Is it a sin to forward an email that's a big, fat hairy lie?
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Is it a sin to forward an email that's a big, fat hairy... - 11/11/2008 8:33:48 AM
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Sunnymom
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For instance, if you have recently received an email about RM-2493, it is a hoax. I received it again this morning, and instead of deleting as I usually do with FW: emails, I used the Reply All button to send everyone this-
quote:
Email hoaxes are very convincing, or they would not get so much mileage, but please let everyone know who forwarded this email that it is a hoax. The real RM 2493 went before the FCC in 1974 and was turned down in 1975. James Dobson has also issued a disclaimer since this email now bears his name. The FCC has been dealing with this rumor for 30 years, and has received over 10 million letters, emails, and phone calls about it.
You can read the history of this hoax at Snopes .
As a matter of fact, it is a good idea to double-check every forwarded email at sites like Snopes and Truth or Fiction so we as Christians aren't guilty of perpetuating falsehoods. You can use the Reply All button to send the Snopes link to all the folks who sent this email to you.
Perhaps by using the FW button to spread truth just as enthusiastically as it has been used to spread rumors, and we can end 30 years of Christians looking like gullible morons. Sometimes people get mad at me for doing this- for sending them links to show that the email they just sent me was a hoax, but I truly believe that until we as Christians get into the habit of dealing with lies and rumors, even through email, we aren't going to be credible when we try to spread the Gospel, KWIM?
It is a sin, IMO, to knowingly repeat something that we have not even attempted to verify. Just because Aunt Sally sent it to you, and Aunt Sally is a wonderful woman, doesn't mean that we shouldn't take the time to make sure we are being completely truthful when we pass on information.
That's my story and I'm stickin' to it. 
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RE: Is it a sin to forward an email that's a big, fat h... - 11/11/2008 8:45:43 AM
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dianetavegia
Posts: 2032
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From: Southern Baptist, Non Calvinist, Pro Life Ga. girl
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I'd say our problem is not that people are doing this on purpose but many people, who are new to emails, get this stuff and because it's so POSSIBLE something like this MIGHT happen at some point, they believe it's true, are outraged and forward it to everyone they've ever gotten an email from. (WHEW...... long sentence!)
When we got our first computer about 11 years ago, I believed every hoax that came along and had no idea there were places to check out these type mailings. Not a sin. Now......... I know better.
I no longer 'bother' sending links to prove such emails are a hoax. I figure someone else will do it. Perhaps that's a sin on my part.
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RE: Is it a sin to forward an email that's a big, fat h... - 11/11/2008 8:48:49 AM
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MrFribbles
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I think that if you know the e-mail you're forwarding is a lie, and you send it along anyway, then it might very well be in the realm of what constitutes a sin. But if it's sent out of ignorance (i.e., you actually believe it's true), then it wouldn't be.
But I agree that it's good to try and explain to the person who sent it that what they've passed on just isn't true.
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RE: Is it a sin to forward an email that's a big, fat h... - 11/11/2008 9:00:04 AM
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Sunnymom
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Then why are we believing that every rumor that comes in an email is true? Don't we consider and verify things in real life before we pass them on? And if someone were to pass on something that was not true, would we not correct them? Don't folks want to know if what they have said is a lie? Is ignorance really a good excuse for just clicking the mouse and in this case costing thousands of dollars in time and effort that the FCC has to spend to deal with a 30 year old rumor that wasn't even true to begin with?
Then there's the fact that not dealing with it is not a good testimony to the world. They see us perpetuate lies and then pretend it didn't happen. I think it's a better testimony for the lost world to see us confront lies and do what we can to correct them. We are going to fight against all these other sins that other people are committing (abortion, homosexuality, adultery, etc) and then not deal with dishonesty in our own ranks?
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RE: Is it a sin to forward an email that's a big, fat h... - 11/11/2008 9:20:54 AM
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essentialsaltes
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quote:
ORIGINAL: Sunnymom
Then why are we believing that every rumor that comes in an email is true? Don't we consider and verify things in real life before we pass them on?
