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The Truth about Lies and Lies about Truth
Many Christians today find themselves in the position where their journey toward an authentic life with God has slowed down to a crawl. Tragically, the very ideals many Christians depend on for spiritual growth are actually their greatest source of bondage! Deeply tied to the problem of stagnation is a pervasive misunderstanding and mishandling of Truth that has distorted and undermined Christian practice throughout the history of the Church.
Beyond traditional models of discipleship, beyond inner healing prayer, this book describes the foundations you need for renewing your mind and transforming your life.
"I've been waiting for someone to approach spiritual formation, recovery, and inner healing in an integrated way. This is it!" -- Jan Johnson, retreat speaker and author of Invitation to Life.
Beyond traditional models of discipleship, beyond inner healing prayer, this book describes the foundations you need for renewing your mind and transforming your life.
"I've been waiting for someone to approach spiritual formation, recovery, and inner healing in an integrated way. This is it!" -- Jan Johnson, retreat speaker and author of Invitation to Life.
227 pages, Paperback
First published October 27, 2008
35 people are currently reading
255 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
January 1, 2013
The actual title of this book is "The Truth About Lies and Lies About Truth", by David Takle. I know the author and received this book from him directly, but I do not believe I allow this to color my perceptions and review of the book.
David tackles (no pun intended) a subject that is far too under-examined in Christian life study, yet when you think about it, it's importance seems painfully obvious: how deception affects our lives. In fact, we have always learned from Scripture that the Enemy's main weapons against us are lies. So doesn't it stand to reason that our best defense (and offense) is the truth? We often deal with this subject in a more roundabout way when we talk about healing or seeing things from God's perspective, but I haven't ever seen a work that so directly addresses truth and deception and its effect on our lives quite as powerfully as this one.
To be honest, it was at times a tough read for me, as I felt that some of the sections were a bit wordy and more academically-minded than I might have expected. The main points of the book can be found in the conclusion, although more exposition is certainly needed and each chapter goes very in-depth into each particular subject. Sometimes this includes discussions that feel, while not tangental, definitely broad and far-reaching in its attempts to cover all possible aspects of the subject.
However, the main focus of the book does shine through in a definite and powerful sense. I feel challenged by this book in ways that I haven't felt in most other Christian development works I've read. I feel that I've come out of it far more knowledgeable and equipped in how to live the Christian life and in discerning the true issues behind the scenes in our lives and our experiences.
One of the main points is to show how deceived we are in so many aspects of our lives, and how that actually holds us back from growing in Christ. These deceptions include the very things that we teach and believe about Christian growth, discipleship, the Church, and healing. One of the "aha moments" for me was the statement that much of our pain from past experiences is no longer caused by the experience, but our interpretations of it and the beliefs (ie. lies) that we hold related to that. Until and unless we expose the lies and believe the truth about ourselves and God about that particular incident we may harbor that pain throughout our lives and never break free.
Consequently the crucial argument in the book is that we have to internalize Truth (which is God's way of seeing us, the issue, whatever) and that THAT VERY ACT will break the power of the Enemy's deception, free us and enable us to grow more Christ-like.
For me the main punch of the book is in Chapter 10. It goes step by step in a new way to engage with God daily to be taught from Him rather than try to grow ourselves through effort and our own intellect. It radically challenges our current ways of dealing with the subject of Christian growth and discipleship. In fact, we often get the very definition of the term wrong, or completely ignore this vital facet of life entirely. We should view our new life with Christ as an apprenticeship to Him that is a continual process throughout our lives. It is amazing how little assistance we offer new believers. We tell them to read their Bible and expect them to just grow all by themselves! We need to truly hold hands with new believers and teach them these things. Listening directly to God and letting Him break through the lies and teach us the Truth is what will transform our lives, give us power and make us more Christ-like.
The addendum at the end is a great guideline in how to engage with God in a practical, daily-use kind of way, about ANY kind of subject. That is something that I have started trying and I have to say I have been astonished at how much more clearly I can hear God's voice. It really impacted me also to learn in the book that our time with God doesn't have to be some kind of direct revelation or systematic approach, but rather an "apprenticeship" in which we learn experientially, to where we cannot necessarily distinguish whether revelations and truth come from the Holy Spirit or from ourselves, but in the end the effect is the same, which is that we are transformed in some necessary way and have grown closer to God.
I would definitely recommend the book, as I haven't seen any other volume deal with this issue so directly, and it is quite timely especially for me, since God seems to be revealing new truths to me and drawing me to Himself not just through this book, but through many ways and life experiences. I am excited about what He is doing but challenged to receive and apply what He is teaching me.
David tackles (no pun intended) a subject that is far too under-examined in Christian life study, yet when you think about it, it's importance seems painfully obvious: how deception affects our lives. In fact, we have always learned from Scripture that the Enemy's main weapons against us are lies. So doesn't it stand to reason that our best defense (and offense) is the truth? We often deal with this subject in a more roundabout way when we talk about healing or seeing things from God's perspective, but I haven't ever seen a work that so directly addresses truth and deception and its effect on our lives quite as powerfully as this one.
