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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Calling all Christians--Read this book NOW, May 16, 2001
This review is from: The Cost of Deception: The Seduction of Modern Myths and Urban Legends (Paperback)
I've often told others that Christians are the most gullible people in the world, and I am one! The first two or three times I saw a petition to sign stopping Madeline Murray O'Hair's supposed campaign for eliminating Christian television (about 25 years ago) I thought there might be something to it. When I kept seeing the same petition endless times over the past 25 years, I began to suspect that it might be a hoax. After hearing the "Vanishing Hitchhiker" story (even from the pulpit!) a few times, I became aware that nobody who told this story actually had talked to a person to whom this supposedly happened (it was a friend of my wife's second cousin, or some such thing). Pretty fishy! And the story about the drillers who drilled deep enough to find hell, so to speak, well, that was too ridiculous for me to believe the first time I heard it, although many did and still do. So before you forward that next e-mail message that Aunt Martha sent you about the Satan worshipers at Proctor and Gamble, please read this book. It debunks most of the "urban legends" that have been passed on by well-meaning Christians and others. (Although it does miss one very popular urban legend that is making the rounds right now: have you heard the one about the guy God told to bring the gallon of milk to this stranger's house in the middle of the night?) The author also has some valuable chapters concerning how people over the years have tried to set the date for Christ's return and have attempted to expose the identity of the antichrist. He also discusses the recent Y2K panic that never panned out. The gospel itself seems like foolishness to those who do not believe. There is no need for Christians to put more stumbling-blocks in people's path by perpetuating stories that turn out to be fabrications. I don't mind being a fool for Christ, but there's no use being just plain foolish. All Christians should get this book, and maybe buy a few extra copies to hand out next time someone hands you one of those petitions to sign to keep the atheists from forcing "Touched by an Angel" off the air.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A Christian response to urban legends, Y2K fever, etc., November 1, 2003
This review is from: The Cost of Deception: The Seduction of Modern Myths and Urban Legends (Paperback)
This isn't a bad little book. The author relates many urban myths and then refutes them (although the refutations aren't as thorough nor as entertaining as those on David and Barbara Mikkelson's Urban Legends Reference Pages Web site), and quotes voluminous amounts of Scripture to show that listening to and repeating such tales is displeasing to God. He explains why Christians are especially susceptible to these urban legends and such, and he makes a reasonable case for the premise that believing and propagating these myths badly damages Christians' credibility. The two things that this book adds to the exhaustive collection and excellent analysis of these legends found on Snopes.com are the Scriptural reasons for shunning them, and his account of the impact that some of the spurious stories have had on the people and organizations involved. One thing that I could have done without was the extensive treatment (it takes up most of the introduction, plus there is a chapter devoted to it) of the Y2K brouhaha. Nothing new here, and it seems at this point like ancient history. The chapter called "Will the Real Antichrist Please Stand Up?" is pretty interesting; he lists and briefly describes many people, from the Pope to Mikhail Gorbachev to Barney the Dinosaur, who have been accused of being the antichrist. He devotes a couple of chapters to eschatology, containing, helpfully, a concise description of what pre-, post-, and amillenialists believe. Unfortunately, Mr. Williams will probably be preaching to the choir. I don't know if the gullible people who believe and spread these myths are going to be the audience for this book.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Finally!, June 1, 2001
This review is from: The Cost of Deception: The Seduction of Modern Myths and Urban Legends (Paperback)
One of the most annioying things about e-mail is how normally sane, rational people will take a half-plausible message with a few capital words and blissfully send it to their entire address book without a second thought. The author does a good job putting into perspective what harm that does to a person's credibility, particularly if they are a Christian. After all, if you believe some of the things being passed on, why should you be believable when talking about miricles, a risen Savior, or God? Some of the other consequences, such as misinformation, slander, and costing agencies such as the American Cancer Society funds to battle hoaxes, are also mentioned. He goes beyond the electronic world, to also talk about predictions about the end of the world or the return of Christ, identifying "666," and the Y2K scare. But there are also lots of the well-known urban legends and virus hoaxes as well, especially those relating to believers. And always, there is a scriptural basis to his arguments and observations. If there's one gripe, it's that he shortchanges many resources that exist on the Internet, such as the Urban Legends Reference Pages, mentioned prominently in the book, but not in the appendix. The author could have also given some "top 10" guideline to determining authenticity, what to do with a half-truth, or effective ways to send general news. However, the appendix leads to some of those. If people will see the subtitle and ignore the poor jacket design that makes it difficult to know immediately what the book is about, they will find a good resource.
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