In most of these cases, the email comes from someone trusted - a relative or a friend. For better or worse, we tend to believe things that our friends and relatives tell us, especially if they confirm biases we may already have.
I encourage you to keep setting the record straight, too! For those of us who are a little more sophisticated about the internet and urban legends, we have some small duty to help educate the people who perpetuate these things. In my case, most of them come from my dad. I have finally sent him enough links to snopes pages that I think he's starting to 'get it'.
Now if I could only train him to send me only the *funny* jokes, everything would be perfect.
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"My object in all arguments is not to make any preconceived opinion of mine seem right, but merely to discover and establish the truth, whatever the truth may be."
-- HP Lovecraft, letter to Robert E. Howard 7/27-28/34
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RE: Is it a sin to forward an email that's a big, fat h... - 11/11/2008 9:38:17 AM
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Sunnymom
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Wellll, color me cynical, but even when someone I love and trust tells me something, I verify it before believing it, and especially before passing it on, because I am responsible for what I do and say, not others. If I pass something on that is inaccurate, I am now going to answer to God for that, and I can't point at Aunt Sally and expect her to answer for me, because she probably heard it from Lucille down the street, who heard it from Bob the Butcher, who heard it from....
Neal Boortz puts a disclaimer at the bottom of his website-
ALWAYS REMEMBER
Don't believe anything you read on this web page, or, for that matter, anything you hear on The Neal Boortz Show, unless it is consistent with what you already know to be true, or unless you have taken the time to research the matter to prove its accuracy to your satisfaction. This is known as "doing your homework."
It's good advice. 
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RE: Is it a sin to forward an email that's a big, fat h... - 11/11/2008 10:05:11 AM
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Szaftoo
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If an E-mail is fluff, I simply delete it. If it's something I think I need to address, I will check it out and kindly let the sender know it's not true.
Fortunately now that the elections are over, I am getting less.
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RE: Is it a sin to forward an email that's a big, fat h... - 11/11/2008 10:33:27 AM
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cow451
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quote:
ORIGINAL: Szaftoo
If an E-mail is fluff, I simply delete it. If it's something I think I need to address, I will check it out and kindly let the sender know it's not true.
Fortunately now that the elections are over, I am getting less.
I forward very little. I used to get lots of stuff from some Christian "e-mail addicts". After correcting some of the crazy Obama/Hillary stuff, one of my wife's friend's got offended. Most people appreciate the feedback and some have been much more cautious about what they forward.
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RE: Is it a sin to forward an email that's a big, fat h... - 11/11/2008 10:38:23 AM
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KatMack
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I do think it's our duty to correct those that are wrong. Yeah, someone else might correct them too, but then they REALLY get the point that it's quick and easy to verify these things and they REALLY should do so before hitting the forward button.
I've mentioned to my aunt (who sent me countless Obama is Muslim/the antichrist/evil) emails that while we may not agree with his policies, that forwarding these things without the barest research was GOSSIP pure and simple. Even if you believe it's true with all your heart, if you don't do a bit of research first it is nothing more than gossip.
--Kat
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"God will do what God will do. What I'm responsible for is to believe he's all he says he is and obey what he tells me to do. " -magdaleine
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RE: Is it a sin to forward an email that's a big, fat h... - 11/11/2008 10:43:47 AM
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momma_bee
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I had a co-worker that would send things to me and I'd 'correct' her. One day, I didn't bother. Seems that she had the habit of fact-checking by sending to only me and when I didn't tell her it was wrong, she sent it out. She mentioned it at lunch time and I called it bogus and she blanched.
Prior to this, she would send recalls to get them back. She knew they needed checked but didn't have the time - neither did I.
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RE: Is it a sin to forward an email that's a big, fat h... - 11/11/2008 11:20:29 AM
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KatMack
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To me if you don't have the time to fact check you shouldn't send them out. If I'm going to have time to hit the forward button and add people from my address book, I've got time to hit Snopes or Truthorfiction beforehand.
