Alternate link
"Madalyn Murray O'Hair never petitioned the Federal Communications Commission to get religious broadcasting off the air. James Dobson never launched a petition drive to stop her. ...Mary Jacobs, writing in the Dallas Morning News, shows how email, taken uncritically, can spread falise information quickly and effectively. Such web sites as TruthOrFiction.com, Snopes.com, and the two linked in the quote above are useful resources in checking out email rumors.
...Many of the legends seem to appeal to conservative and evangelical Christians and are widely circulated by e-mail and on blogs they read.
But some within the evangelical community have taken on myth-busting as a ministry. Web sites such as TruthMiners.com and Answers.org expose hoaxes and urge Christians not to pass on unsubstantiated rumors. ..."
This article makes the point that Christian credibility us undermined by repeating unsubstantiated rumors, especially when the internet which brought such rumors to you is also the means by which you can obtain authoritative information.
This becomes even more urgent in election years when rumors, half-truths, and outright lies pervade the internet. Reading web sites from across the political and religious spectrum has demonstrated to me that truth and accuracy becomes inconvenient when there are elections to be won, or denominations to be controlled.
Bloggers, who are by-and-large self-policed, have a part to play in all this whether it be for good or evil (apologies to J.R.R. Tolkien). Personally, I am happy to be involved in the Presbyterian Bloggers, a loose organization of 93 (as of this morning) bloggers "whose blogging is decent and in order." I don't agree with all the views I see there, but the discourse is generally civil, and many virtual friendships have sprung up among members of this group. See the Presbyterian Bloggers webring links at the top of the sidebar for entry into the decent and orderly side of blogging.
Technorati tags: religion, christianity, urban_legends
No comments:
Post a Comment