But I couldn't drop everything to become a full-time “hoax buster” — and the bogus e-mails just kept coming, further cluttering my inbox and wasting my time. Something had to be done — and fast. So with all the kindness I could muster, I replied to one of my friends, “Do you know that the e-mail you just forwarded is a hoax?”

She seemed surprised, embarrassed and angry that a bright, university graduate like herself had been fooled. Then I shared with her a secret about how one can quickly and easily tell if such e-mails are hoaxes (or “urban legends” as they are often called). And the sham e-mails stopped arriving — at least from her.

eRumors?
The truth is, most of us have probably been e-mailed an Internet hoax at some point, and forwarded it to our friends (with good intentions, of course). You know, the e-mails telling us that:

• President Bush led a teenager to Christ at a campaign workers banquet
• Madalyn Murray O’Hair (who actually died several years ago) is currently petitioning the FCC to remove all references to God and the gospel from radio and television broadcasts
• J.K. Rowling (author of the Harry Potter books) confessed to a news correspondent that she is a Satanist
• A soon-to-be-released movie portrays Jesus and His disciples as homosexuals.

According to media professional and Christian Rich Buhler — and his staff at www.truthorfiction.com — all these e-mails are just hoaxes, or “eRumors.” And many of them, such as those involving actor/director Mel Gibson and radio commentator Paul Harvey, take full advantage of current media hype.

One Internet rumor (dating back to 2000) spins a realistic-sounding “Paul Harvey style” account of how Gibson’s 1993 movie, “The Man Without a Face,” was inspired by the severe disfigurement (and subsequent plastic surgery) Gibson incurred after a brutal childhood beating.

It’s all untrue.

A second hoax falsely attributes a glowing review of “The Passion of the Christ” to Harvey. It’s an authentic review, but Harvey didn’t write any of it. The reviewer is constitutional lawyer Keith A. Fournier; the piece first appeared on the Catholic Way Web site.

… Now you know the rest of the hoax.

Are Christians More Gullible?
Just who are the individuals behind these outrageous e-mails? And what possible motives can they have? Are some hoaxes intentionally aimed at believers? And, are Christians really more gullible?

Unfortunately, no one knows the origins of these irksome hoaxes. Some have suggested that spammers purposely send out these misleading e-mails in hopes of having them return with several valuable e-mail addresses attached. Others believe that pranksters who have nothing better to do with their lives are to blame. Undoubtedly, some devious souls are just out to defame certain people and/or ethnic groups, or tarnish the reputations of identifiable companies.

With so many hoaxes centering around moral issues, it may seem as if Christians are being directly targeted by cyberspace scammers on a devilish crusade to waste our precious time and try to prove to the world that Christians really are more gullible. By forwarding eRumors, are believers unwittingly stereotyping themselves as naïve religious folks duped initially by Someone calling Himself the Son of God, and now by the Internet rumor mill?
The answer is an emphatic, “No!” Christians aren’t the only ones keeping Internet hoaxes alive. Millions of unbelievers are falling every day for eRumors involving missing children, get-rich-quick schemes, identity theft via hotel key cards and the like.

When we hear about some atheist trying to banish all references to God from the airwaves — or about an upcoming movie portraying Christ as a homosexual — we rise up in anger from our computer terminals, proclaiming, “This is wrong!” Then we quickly sign the ePetition and pass it on. For instance, according to the TruthOrFiction Web site, the Madalyn Murray O’Hair hoax “has produced more mail response to the FCC than anything in its history.”

And when we read a review — supposedly from a famous commentator — filled with praise for a movie we strongly want everyone to see, we readily forward it to all our friends.

Examine with Care
Perhaps our driving passion for defending and spreading our beliefs led the Apostle Paul to caution us to “… examine everything carefully; hold fast to that which is good”
(1 Thessalonians 5:21 NASB). And I don’t think Paul was referring only to doctrinal issues but to every area of life.

Often common sense and a healthy dose of skepticism are the best defenses against Internet hoaxes. For example, if Mel Gibson was so disfigured from a childhood beating that he joined a circus as part of a freak show, could any plastic surgeon make him look as handsome as he does today?

On the other hand, common sense sometimes leaves us stranded in the forest of eRumors. How many people could have known just by reading Fournier’s movie review of “The Passion” that Paul Harvey didn’t write it? It sure sounded like his style.

For e-mailed stories that sound almost too incredible to be true I often ask myself whether I’ve seen or read about this story elsewhere. If I haven’t, chances are very good that it’s just rubbish. Other giveaways are vague, technical-sounding jargon — and/or the words “This is not a hoax!!!!” and/or “Forward this to everyone you know!”

What’s the Harm?
You might be thinking, What harm could possibly come from my forwarding an e-mail to eight or 10 of my friends? Consider this: If each of your friends forwards it to eight or 10 of his or her friends, and so on, it won’t be long before you have a million or more people wasting their time reading and responding to the e-mail you forwarded.

As Christians, we are called to be good stewards of our money — and our time (cf. Ephesians 5:15-17; Colossians 4:5). Will we have to answer one day for our part in the hundreds of thousands of wasted hours, because we helped propagate an Internet hoax? It’s a good question.

Finding the Truth
There is a quick and easy way to determine whether an e-mailed story is for real by visiting a hoax-busting Web site. (See inset.) The whole process usually takes less than a minute. And if you do receive a hoax from a friend, kindly write back explaining that the story isn’t true. If possible include a Web-site address where the ruse is debunked.

Tell your friend how a person can easily check the validity of suspect e-mails. Don’t hit “Reply to All,” however — you don’t want to embarrass your friend in front of everyone. You might also consider e-mailing this article to your friends. If you do these things, you’ll soon have a much cleaner inbox. And so will your friends.

As Christians we need to band together to put a stop to these annoying Internet hoaxes. We need to become dedicated “hoax busters.” And while we may not be guilty of being more “gullible,” perhaps we are at fault for not taking more seriously Paul’s call to “examine everything carefully.”