Deception

The German automobile manufacturer Volkswagen has sunk into its most serious criminal charge of ‘aggravated deception’. Lawsuits are being raised in a number of countries such as America, Canada, Italy and France for the mal-practice of tinkering with their cars and vans computer. Computers in certain makes and models were adapted to cheat an exhaust emission test reading when being tested on a rolling road. When the vehicle returned to normal road use the computer flicked a component that permitted nitrogen oxide to pollute the atmosphere up to 40 times above the legal limit. This was done to give higher fuel economy and alleged cleaner emissions to enhance car popularity and increase sales. 11 Million cars worldwide are affected.

Repercussions from these revelations have caused the company boardroom to be shaken up and their CEO Martin Winterkorn to resign, and German Prosecutors have opened an investigation against him.

BBC News reported that German chancellor Mrs Merkel said on Sunday that the carmaker now needed to provide the "necessary transparency". "It is of course a dramatic event which is not good….But I think the reputation of German industry... is not so shaken that we are no longer considered a good place to do business."

VW’s stock value has dropped 40% in the past week and bankruptcy is a real threat. This would send shock waves through the German economy and World Stock markets.

The polluting of the atmosphere has more serious consequences than loss of money, it causes loss of life!  ‘To lose one’s wealth is much! To lose one’s health is more! To lose one’s soul in Hell is something no one can restore!’

The Detroit News in their Business Section wrote ‘Volkswagen’s pollution-control chicanery has not just been victimless tinkering, killing between five and 20 people in the United States annually in recent years, according to an Associated Press statistical and computer analysis.’    

BBC News reported on Sept. 29^th. ‘Olaf Lies, a Volkswagen board member and economy minister of Lower Saxony has told Newsnight some staff acted criminally over emission cheat tests.

He said the people who allowed the deception to happen or who installed the software that allowed certain models to give false emissions readings must take personal responsibility.

He also said the board only found out about the problems at the last meeting.

About 11 million diesel engine cars are affected by the problem.

Mr Lies told the BBC: "Those people who allowed this to happen, or who made the decision to install this software - they acted criminally. They must take personal responsibility."

He said: "We only found out about the problems in the last board meeting, shortly before the media did. I want to be quite open. So we need to find out why the board wasn't informed earlier about the problems when they were known about over a year ago in the United States."

This VW Board member has an unfortunate surname in attempting to exonerate the Board and implicate others.

I learn from Matthew’s Gospel (ch.28:12 to 15) that large money can produce large lies, “And when they were assembled with the elders, and had taken counsel, they gave large money unto the soldiers, Saying, Say ye, His disciples came by night, and stole him away while we slept. And if this come to the governor’s ears, we will persuade him, and secure you. So they took the money, and did as they were taught: and this saying is commonly reported among the Jews until this day.”

The Jews who crucified Christ did not want the truth to come out that He had risen from the dead and was no longer in the tomb.

The Devil (Diabolus: – Deceiver, slanderer) was busy in the Garden of Eden. 1Tim.2:13 reads, “For Adam was first formed, then Eve. And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression.”  Eve was duped by the devil to disobey God, which Adam did also and sin came into the world. “Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned.” (Rom.5:12)

There are numerous recordings in the Bible of people deceiving others and those who were deceived. Jacob is a prime example of a person who practised deception. He deceived his father Isaac to obtain the firstborn’s blessing. Thousands since have deceived their parents, they have lied to them to achieve their own will without thought of the consequences. Jacob’s deception affected his brother Esau who swore that he would kill Jacob and their mother Rebecca was implicated in sending Jacob away to her family in Syria. While in Haran in Syria, he married Laban’s daughters. He served Laban for Seven years in order to marry Rachel but when the time came for her to be given to him, Laban decived him and gave him Leah. He served Laban another seven years for Rachel. Laban deceived Jacob, Jacob deceived Laban, Rachel deceived her father. What a web of deception that family wove and the issues are stll running between Arab and Jew. Thankfully God changed Jacob’s character at Jabok when he beame ‘Israel’, not only a name change but his life changed for the better and the future blessing of that nation in a coming day.

