1 of 2

Did you know NASA scientists proved that God really made the sun stand still just like it says in the book of Joshua?

Have you responded to the urgent prayer appeal from Mrs. Fatima Abass Yakubu Idris, the wealthy Nigerian widow cancer victim who wants to donate $7.2 million to your church?

Did you hear about the upcoming movie in which Jesus and his disciples are gay?

Surely you've seen this e-mail bulletin: "CBS will be forced to discontinue Touched by an Angel for using the word God in every program." Now, the disciples of atheist Madelyn Murray O'Hair have "been granted a federal hearing on the same subject by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in Washington D.C. Their petition, Number 2493, would ultimately pave the way to stop the reading of the gospel of our Lord and Savior, on the airwaves of America."

It's hard to believe that after 30 years and 30 million letters to the FCC, this false report continues to haunt pulpits, pews, and the Internet.

Believe it. The O'Hair, FCC, and Touched by an Angel e-mail is back in the top 10 at the San Fernando Valley Folklore Society's sprawling "urban legends" site (www.snopes.com). And with the Angels era ending at CBS, Cathy Holden is bracing herself for more right-wing e-mail blaming the show's demise on a vast left-wing conspiracy.

This will all end up in a revised entry at www.TruthMiners.com, her website that strives to convince other conservative Christians that passing along half-truths, scams, and urban legends is not a doctrinally sound thing to do. Her niche-audience page includes 100 of the most common e-mails and links to larger secular research sites.

"This story will not die. I mean, Touched by an Angel has been on for nine years," she said. "Anybody who reads a newspaper knows that everybody who's involved says it's time to end the show. But people who send these e-mails don't read newspapers. Then they get an e-mail about that atheist O'Hair lady and they say, 'That's it!'

"You just want to tell them, 'Get over it. Go on with your life.'"

Holden became fascinated with urban legends when she helped a Baptist church outside Orlando start its website. The minute she signed on, the junk e-mails rolled in, including a new incarnation of the O'Hair report. It took five minutes online to dig up the truth.

The church lady who forwarded the rumor said she did it for fun. What's the harm?

"I said, 'Wait just a minute. I just told you this is a lie and you don't care?' … Ever since, I've been trying to get people to realize that a lie is a lie. This is not harmless. People get hurt. Christians have to believe truth matters," said Holden.

next page... |  1 of 2

	What did you think of this story?
	Please to give us your feedback.

Home  |  People of Faith  |  Stories of Hope  |  Today's Culture
Build Your Faith  |  Laughing Matters  |  Archives  |  Contact Us

				Try 3 Issues of Christianity Today Free! Name Street Address City/State/Zip E-mail Address Subscribe to Christianity Today and get 3 free trial issues. No credit card required. Please allow 4-6 weeks for delivery. Offer valid in U.S. only. If you decide you want to keep Christianity Today coming, honor your invoice for just $19.95 and receive nine more issues, a full year in all. If not, simply write "cancel" across the invoice and return it. The three trial issues are yours to keep, regardless. Give Christianity Today as a gift Order a gift subscription!