Every now and then I get email forwarded to me from well meaning friends which purport to be petitions supporting a good cause. The most recent one allegedly supporting Dr. James Dobson, of Focus on the Family, in his alleged appearance on TV to oppose the alleged proposed restriction of religious broadcasting by the Federal Communications Commission. Maybe I’m just cynical, as you may have guessed from my liberal scatterings of “alleged”, but I thought I’d check it out before considering it and forwarding to anyone I know. After a couple of minutes with Google, this page surfaced which showed, with very little doubt, that this particular petition was bogus. In fact, the aforementioned article highlighted a few important points.
If we claim to follow the truth, we should be careful that everything we say in our own name, the name of others, and in the name of God is the truth. (Which is effectively what we’re doing when we forward these emails.) Otherwise we may be guilty, albeit unintentionally, of breaking the ninth commandment – You shall not bear false witness.
If we receive an email claiming to pursue the glory of God, we should investigate its claim – especially if we intend to forward it. After all, as 1 John 4:1 says, we should test what people say in the name of God against his word, to see if they really are from God. The Christian faith is not about blindly believing everything we are told, but about using the brains God has given us that we believe the truth which will withstand rigorous inspection.
It usually doesn’t take long to uncover a hoax. Usually a quick Google search or a visit to somewhere like Truth or Fiction will determine the validity of an email.
Additionally, the time wasted on fake petitions could be better spent on legitimate concerns such as those raised by organisations such as The Christian Institute and The Barnabas Fund.