We’ve all been exposed to the peculiar form of myth known as the "urban
legend." Alligators flushed down toilets and grown to gigantic proportions in sewers,
the "kidney harvest" story circulated on the internet, a coming "tax"
on e-mail, and so on. Such stories are told, then retold, then believed – to the point
that even the ones doing the telling are themselves believers.

Well, we Christians have such "urban legends" as well! Unfortunately, we are
often quite the gullible lot. It is bad enough that we often misquote passages, give
skewed apologetics, and overstate our case in theological dialogue. But when we start
embracing any and every story that comes along to share with each other, and (God forbid)
pass along to our unbelieving friends – we open the Church up to ridicule. I have selected
a few examples to debunk here. Be aware that there are many more.

a) CHARLES DARWIN REPENTED ON HIS DEATHBED – The story that Charles Darwin, credited
with the theory of evolution, ‘repented’ and was converted on his deathbed, has
been widely circulated. Unfortunately, the story is false. A female evangelist named
‘Lady Hope’, a contemporary of Darwin, told this story to some Moody Bible
students in 1915, and it was printed by the ‘press’ of the day. From there, the
story spread among believers of every kind. However, it is a fact that Lady Hope was NOT
present when Darwin died, and also that all who were present deny that any such thing
occured!

b) PROCTER & GAMBLE HAS A PACT WITH SATAN – I’ve been hearing this one since
the third grade! The story is that the P&G symbol, a bearded ‘man in the
moon’ with 13 stars, is a satanic symbol and that P&G has some sort of
affiliation with the occult and/or satanism. WRONG. It is false. Actually, the symbol
originated in the 1800s as a way of distinguishing P&G’s products from
counterfeit ‘knock-off’ products.

From what I’ve gathered from my research, the story started with some extremist
‘fundamentalists’ here in the South. Some versions of the rumor even have the
president of P&G appearing on the Phil Donahue Show and daring Christians to stop
their "satanic agenda"! Competing companies, notably Amway, have used the rumor
to hurt P&G and increase their own sales. P&G has stayed in court with high-dollar
attorneys defending themselves against this one baseless rumor!

c) NASA DISCOVERED SOME "MISSING TIME" PROVING JOSHUA’S LONG DAY – This
is another one I’ve been hearing for a long time. In fact, I’ve received notice
of it via e-mail at least twice! Supposedly, the miracle recorded in Joshua 10:12-14 (the
sun ‘stood still’) was proven when some NASA scientists ‘discovered’
(by use of computer) a chunk of ‘missing time’ in world history – time
corresponding to that of Joshua’s ‘long day.’ Again, the story is a myth
(NOT Joshua 10:12-14, but the NASA story – lest I be misunderstood!). It never happened!
The story, ironically enough, came from a tabloid called "The Evening World" out
of Indiana. The story was printed in 1970, and could never be verified (of course). In
fact, NASA *denied* this when the story was investigated by William Willoughby, then
religion editor for the Washington, D.C. based "Evening Star." The story
originated with a Charles Adiel Lewis Totten, a scientist of the 1800s who had embraced
Adventism and was also a Anglo-Israel theorist (of course, the NASA and computer elements
were not present in the original version). Totten’s attempt to prove the
"missing time" was based on a highly questionable chronology of the Bible that
he had devised.

These are all examples of "urban legends" circulating among believers. We do
not need them! There is PLENTY of genuine evidence for our faith without resorting to
telling such "tall tales"!

As believers, may we – by His grace – strive to be both truthful in the arguments we
present for our faith, *and* knowledgeable concerning what we are representing as truth.
No one is helped by the spreading of baseless rumors and inaccuracies. Jesus Christ is no
myth. The truths revealed in Holy Scripture are not myths. Our God is truth. May we ever
represent Him in truth. Truth does not require the service of talebearers. Selah.

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Consult the online BIBLIOGRAPHY for resources for further study on the

above topics at http://www.flash.net/~thinkman/thinkmail/biblio18.html