rumors

With the speed of internet lightning, it takes only seconds for rumors to spread.  I remember that silly game with the players in a circle and the first one in the circle whispers something to the next one . . . you know what I’m remembering . . . you probably played that game, also.  By the time the whispered remark comes to the last person in the circle, it had no semblance to what was initially said.

Such are the internet rumors.

Some Christians are so willing to believe rumors that reflect well on their heroes and poorly on their opponents that they abandon even a modest concern for the veracity of the rumors. Yet the Bible clearly prohibits “bearing false witness” and spreading rumors and gossip. Perhaps Christians who spread such rumors think they serve a greater purpose, as if the end justifies the means, some ethicists speculate.The key to confronting such bad habits among Christians is proper spiritual formation on the ethics of truth-telling, gossip and rumor-spreading, experts said.

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