Let all things be done decently and in order. (1Co 14:40)
The Internet is an amazing thing. We have so much information right at our finger tips. I have also encountered many preachers who use the Internet to pass along very pertinent information via e-mail.
For instance. There is the story I received about gang members driving around with their headlights off. If you flash your lights at them, they shoot you! Then there was the story of the brave ten year-old girl who shot and killed two home invaders, who happened to be illegal aliens. One of them had a gun on him that he had taken during a previous home invasion and murder. What a brave girl! Good thing she was a champion skeet shooter.
Did you know George Carlin gave a speech about being a patriotic American who was fed up with gun control and lax immigration laws? I read it myself in an e-mail! Well-meaning pastors, and other Christians have kept me informed about some alarming news stories; everything from conspiracies, to government cover ups to Arab terrorists funding the election of Barack Obama. (As if the people who openly supported him didn't scare me enough.)
All of these stories have two things in common. All were sent to my e-mail box by Christian brethren, and secondly, none of them are true. That's right, all these and many more such stories are absolutely false. It never happened. (My favorite is the Russian oil pipe line that drilled down into the heart of the Earth and released the sounds of people screaming in Hell.)
I never cease to be amazed at how otherwise intelligent people believe something just because its in writing. It is called an "Urban Legend." Some stories take a little fact, mix it with a lot of conjecture and somehow, take on a life of their own.
I appeal to my friends out there. Please learn to "Snopes" a story before repeating it. www.snopes.com is a web sight devoted to either debunking or verifying unusual or outlandish stories. They have a very good record of keeping very good records on such matters. It will even tell you if a story cannot be verified as true or false.
We old-fashioned fundamentalists suffer enough from accusations of ignorance and alarmism. Lets not add to fire. Lets get the story straight before we pass it along. Just a thought. Thanks for reading.
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This post needs to be read by all of us. Thank you
ReplyDeleteThank you for posting this. I used to reply to people with that URL. Now, if I get them from someone, they get put on my automatic junk list and their email is deleted. Proverbs 26:4
ReplyDeleteAlso, in the interest of your article's accuracy, you wrote, "www.snopes.com is a web sight" it should be, "www.snopes.com is a web site"
Another good one was the NASA studying the path of the Sun and went back in time until they came to a weird break, almost like the sun stopped, etc.etc.
ReplyDeleteI have some family that send them out, and the worse part is they send them to lost family members who think this might be what convinces them to be saved.