--Kat
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<-- My sweet blessings.
"God will do what God will do. What I'm responsible for is to believe he's all he says he is and obey what he tells me to do. " -magdaleine
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RE: Is it a sin to forward an email that's a big, fat h... - 11/11/2008 12:08:28 PM
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Covaan_Meshuga
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I rarely open forwarded mail and far less forward it. But this is one of the things that really gets to me: there is so much truth to dwell upon, so why do we bother with the fake stuff when the truth is so much more powerful?
I used to be the only believing Republican writing on a particular Democrat-embracing website, and they were just ridiculous there. They would write out-and-out lies against Republicans in order to just get each other worked up into a frenzy, then they would have to be told the truth, which would really pull the blanket out of all of them. It was sometimes humorous to watch, but it got tiresome after a few years.
-- and Republicans do the same things.
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Abiyah
"Ladies and gentlemen, there are things that you will only be able to learn by the weakest among us, and when you snuff them out, you are the one that loses." ~~Gianna Jesson, 1977 LA, CA, saline abortion survivor
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RE: Is it a sin to forward an email that's a big, fat h... - 11/11/2008 12:36:48 PM
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Ps103
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IMO, for some people, forwarding emails is a sin regardless of the content.
I know someone who is so bad about forwarding everything that passes through her email inbox to everyone who was unfortunate enough to give her their email address, that I made an email address just for her and never checked it. (Not only do I not want to read fifty "Pass this along to bless your friends" emails every day, she refuses to use virus protection, and opening an email from her is like my computer having unprotected sex with hers  ) It worked nicely, until she started putting read-request receipts on her emails--I cannot imagine doing that, but she did and got hurt  .
The only time I bothered to respond to one of the blatantly false emails, it was someone *I* didn't even know--she had snagged my email address from a church email list and added it to her forward list. And, I accidentally on purpose hit "reply all" so it went to the fifty other complete strangers that she had sent it to. She was livid, and emailed me saying "My friends did not appreciate getting an email from someone they do not know!" I emailed her back saying, "I get emails from you constantly, and I have no idea who *you* are. Where did we meet?"
Never heard from her again.
I do have friends that send me thing they kow *I* will think is amusing, informative, etc. But I don't really care to read every email a person gets.
I would like to remove the "forward" button from a lot of people's machines.
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RE: Is it a sin to forward an email that's a big, fat h... - 11/11/2008 1:09:17 PM
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LCannon
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Oh, I don't know about 'forwarding hoaxes' being sins(after all I don't have much control over the sender)but one needs to be aware of forwarding deliberate misinformation(or threats like 'if you agree(you have to)implying if not you disagree)or perpetuating scurrilous rumors or innuendo.
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play Mozart and then too our dear Lord listens with special pleasure."(Karl Barth)
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RE: Is it a sin to forward an email that's a big, fat h... - 11/11/2008 1:12:58 PM
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Covaan_Meshuga
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You know, sometimes, the main issues get completely ignored on these threads, and it has happened here as well.
The OP asked about lies.
Big lies
Fat lies
Hairy lies.
Big, fat, hairy lies.
That is the issue.
The cute little skinny bald lies are okay to forward!
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Abiyah
"Ladies and gentlemen, there are things that you will only be able to learn by the weakest among us, and when you snuff them out, you are the one that loses." ~~Gianna Jesson, 1977 LA, CA, saline abortion survivor
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RE: Is it a sin to forward an email that's a big, fat h... - 11/11/2008 2:37:55 PM
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rcjames
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Well I solve that little problem by not forwarding any emails.
I do not have the time to check for validity and therefore just deep six them in my unrecyclable recycle bin.
Thanks
RC
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RE: Is it a sin to forward an email that's a big, fat h... - 11/11/2008 6:44:58 PM
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Sunnymom
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quote:
ORIGINAL: Covaan_Meshuga
You know, sometimes, the main issues get completely ignored on these threads, and it has happened here as well.
The OP asked about lies.
Big lies
Fat lies
Hairy lies.
