i quickly skimmed through this thread (i am at work) - but i thought i would at least reply...

why do men lie?

thats about as relevant as: why do women lie?

and i am not pointing fingers....... but the questions are one in the same.....

and if i must be honest i think the REAL question is this: why do PEOPLE lie?

have you ever read C.S. Lewis? he was an athiest who turned Christian and wrote a few books about Christianity. In one of those book (Mere Christianity) he points out a very obvious flaw in the aspect of dishonesty in general.

the point of dishonesty is to accomplish a task or goal for the greater good of one person's interests sometimes to the disadvantage of another. And yes, they are intentional - mostly. There is USUALLY a reason for them that the individial will attest to their intent.

in a nutshell - the lie itself is a product of bad things for the purposes of good. you have to determine which end of the equation you are on i guess.

i am sure that as we have all told lies at one point or another in our lives that we can attest to the above statement.

hope this helps!

mike