How Adoption Agencies Reach the Deep Level of Lying

In my book review of  Child Catchers  yesterday, I alluded to a reason why agencies keep lying.

Two years ago, I read this enlightening article in Christianity Today about the seven levels of lying and everything I know about the adoption industry then made sense. Christian or not, they all cycle through these categories.

Excerpts  from The Seven Levels of Lying [Christianity Today 5/20/11 by Sarah Sumner]

“The Seven Levels of Lying
J. Budziszewski, author of What We Can’t Not Know, mentions “the seven degrees of descent.” I call them the seven levels of lying:

1. You lie.
A single lie can become a match that lights a bonfire. Unless we confess the truth about our lie, we are probably on our way to Level #2.

2. You self-protect.
That is, you lie about having lied. If you lie about one thing, it is likely you will lie about another. As Budziszewski puts it, “Lies are weaklings; they need bodyguards.”

3. You develop a habit of lying.
A liar at this level might, just out of habit, lie about something trivial for no benefit.

4. You self-deceive.
You now believe the lies that you are telling others. We can lie so effectively that we even lie to ourselves. We self-deceive.

At Level #4, a person enters into denial. He stops looking at his internal moral compass and therefore ceases to feel guilty anymore.

5. You rationalize.
Now you not only believe the lies are not lies, you justify the lies as a positive good. Now the lying is not just part of normal life, but a virtue—it helps the company grow, it saves jobs, and so forth.

Level #5 lying is especially tempting at the leadership level. One of my mentors warned me to be careful in taking on the deanship at A. W. Tozer Theological Seminary. He said, “The higher up you go in an organization, the harder it is to tell the truth.” A lot of times the lie is justified for the sake of the institution or some other larger good.

6. You develop your technique.
The main technique is to compartmentalize. You start isolating statements, ignoring what was said in other contexts. Level #6 liars are often found in the upper echelons of bureaucracy. A Level #6 liar might smoothly move from one constituent to another, saying each of these things, swearing in each instance that he is telling the truth.

7. You see it as your duty to lie.
Level #7 lying flips duty on its head, making lying mandatory. For example, in a dysfunctional family that operates at Level #7, grown siblings might kowtow to a parent for the sake of keeping dark family secrets hidden. ”

 

I feel that those who blog-evangelize fall into Level 4 through 7.

Reformatina says “I think there is a level past 7–they do not think they are lying anymore. They see themselves as the one true saviors of children (much like a pedophile) no matter what is going on around them.”

REFORM Puzzle Piece