"War is Peace. Freedom is Slavery. Ignorance is Strength." In George Orwell's novel, 1984, these slogans are used to control the thoughts of the people. While their country was at war, the people were deceived into thinking it was peace. While they were kept subservient, they thought they were free. While they remained ignorant of what was really going on in the world around them, they thought they were strong.

Does this sound odd, or perhaps oddly familiar?

Today's scripture seems to bear witness to a similar kind of double talk. As Jesus spoke with some of the Jews who had believed in him, they said with confidence, "We are descendants of Abraham and have never been slaves of anyone." Yet at one point in their history, their people had been slaves doing hard labor in Egypt. At another …