Decepticons in the Age of Deception

Nov 19, 2023

… meanwhile - Joanne Lim
Many Gen X folks like me will remember being introduced to the Transformers saga whereby the main antagonists were known as the decepticons who fought to destroy the heroic faction of the autobots. Whether we are Transformers fans or not, the unresolved discourse has been whether the decepticon was good or bad, or just misunderstood. Some see them as evil, cruel chunks of metal, while others see them as revolutionaries and freedom fighters — the exploited working class uniting to fight for their rights against a corrupt system. Today, the world stands with the working class, the underdog, the freedom fighters…or so we think.

Like in that movie we cannot tell in our society today between who is good or bad, right or wrong, who is on our side, and what is truth. Whose side are we on? A practising Catholic would easily retort, based on the fundamentals of our faith — God is good, He teaches us the right way to live through His commandments; He is always on our side because “I am always with you, to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:20); and He is the Way, the Truth and the Life (John 14:6). We know that all too well…yet why are we still torn, confused, and in despair? Deception seems to run parallel in all we see and experience, that much is clear.

Cue the decepticons. Jesus warned: “For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Messiah,’ and will deceive many” (Matthew 24:5). They appear in our lives in various forms, through the most ordinary of ways, often seemingly unmasked, honest, sincere, and even gentle. Again we are warned: “Beware of false prophets who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravaging wolves” (Matthew 7:15). As if paying heed to these warnings, we have become weary even of our own spouses and children, which has led to the breakdown and destruction of family life. We have allowed distrust and deception to enter into our homes, and increasingly, as articulated in Luke 12:51-53: “They shall be divided, father against son, and son against father; mother against daughter, and daughter against her mother; mother in law against her daughter in law, and daughter in law against mother in law.”

Yet we readily trust our bosses and colleagues, the trendy social media influencers we follow, the platforms we subscribe to, and those whom we call “Father” (not of biological ties). We sacrifice our relationships at home in order to play to the tune of the world, to follow the fad of the day’, to fit in, to be counted…and we rationalise it ever so well: “I want to please my boss because I will otherwise lose my job and won’t be able to feed my family, I must learn to trust in his ways and decisions”; “Social media can’t be wrong when there are 1.36 billion followers* of this IG channel and that YouTuber’s video has 500 million likes!”; “I need my friends to like me so I will give them all they desire, my life, my heart, even my soul…” While we should be uttering these words as our prayer and offering to God, we are instead proclaiming it to others whom we desire favour from…and whom in turn will manipulate us, use us, and then leave us. We become deceived at every turn. Do you feel that happening to you?

The safe haven of the Church is not spared. Many church ministries are entangled in this web of deception. The holier-than-thou leader of a ministry may be all powerful and enjoy the limelight — the great man wants his name to be etched in history, to be acknowledged and recognised. He calls out judgements and dictates decisions upon others as if he owns the church (and its people), and even appears to have the power to cast out whoever he/ she dislikes. Yet he is seemingly “for the people” — together with the priest, they are fully empowered to “protect our faith”, and many claim to stand with the working class, the underdogs, the marginalised in society… the last, the lost, the least…and so they are “hailed” as our “faith fighters”. But if that were true, why are more and more people turning away from our churches because they feel unwelcome, unloved, and unworthy? Are the decepticons of our faith becoming more powerful? Or was “Optimus Prime” actually a decepticon?

Yet there is always the kind person who looks for service and not profit, who sincerely only wants the good of the other. The humble priest who does not seek popularity or fame —like St Charbel who desired the life of a hermit and had spent 18 years praying and meditating in a cave before entering the monastery. In our own backyard, Fr Sullivan an old Jesuit walked from church to church and indeed Mass to Mass sometimes with a broken Japanese slipper. What about the widow who quietly cooks and feeds the poor everyday…and takes the time to talk to them and calls them each by name (see Isaiah 43: 1-7). She helps 30 homeless people daily with only her husband’s pension to depend on, but she gives sincerely, with a cheerful heart (see 2 Corinthians 9: 6-8). She is not deceiving anyone. She’s the defender of our faith. When Jesus returns, she will be the evidence that there is still faith left in this world. Alas, are we defending, supporting or even joining her; or are we standing beside the rich Datin who dishes out money for the Church because she has so much in excess that it is merely small change to her, and then insists that she is photographed and named in every charity video and IG post? Do we sometimes stop to recognise this deception?

The deceptions in this world lead us to sickness, to diseases — children as young as six years old are using the term “anxiety” and “depression” to describe themselves. Let’s not even get into what their preference of sex is for the day! They resort to taking pills that will send them spiralling into worse situations…darkness that they can never come out from. So many will never see the “light” again. All around me, I see my students and my own friends struggling with this…and they vehemently believe that there is no way out. Statistics show that children as young as two years old(!) can experience depression (yalemedicine.org). Teenagers, adults and even the elderly are not spared. Married couples are wondering why they can’t seem to find a reason to stay married and then spend hours at night scrolling the profiles of their other married friends and comparing it with their own. If you’re 15 and you don’t have a girlfriend, the world tells you that “something must be really wrong with you”. In the same breath, if you’re 17 and living without a diagnosed “disorder”, then “something must be really wrong with you too.” The deception of social media has sent the world into turmoil as we constantly stigmatise ourselves and others because of our choices in who and what to believe… most often it isn’t in our Lord. What drives us? Who drives us? A desperate search for peace amidst chaos, anger, bitterness, loneliness, and sadness. If humanity seeks the truth, we have recoiled to seek something far more elusive in this age of deception.

...meanwhile, our God says, “Be still, and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10); “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid” (John 14:27). Afraid of deception? Let’s be on the lookout, not all is what it seems. We can decide if we are with the decepticons or the autobots…because the great liar always presents itself as a close parallel to the truth.

*total number of Catholics in the world – Vatican, April 30, 2022

(Professor Joanne Lim shares the faith in Catechism and music in Church. She is Deputy Dean and lectures on media and society at the University of Nottingham Malaysia.)