My parents were the same way. What's interesting about Paul's essay is that many of the examples of lies were things that the vast majority of people believed

My parents were the same way. What's interesting about Paul's essay is that many of the examples of lies were things that the vast majority of people believed 40 years ago, but that many fewer believe today. For example - the taboo against swearing used to be much stronger among adults, as was the taboo against pre-martial sex. Most adults used to believe in God. The cause of the lies is that a generation as a whole stops believing things their parents taught. But when this generation has children, the only model for parenting is their own parents. Thus they teach their kids like their parents did, and that includes "lies" that the adults no longer believe. In other words, the "lies" adults teach kid represents an echo of once widely held beliefs among adults.