Did you know that President Obama is really a Muslim? That he’s not an American? That he wasn’t even born here? That’s the rumor. Problem is none of this is true, but you can’t convince a lot of folks otherwise. The White House felt compelled recently to counter the rumor mill about the president’s faith by releasing a statement that read: “The president is obviously a Christian. He prays every day.” Obama is actually a member of the United Church of Christ denomination which produced a big flap back during the election with his controversial pastor the Rev. Jeremiah Wright. (No Muslim actually has a “pastor.”)  According to a recent article in The News & Observer (August 20, 2010), the facts are: Obama is the Christian son of a Kenyan Muslim father and a Kansas mother. Born in Hawaii, he lived from age 6 to age 10 in Indonesia with his mother and stepfather. And no, he has yet to join a church in the D.C. area.

My point is not to convince anyone of anything other than what they have already determined to be the truth. Wouldn’t do any good anyway. That’s part of our present reality. Lori Robertson, managing editor of FactCheck.org, a nonpartisan project from the University of Pennsylvania, says: “The Internet has made it worse. Any of these rumors are more rampant, and there’s more stuff about them—blogs writing about conspiracy theories. People are exposed to it more.”

Misinformation produced with warp speed technology makes it impossible to have a civil conversation with the goal of separating truth from fiction. But this is really nothing new. Millions were once firmly convinced that “the country was overrun with communists, that John F. Kennedy was taking orders from the pope, that AIDS spread through casual contact, that Saddam Hussein or even the George W. Bush administration helped plan the Sept. 11 attacks.” (N&O, Aug.20)

Back in the first-century Jesus warned:  “Beware that no one leads you astray… When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed… For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom… This is but the beginning of birthpangs.” (Mark 13:5-8)

Rumors are nothing new. Problem is that if someone says something long enough and loud enough, then it becomes true reality for someone else—regardless of the actual truth. Christians have a responsibility to set aside our own prejudices and preferences, seek to know the truth and seek to speak the truth. This is increasingly difficult in the volatile day in which we live. Yet to be accurately considered as the “light of the world” and “salt of the earth,” Christians are compelled to produce more illumination… and less heat.

0 comment(s) so far...

Your name:
Your email:
	(Optional) Email used only to show Gravatar.
Your website:
Title:
Comment:
Add Comment   Cancel