Responding to Netizen's Comment

Netizen's Comment:  In the previous item you wrote about Lying ....  are truth and lies relative? Can someone tell a lie and the truth at the same time? Can withholding the truth be a form of lying?

Response: 

Lies are born from the truth, but the truth is not born from lies. 

Lies depend on the truth; truth does not depend on lies. Lies depend on the INTENT of the liar; truth does not depend on the person's INTENT. 

A lie cannot deceive unless it contains some element of truth to make it believable. Something cannot be true if it contains even the tiniest falsehood. 

It is often said that truth is relative but that is wrong. Lies are always relative to the truth and the truth never depends on lies.

Can someone tell a lie and the truth at the same time?

Yes ... you can. The most dangerous liars are the ones who think they are telling the truth.

So, yes, if you believe something to be true (which is actually a lie) you are lying by telling the truth.

Can withholding the truth be a form of lying?

Undisclosing some important intelligence reports and information falls more under the suppression of truth rather than the expression of untruth.

Both are designed to deceive, but withholding information makes secret the truth - it doesn't distort it like what lies do.