The Danger of Misinformation, Myths, Conspiracies and Outright Lies

Thursday Night in Northern IL we had a real serious tornado come thru the area.  Friday I visited as close as I could get to the damage.  It's really bad.  Two women died in the storm.

So, I decided to stop in a gathering place to see what the locals had to say about it.  I heard one fellow loudly proclaim that there were 17 people still missing, unaccounted for, but that it was all a cover up.

Why? he didn't say.

I listened for a short bit and left the building.

This used to be conversation at the bar, coffee shop, water cooler or gossip fests.  Now all that has changed. The Internet has now become the conduit of such things.  A lie travels round the world while truth has yet to get his pants on.  That was Churchill.  It's still true.

It's not a wise stupid, left right, black white, male female, rich poor, liberal conservative, Christian Muslim, Believer Unbeliever, educated ignorant issue.. IT is a gullibility issue connected with a desire to appear in the know.  If you believe you have inside information on something, or the straight story, or see the lies behind a story you can propagate this and cause all kinds of upset and fear in seconds with the click of a mouse. 

I see this on Facebook. I see it in news feeds.  I see it in chat rooms.  For every blatant lie and accusation there is an equal and opposite lie fabricated out of whole cloth.

It WOULD be innocent enough, except that it divides people.  People love sensational over truth.  Pontius Pilate asked Jesus "What is Truth?".  That question still rings 2 millenia later.

Here's the issue as I see it.  Christians should be truth carriers.  We should be able to dispel rumor, lie, conspiracy and misinformation in a world fraught with lies.  That's what Jesus said would happen, "For this I have been born, and for this I have come into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice." John 18:37

I don't hear much truth from many platforms today.  I hear speculation, opinion, conspiracy, theory, misinformation and yes LIES.    IF we cannot do better in our Churches and religious gatherings than deal in the devil's soup, the father of lies, then God cannot and will not allow that to long prosper.

I appeal, beg and hope that people will come to truth about what is happening all around us and stop using lies to divide.  That is happening and it's killing people and it's killing any hope for the world.. that Jesus came for, lived for and died for.

STOP THE DECEPTION