Ordinarily, I make the assumption that people actually believe what they are saying.

     There are some obvious exceptions to this. If a salesman thinks his product is inferior, he will deny it if asked. He may claim it superior unsolicited. I have reached a point where I think that dishonesty may be a requirement of christianity. I could be wrong; and I would love to have that demonstrated. But consider: Christians claim they are not interested in the praises of men. Yet, they often praise one another. Would they bother with such praise, if they really thought the recipients uninterested? The mere act of praise indicates that they think the claim of disinterest in such praise is a lie. But they praise on the basis of that lie. So, they are openly endorsing deception.