To die, to sleep. To sleep, perchance to dream—ay, there's the rub,

OK, just to give credit where credit is due...  My title is a quote from "Hamlet."

I have discovered a weird phenomenon on-line lately...  There are so many celebrity death hoaxes that when someone really dies, people don't believe you.  It is an Internet boy who cried wolf syndrome.

I personally have never thought the death hoax stories were funny.  I was sad briefly thinking the world had lost another piece of my childhood until people started calling me stupid and laughing at me...  Then, I got mad.  Never did I find them amusing.  OK, maybe the "Betty White Dyes" article was a little funny, because the spelling alone should have told me something was up.

Today, Patrick MacNee passed away.  He played John Steed in the "Avengers" TV show in the 60s.  JP and I did a cosplay of Steed and Peele a couple of years ago.  So I was saddened to hear of his passing.  But burn me once, shame on you.  Burn me twice, shame on me.  So when I first read it, I went to research it first to make sure it was true.  The BBC, the Telegraph, and his own personal web site all confirmed that he died this morning.  I noted this on the post as I shared it...  Still, more than one person posted a link to an article saying it was a hoax...  So, I checked again.  The Associated Press, ABC, CNN, and the entertainment magazine Variety are all now confirming it.  Still, people are linking back to an online magazine I have never heard of and saying that all of these news sources must not have checked their sources, because so and so assures us that he is alive and well.

Personally, I think I will trust the dozen or so legitimate news sources that are required to do their research rather than a random person on the web.  (Yes, I know I am also a random person on the web, so feel free to believe me or not.  But at least I try to check my facts.)

So, what I am wondering is why is there suddenly such an obsession with celebrity death hoaxes?  When someone really has passed on, why tarnish their memory by posting a hoax that it is a hoax?

Maybe it is the fact that much of our culture fears death and wants to avoid it at all costs.  As a Christian, I don't fear death.  I do not necessarily want it to come soon, but I am not afraid to go when it is my time.  I know that Jesus promised that he went to make a place for us.

At funerals I tell people that it is OK to be sad.  A person you love is no longer there and you will miss them, but do not be sad for them.  They are safe in the arms of the Lord.  They have earned their heavenly reward.  They are in the presence of their Lord for all eternity.  It is a good thing!  They are happy and at peace.  I believe that I will see them again when I join them in glory.  That is the Good News of the Gospel.

So maybe we need to be less obsessed with death while we live.  We should live like we know where we are going and spread grace, love, and peace rather than hurtful rumors.

Peace!

Messed Up Priorities

I have spent the past several days ignoring the thousands of posts about Bruce Jenner's sex change.  I am not going into whether it was right or wrong, but seriously folks...

It seems that every conservative Christian publication or broadcast is now focusing all of their time and energy on preaching against Bruce Jenner's "sexual deviancy."

First off, people are calling him horrible ugly names.  If you think he has committed a horrible sin what do you think Jesus would do?  Would Jesus call him names and be all hateful?  Jesus loves sinners.  Jesus loves us enough to die for us!  For those who are quoting their Bible all over the place, "You who are without sin, cast the first stone."  Stones are being thrown all over the internet!

More than that, is one man wanting to become a woman really the worst evil going on in the world right now?  Really?

What about everyone who is being murdered by ISIS?  What about the Christians being persecuted in the Middle East and Africa?  What about the innocent children being sold into sex slavery all around the world?

Then again, if you would rather focus on the positive things we should be doing as Christians rather than the negative things that need to be preached against...  How many natural disasters have occurred over the past couple of months?  There are people who have lost their homes or even their lives in the floods in TX.  That is just here at home.  Where could we be using the internet to get people to do positive things to help those in need?  Where could we be bringing attention to "the least of these?"

Over the past couple of days I have actually been embarrassed on behalf of Jesus and God's church.  All I saw was ugly, mean spirited, name calling, and rock throwing.  That is not what we are about as disciples of Jesus Christ!

As Ron Weasley said in "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone", "[We] really need to sort out [our] priorities."

May Christ's Peace be with you!