Tuesday, December 14, 2004

'Professor demystifies urban legends at philosophy talk'

I'm sure you have heard at least one urban legend. For example, about the rat found in KFC takeaway. Or the hitchiker that gets picked up and tells the car occupants that the end of the world is coming and then disappears. There are literally thousands of urban legends and it is surprising how many Christians I have come across who believe at least some of them! The Vista Online reports on the visit of Dr Mark Webb, a philosophy professor at Texas Tech University who started off his talk with the question, When should I believe the story I've been told? This would be a great question for all Christians to ask and think about carefully. One of the most significant pieces of advice is to never trust the friend of a friend. Stories that get handed around are, even if they contain a kernel of truth, so distorted as to make them untrue. Read the whole story here. There are a number of websites that deal with urban legends. One, referred to by Professor Webb in the article, is the Urban Legends Reference Pages. So next time you hear a story that you feel compelled to pass on to your friends, check it out first!

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