A Tangled Web And A Seared Conscience: The Science of Lying Agrees with God’s Word
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# A Tangled Web And A Seared Conscience: The Science of Lying Agrees with God’s Word
By Answers In Genesis
__October 9, 2025
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(Photo: CommonSpace Images)
_“Oh, what a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive.”_ True to the old saying, one lie becomes two lies, which become four lies, which can quickly spiral into a web of deceit. Research shows that the more we lie, the easier it is to continue lying.
The authors of a study from 2016 noted that most people feel bad when they intentionally deceive someone, but eventually this feeling goes away. It seems we become desensitized to lying over time. Here’s what they discovered: _“Brain scans showed that the first lie was associated with a burst of activity in the amygdalae, areas involved in emotional responses. But this activity lessened as the lies progressed. The effect was so strong that the team could use a person’s amygdala activity while they were lying to predict how big their next lie would be.”_
**A Seared Conscience**
This research is intriguing. It explains the science behind something the Bible has said all along: _“Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith . . . speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their own conscience seared with a hot iron”_ (1 Timothy 4:1–2).
These people are described as liars, and their consciences have been “seared.” Sin has a way of doing that. What starts out as seemingly just a little bit of sin can quickly snowball into an avalanche of sins. How does this happen? Well, little by little, with each new sin, the conscience is seared. Sin loses its seriousness, and more sins become acceptable. Scientists showed that at least part of this response is because our brain’s emotional response is lessened each time we lie.
**Where Does Morality Come From?**
Science can explain, at least in part, why peop