Big, fat, hairy lies.
That is the issue.
The cute little skinny bald lies are okay to forward!
No- those little bald and skinny lies are the sneakiest- they can slip right past you! 
There are just some times when things like that frost my taters. The idea that the FCC has spent $$$ and countless hours dealing with a lie perpetuated mostly by Christians- the word irony doesn't even cover it. 
I know that human nature being what it is, folks will always enjoy drama and bad news, but that impulse is so opposite of the command to not rejoice in iniquity, but in truth, that God has not given us the spirit of fear... I felt I had to do SOMETHING about this one. I am sure that folks won't be sending me ANY emails, much less hoaxes, for quite a while.
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RE: Is it a sin to forward an email that's a big, fat h... - 11/11/2008 7:46:48 PM
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delete123
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I don't forward them and they are getting worse. A friend of mine sent me one that read: This is true and was checked out on snopes, giving the link.
So I clicked on the link only to bring me to the main page, so I put the information in and it boldly read: False!
I sent it back to my friend with a note.
But in the beginning I too was an offender and use to send them all out.
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RE: Is it a sin to forward an email that's a big, fat h... - 11/12/2008 12:55:49 PM
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Covaan_Meshuga
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My son got one that Obama was going to cut military spending in order to apply the money to neighborhood watchers who would report what they see to the police. Um-hmmmm
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Abiyah
"Ladies and gentlemen, there are things that you will only be able to learn by the weakest among us, and when you snuff them out, you are the one that loses." ~~Gianna Jesson, 1977 LA, CA, saline abortion survivor
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RE: Is it a sin to forward an email that's a big, fat h... - 11/12/2008 11:00:54 PM
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henny
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I banned my mom from sending me forwards entirely, as she's obsessed with them.
I think they are rude, lazy, and the e-mail equivalent of junk mail.
If you want to talk to me, then talk to me.
If you have something important to tell me, like a news story or something, then write out why you think it's important yourself and ad a link.
Don't just send me along something that someone else wrote so it can clog my inbox.
Especially since 99% of them are either pictures of kittens, unfunny comics or jokes, idiotic falsehoods of a political nature, or that cursed Paul Harvey e-mail about how great things were in the good old days (seriously, I've gotten that one like 100 times).
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RE: Is it a sin to forward an email that's a big, fat h... - 11/12/2008 11:07:51 PM
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henny
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quote:
ORIGINAL: delete123
I don't forward them and they are getting worse. A friend of mine sent me one that read: This is true and was checked out on snopes, giving the link.
So I clicked on the link only to bring me to the main page, so I put the information in and it boldly read: False!
I sent it back to my friend with a note.
But in the beginning I too was an offender and use to send them all out.
I've discovered that the only way to put a stop to it is to ask people, politely of course, not to send you forwards anymore. Period. Regardless of if it's true or not.
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RE: Is it a sin to forward an email that's a big, fat h... - 11/13/2008 10:34:34 AM
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momma_bee
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My mom used to send them so I would be able to get everyones email addy out of the headers. You know - I'm suppose to know that abc123@whatever-email is my cousin Suzie's oldest.
I get a kick out the ones that say 'this is true it is on snopes' Yep - it is there, but Snopes said it was FALSE.
But, on a serious note, there is a Pittsburgh based story about a text message that went to a phone that is used by a 12yo and their mother. (refreshing, isn't it) Anyhow. It started out like it would be that forward about the cop who acted like an internet preditor to track the kid down and lecture her and her parents about internet safety but then it went creepy and ended up with the promise of death - dismemberment and worse if they didn't forward the message to so many people.
So they called the cops because the 12 year old was threatened.
I don't know how I feel about that.
On one hand, it was a STUPID, tasteless forward and most likely means nothing. On the other hand, it was a stupid, tasteless forward that someone took very seriously and was scared.
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RE: Is it a sin to forward an email that's a big, fat h... - 11/13/2008 10:38:47 AM
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doinkdom
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I dunno if it's a sin...but it's really annoying.
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