The post from the other day offering a clarification about the erroneous e-mail that was circulating alleging that Muslims had attacked a church is getting read a lot. The church in Lubbock that was connected to the original message has posted a clarification as well, but apparently a lot of people are looking at what I wrote the other day. I think it’s already the most read post I’ve written; that’s almost sad in a way.
Still, I think that every time one of these mistruths gets clarified, some people learn to be careful before passing on something they’ve received. For years, a rumor would raise its ugly head from time to time, something about Madalyn Murray O’Hair trying to limit religious broadcasting in some way. (The exact form varied according to the time the rumor was being circulated) Apparently the rumor began in 1975 (if not earlier) and circulated in its various incarnations for over 20 years. I even heard it in a sermon; when I pointed out to the preacher that the story was a hoax, his reply was, “So?”
And that’s the response I hear so often when these things are shown to be false. One of the commenters on this blog even said basically the same thing about my post the other day. I know one brother that constantly circulates e-mails that he’s received, primarily about politics. A few of them are even true. When I’ve pointed out the falsehoods he’s distributed, he always basically says that since the person he is attacking is evil, it doesn’t matter if what he spreads is true or not.
Yes, it does matter. We must be known as people who speak the truth. People who are careful to speak the truth. If we win a victory by telling lies, that victory is nothing but a defeat.
We must not be mongers of rumors and half-truths, speculation and accusation. We have a message for the world, a divine one, one that will not tolerate being packaged with a lie. If we hold on to the lie, we will lose the truth. It will not remain with us. It cannot remain with us. Just as holiness cannot abide with sin, truth cannot and will not reside where lies are at home. We will speak nothing but the truth or we will come to speak nothing but lies.
Let us spread truth. If we accidentally share something that isn’t true, let us not rest until we’ve done everything in our power to rectify that.
The truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. So help us God.
Great post. Thanks for the reminder. Appreciate your work.
This is one of the dirty secrets of the “conservatives” and it makes me nuts.
The politics of Jesus, the ways he modeled for us to set ourselves apart as a socially identifiable group, are self-sacrificial love and truth-telling.
The politics of the kingdoms of this world are violence and manipulation.
Which will we choose???
May I always choose Jesus. That is my prayer, although not exactly my consistent practice.
Interesting, isn’t it, how churches of Christ (particularly in the deeper south) have a reputation for pointing out all the error of every one else’s religious teachings and that they, alone, have the “truth” … and then use false stories as if that somehow looks good on them!!?? Mix religious belief with political views and it can really look nasty. Good post, Tim.
Thanks for reminding all (or at least those who are reading what you are posting) of this. Conservatives and liberals alike will “bend” the truth to fit what is desired and thereby damage their own cause. We as Christians have a much higher cause that is ONLY served by truth.
My wife received an e-mail a few days ago for members of our former congregation (we maintain close ties to our former congregation) with the erroneous message. As soon as my wife saw it, she asked me whether it was the same message you had warned everyone about; I read it and realized it was. Immediately, I sent a reply to everyone who received the original message with a link to your blog post about it. It cleared things up immediately. Thanks for letting us know about the corrections that needed to be made to the original e-mail. If you are getting a number of hits from Oklahoma, now you know why. :) I’m not sympathetic to Islam, but I don’t want to blame Muslims for something they did not do.
Thanks guys. None of this is limited to a certain religious philosophy, political outlook, etc. It’s human nature to be selective in our hearing, to focus on what supports the viewpoint we hold. Unfortunately, we often screen e-mails and websites the same way, suspending judgment on the ones that back up our views.
I know I’ve been guilty of that.
Grace and peace,
Tim Archer
I received an email about this story a few days ago and promptly called the church mentioned in the story to verify its acuracy.
Here is what all Christians need to know: If and whatever we accomplish in the name of Jesus come by unjustified means (such as dishonesty or another act of sin), it makes us hypocrites.
The end does not justify the means. If that were not true, there were easier ways of Jesus securing his rule over the earth (and Satan himself offered Jesus one of those ways). We Christians must NEVER be found guilty of trying to accomplish good by means of immoral and unethical ways. When we do, we undermine whatever good we think we are trying to accomplish.
Great post Tim. I hope every reader will speak about this subject with their Christians friends.
Grace and peace,
Rex
Amen.
Pingback: Twitter Trackbacks for To tell the truth | TimothyArcher.com/Kitchen [timothyarcher.com] on Topsy.com