Galatians 6:7 is a timely warning, “Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.” We might think that we can deceive others and possibly deceive ourselves but we cannot deceive God, the concequences of our sin we shal answer to God for, and where shall we stand in that day?

When a person trusts Jesus Christ to be their Saviour all the guilt of past sin is dealt with through the death of Christ on the cross. 1John1:7 says, “The blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.”  Are you a believer or are you deceived? 

God bless.

Written by a guest blogger

Are you being fooled?

People love being fooled! Illusionists like Harry Houdini was a star a century ago, and even today his successors such as David Copperfield, David Blaine, Steven Frayne, etc., fascinate millions. People know that they are being deceived by these entertainers, but they adore it!

When I was a teenager, we had a neighbour called Mr. Tolly, a retired electrician. He was originally a Londoner, who as a young man worked in the very theatre in London where Harry Houdini performed. Mr. Tolly took a keen interest in how Houdini constructed and prepared his props, with all their secret compartments and hidden escape devices. Then, years later, he entertained our village by doing his own escapes from locked boxes; escaping from handcuffs, etc., at the local miners’ galas.

Harry ‘Handcuffs’ Houdini was a Hungarian-American illusionist and stunt performer, who had originally come to fame for his escapes from police handcuffs. Actually the illusionist had studied locks all his life and had an encyclopedic knowledge of handcuffs. When challenged he looked at the cuffs and knew exactly what kind of key he needed to open them. His assistant then got the necessary key from Houdini’s huge collection and passed it to Houdini who hid it on his person, usually in his mouth. Having distracted the onlookers, he got the key out and opened the handcuffs – simple! As time went on he extended his repertoire to include chains; ropes slung from skyscrapers; straitjackets under water, and having to escape from and hold his breath inside a sealed milk churn.

One of Houdini’s famous deceptions was ‘The Hanging Straitjacket Escape’. Houdini usually performed this out on the street in front of the venue where he was performing, suspended from a crane above the gathered crowd. He had previously been tightly strapped into a straitjacket in front of the crowd and also had his ankles bound. A crane lifted him up so that the audience could see what he did, re-enforcing the impression that there was no trick to the feat and he escaped by magic. Houdini himself revealed how he escaped from such straitjackets in his 1910 book called Handcuff Escapes. The secret was creating plenty of slack in the jacket as it was strapped on. As the jacket was brought around the back, Houdini moved his arms outwards to loosen material around his chest. Houdini then held on to this slackened material, and as the jacket was buckled at the back, Houdini took a huge breath to expand his chest. Once the jacket was in place, Houdini had plenty of wiggle room. He trained and trained at this trick until he became so proficient that he reduced his escape time from half an hour to three minutes.

All his other tricks had similar explanations, even the one where he appeared to move through a solid brick wall. What he himself called ‘the best escape that I have ever invented’ was getting out of a padlocked milk churn filled with water. Of course the churn was tampered with on the inside, so that he could easily escape! Read more at http://listverse.com/2014/11/02/10-secrets-to-harry-houdinis-greatest-illusions/.

Of all the deceivers there have ever been, or ever will be, the devil is the greatest. Do you realize that today, as far as the gospel is concerned, the devil has ‘blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ’, 2 Corinthians 4. 4. People think that they make up their own minds about the good news of Christ. However, the Bible also says that, before they were saved, even Christians ‘walked according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience’, Eph. 2. 2. The devil is busy in today’s world deceiving people. From the beginning of time until the end of time, the devil has and will do this, Rev. 12. 9; 13. 14; until one day he will be locked away and will ‘deceive the nations no more’, Revelation 20. 3. In the meantime is he deceiving you as to the reality of sin, righteousness and judgment?

Why not trust Christ as your Saviour today and stop being taken in by the devil’s lies?

For more information visit www.seekthetruth.org.uk