Richard Abanes has written an excellent article about the proliferation of "attack" sites on the Internet that target individual Christians and ministries--all in the name of purifying the Church or preserving Christian unity, ironically. Writers for LAF have been on the receiving end of just such gossip, slander, and verbal abuse. Responding in kind is pointless, as the attackers take quotes completely out of context or assign motives and misrepresent the beliefs and/or intentions of the writer, no matter how clear the source. Abanes nails it:
We live in an era of too much information; an era wherein
anyone/everyone can post whatever they want to post on the
Internet—unchecked, unverified, unaccountable, unhindered, and
unstoppable. Rumors, gossip, baseless accusations, outright lies,
fear-mongering, hate rhetoric, hoaxes, slander/libel, and false
information now litter the Internet.
So today's word of advise from me to all of you is: BE CAREFUL!!!
Most tragic is how so-called "Christians" are contributing to this
proliferation of misinformation and disinformation throughout
cyberspace. It's almost beyond belief that individuals supposedly
indwelt by the Holy Spirit could be partakers of such activity. But the
facts show that a significant number of "Christian" blogs &
websites have indeed become dedicated to attacking others; more
specifically, dedicated to attacking other Christians!
And such attacks are not just limited to simple assaults on other
points of view, but penetrate into the realm of questioning another
person's Christianity, misrepresenting the faith of others, and
deliberately seeking to destroy the reputation of various public
figures (i.e., fellow believers). These persons have actually formed a
new "cult" of sorts.
This "cult," which I have termed the "Cult of Online Discernment
Ministries (ODMs)," has demonstrated that its real mission/ministry is
the destruction of fellow Christians with whom they disagree.
Ironically, they do it under the guise of defending the faith against
cults and false doctrine via apologetics/discernment. This has caused
great division within the church—unnecessary division because their
attacks are based on things that have NOTHING to do with doctrinal
teachings or whether or not a person is in the church.
Abanes continues by exhorting Christians to
check the source!
As a public figure, I myself have been enduring this kind of
persecution for years—as have several of my friends and associates in
ministry. It's been discouraging, frustrating, and painful to witness.
So, for the sake of all that is good, right, true, just and
biblical—don't believe everything you read on the Internet:
- Test all things, and hold fast to that which is good (1 Thess. 5:21).
- Verify information before you simply believe it.
- Go to the actual sources of isolated quotes that sound damning (they're often taken out of context).
- Contact, if you can, the person being attacked and ask them for confirmation of what you've heard.
And for
those of you who, like me, have had unkind/untrue things said about
them on the Internet, hang in there. JUDGMENT WILL ONE DAY COME.
(Read the rest of this outstanding article HERE
...)
As someone who has been on the receiving end of some of the most laughable misinformation campaigns, let me echo this point. Please, please, always check the source -- and double-check it. Have the courtesy to confirm and verify what you read or hear. I am frankly amazed when someone writes me to ask if I believe women shouldn't receive any education beyond high school (ridiculous), if I think women should not be allowed to earn money (that would make me a first class hypocrite as a strong advocate of Proverbs 31-style home business efforts), if I believe women should be seen and not heard (and LAF is here because...?), or any other number of absurd and baseless criticisms.
If you don't hear it straight from the horse's mouth, you haven't heard it. We need to treat others with the same courtesy and kindness we'd like them to extend to us, following Matthew 18 when we have a disagreement. Publicly airing disagreements online or off is not only unbiblical, it is just plain crass and rude. Far better to pursue private communication and reconciliation, which is the true way to purify and unify the Church.
If you have time to troll around the 'net looking for the latest "morsels" of gossip, may I highly recommend a media fast? Turn off, tune out, drop out, to reverse the old 1960s mantra. Open the Bible. Open some books. Talk to your spouse. Build up your friends in the church. Flesh-and-blood relationships should be our first priority in any case, and keeping ourselves transparent, open, and accountable to our real-life friends and family members is key.
It can be a real temptation to become an online "expert" or to be the go-to person for the latest (mis?)"information" or tasty tidbits. Let's choose
instead
to be busy about the good things God has given us to do (Ephesians 2:10). For those who do run ministries, write for magazines, produce books, etc., my top recommendation is to ignore the blogosphere of gossip. After dipping one toe in two years ago just to see what was being said about LAF, I've never gone back. If someone really wants to confront you in a pure and honest way, he will make the effort to write you or call you. Posting gossip online is a foolhardy pastime, but trying to find and read it is just as foolish. Live the life God has called you to live, be accountable to real people, and be open and approachable when someone does take the time to get in touch with a sincere question. We should all be open to the loving, sincere correction of our fellow Christians.
Gossip cannot stand up to long-suffering, calm, consistent truth. "
Like a fluttering sparrow or a darting swallow, an undeserved curse does not come to rest" (Proverbs 26:2). So there's no need to go on the defensive or (worse) attack back. Rest in the Lord, Who is the best Defender.
