monogamous societies. To maintain otherwise is to fail to understand the male libido.

Secondly, the assumption that the presence of Christianity results in untruthfulness is misguided. Sinful human beings produce untruthfulness; Christianity provides the very categories which O’Connor uses to observe true and false which in turn define actions in relation to God’s character as either true or false, holy or sinful. In other words, Christianity either identifies Ugandan sexual actions as true or false, it, however, does not result in nor produce sinful actions.

Allow me to search for an analogy. If I have been observing rainbows for years without identifying and naming the individual colors present but one day have a swatch upon which are represented and named the colors of the rainbow, I cannot conclude that the swatch with its representations and names has produced the rainbow. Whether I noticed rainbows prior to possessing the swatch or not, rainbows existed, for they exist apart from swatches. The swatch gave definition to the rainbow, not life. Leaving the imperfect but hopefully accessible and serviceable analogy, O’Connor is incorrect in positing Christianity as a source of lying, for lying exists irrespective of Christianity. Christianity gives definition to lying, not life. This, that is definition, is one of many results of the growth of Christianity and its monogamous ideal.

Good Observations

O’Connor’s accurate observations should not be missed for the misguided propositions above. His motivation for identifying Christianity as source of lying is honorable for he recognizes the sanctity of marriage when he writes, “The relationship between a man and his wife is one of the most important, if not the most important, in human society. Once lies are introduced into it, something very special is destroyed.” Ironically, it could be argued that monogyny, not polygyny, provides for better stability in marriage; but that question is beyond the scope of this short critique.

Additionally, he rightly notes that “The biggest influence on children’s behaviour and values are the behaviour and values of their parents. Growing up in an environment of falsehood, it is easy to see how sons and daughters are shaped into becoming liars.” Agreed.

Solution?

O’Connor surprisingly does not offer a solution to the problem of lying caused presumably by the two C’s: corruption and Christianity. Perhaps he finds it desirous to have the influence of Christian removed from Ugandan society? He doesn’t admit as much in his concluding paragraph where he summarizes, “Nevertheless, while Christianity brought many good things to Uganda, it also caused the replacement of truthful polygamy with untruthful polygamy, and thereby damaged the country’s social fabric so greatly that it never fully recovered. And one result has been lies, lies and more lies.” No solution, just observation.

The Solution

A biblical solution is not less Christianity, but less nominal Christians. True Christians, those within whose hearts the Holy Spirit is actively working after their repentance of sin and faith in Christ, do not go on willingly sinning. This is the thrust of 1 John 3 which is worth quoting at length (1 John 3:4-9):

“Everyone who makes a practice of sinning also practices lawlessness; sin is lawlessness. You know that he [Jesus] appeared to take away sins, and in him there is no sin. No one who abides in him keeps on sinning; no one who keeps on sinning has either seen him or known him. Little children, let no one deceive you. Whoever practices righteousness is righteous, as he is righteous. Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil. No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God’s seed abides in him, and he cannot keep on sinning because he has been born of God.”

John’s address to his dear ones is fitting: “let no one deceive you.” If a “Christian” goes on sinning extra-maritally with his girlfriend against the biblical mandate, the best conclusion is that he is not a Christian; not that his self-professed Christianity is at fault. For one has only to peruse the pages of the Bible to see that it upholds a higher marital ideal than the polygyny of Uganda or the monogyny of America. “Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her…let each one of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband” (Ephesians 5:25, 33). The biblical ideal of marriage requires deep committed expressions of mutual love and service and respect over against self-centered, self-serving sinfulness of any sinful, Christ-less society.

What then is at hand in Uganda and observed by O’Connor are the sinful actions of sinful men and women apart from the guiding direction of the Holy Spirit. Christianity is not the cause, but most certainly offers the solution: Jesus Christ. At the time when Ugandans are truly transformed by Christ the Redeemer, their lives will begin to reflect the biblical ideal of marriage and lying, corruption, and extra-marital affairs will begin to abate. What then is in Uganda is not a failure of Christianity but a failure of those who profess to be followers of Jesus.