After watching last night’s documentary on the Tomb of Jesus, I got to thinking about those that would dismiss everything simply because it doesn’t fit in with their faith. The convenient phrase would be that it is a "lie of the Devil."
I find that to be a highly useful phrase. If you don’t agree with someone or something, simply dismiss it as a lie of the Devil. Furthermore, you could even back up your argument with Biblical references, regardless of how far-fetched they might be. Just pick those verses that might support your position, even if only in the most tangential way, and you’re on your way to establishing your own convenient theology.
I googled the phrase "lie of the Devil" and the variant "lies of the Devil" and found some interesting things. As you might imagine, most are ultra-conservative religious pages. There seems to be no end to the number of lies of which this Devil is capable. Everything from the Catholic Church to women wearing pants seems to be included. It would seem that the phrase could be a synonym for both "sin" or "apostasy." However, the connotations are more malevolent. A sin could be a simple shortcoming, but someone who purpotrates a "lie of the Devil" can themselves be demonized. Once someone is demonized, then it’s easy to justify almost any action against them.
However, it could be as Verbal Kint said in "The Usual Suspects" – "The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he did not exist."