To be honest, it was at times a tough read for me, as I felt that some of the sections were a bit wordy and more academically-minded than I might have expected. The main points of the book can be found in the conclusion, although more exposition is certainly needed and each chapter goes very in-depth into each particular subject. Sometimes this includes discussions that feel, while not tangental, definitely broad and far-reaching in its attempts to cover all possible aspects of the subject.
However, the main focus of the book does shine through in a definite and powerful sense. I feel challenged by this book in ways that I haven't felt in most other Christian development works I've read. I feel that I've come out of it far more knowledgeable and equipped in how to live the Christian life and in discerning the true issues behind the scenes in our lives and our experiences.
One of the main points is to show how deceived we are in so many aspects of our lives, and how that actually holds us back from growing in Christ. These deceptions include the very things that we teach and believe about Christian growth, discipleship, the Church, and healing. One of the "aha moments" for me was the statement that much of our pain from past experiences is no longer caused by the experience, but our interpretations of it and the beliefs (ie. lies) that we hold related to that. Until and unless we expose the lies and believe the truth about ourselves and God about that particular incident we may harbor that pain throughout our lives and never break free.
Consequently the crucial argument in the book is that we have to internalize Truth (which is God's way of seeing us, the issue, whatever) and that THAT VERY ACT will break the power of the Enemy's deception, free us and enable us to grow more Christ-like.
For me the main punch of the book is in Chapter 10. It goes step by step in a new way to engage with God daily to be taught from Him rather than try to grow ourselves through effort and our own intellect. It radically challenges our current ways of dealing with the subject of Christian growth and discipleship. In fact, we often get the very definition of the term wrong, or completely ignore this vital facet of life entirely. We should view our new life with Christ as an apprenticeship to Him that is a continual process throughout our lives. It is amazing how little assistance we offer new believers. We tell them to read their Bible and expect them to just grow all by themselves! We need to truly hold hands with new believers and teach them these things. Listening directly to God and letting Him break through the lies and teach us the Truth is what will transform our lives, give us power and make us more Christ-like.
The addendum at the end is a great guideline in how to engage with God in a practical, daily-use kind of way, about ANY kind of subject. That is something that I have started trying and I have to say I have been astonished at how much more clearly I can hear God's voice. It really impacted me also to learn in the book that our time with God doesn't have to be some kind of direct revelation or systematic approach, but rather an "apprenticeship" in which we learn experientially, to where we cannot necessarily distinguish whether revelations and truth come from the Holy Spirit or from ourselves, but in the end the effect is the same, which is that we are transformed in some necessary way and have grown closer to God.
I would definitely recommend the book, as I haven't seen any other volume deal with this issue so directly, and it is quite timely especially for me, since God seems to be revealing new truths to me and drawing me to Himself not just through this book, but through many ways and life experiences. I am excited about what He is doing but challenged to receive and apply what He is teaching me.
August 30, 2011
As the author, I'm very biased. But I've never read anything quite like it anywhere. And although I've been in church for over 55 years, I've never heard anyone preach this stuff with any clarity. Truth is, our lives are driven by beliefs we internalized from life experience, many of which are so far off from God's perspective that we could not possibly live well. We keep trying harder to do what is right, without changing the underlying engines that make life so difficult. This book explains why this is so, why so much of the church is unable to help, and what we can do to get free. Even though I wrote it, I still enjoy reading it because it contains so many great paradigm shifts that we need in order to live well.
January 26, 2014
David begins the book with brilliant and concise insight into how our worldview shapes our lives. There are many that write well about worldviews but I loved David’s practical approach and application. He goes on to write about role of truth, lies, belief systems, experiences and real transformation through encountering the Truth in our hearts – that is Jesus Christ – who said ‘I am the Truth’. I don’t think I have a book more highlighted in my library. It’s thick with revelation and insight. Thanks David for writing this!
December 4, 2022
This is the book my wife chose when I asked her to pick a book for me to read this year. I wish I had read it over a shorter period of time instead of stretching it out over ~8 months. Nevertheless, it was very good. I intend to re-read it, and there's a chance I could rate it more highly then. The title makes it sound rather philosophical -- and it is -- but it's also relevantly personal. A revised secondary title for it in a later edition is "A Fresh New Look at the Cunning of Evil and the Means for Our Transformation". That transformation is the personal aspect.
December 17, 2021
I thought it was good. It's a book I'll come back to when I'm a bit older and will probably have a larger impact on me than it did the first time around.
Would also like to get into his other books too.
Would also like to get into his other books too.
November 27, 2023
Interesting. Deception is the root of all evil. Misunderstandings lead to failure. Your misinterpreted Christian doctrines are holding you back from a fulfilling Christian life. I really liked this book. I wish I had someone to discuss it with.
March 13, 2019
Good read. Helps to understand how deception effects or perceptions of truth and lies.
Read
June 18, 2021I love David's HONESTY about his walk of faith and how he went from FAKE to REAL with his walk.
July 31, 2025
Life changing book.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews