Hey, I got this text message today saying:

"Please pray for the 22 Christian missionary families that will be executed today in Afghanistan! Please spread ths fast 2 as many will pray"


Some preliminary googling come up with a lot of people asking about it on Q/A sites and blogs, and googling it themselves. So far it doesnt seem like anyone has found anything about it.

The message has been spreading like wildfire all over. All blogs/posts seem to be in the past couple hours.

It looks like a hoax to me, but im not sure. Has anyone heard anything about this?

"Please pray for the 22 Christian missionary families that will be executed today in Afghanistan! Please spread ths fast 2 as many will pray"

"Please spread ths fast 2 as many will pray"

"ths fast 2 as many will pray"

"ths fast 2 as many will pray"

Pretty much screams "HOAX".

If this were true it would be all over the news. Anyone who planned to kill 22 families would be bragging to gain as much attention as possible.

....never trust chain-texts, obviously.

_EW_

Not necessarily--it may or may not be true. There have been several stories that have come through legitimate conservative Christian news sources that have never been reported in the mainstream news. There are a few Iraqi and Saudi Christians who are being sentenced in court for being Christian, and these stories apparently aren't compelling enough for US media to pick up and report on.

Afghanistan is an extremely conservative Muslim country--under the Taliban, women had to wear the burka or be put to death, and it was illegal for women to work, even if they had no other source of income, basically sentencing them to death, and it was a death sentence if you got caught teaching women to read--not a good scene. So, the fact that Christians could be put to death for their faith is not so outlandish.

Not necessarily--it may or may not be true. There have been several stories that have come through legitimate conservative Christian news sources that have never been reported in the mainstream news. There are a few Iraqi and Saudi Christians who are being sentenced in court for being Christian, and these stories apparently aren't compelling enough for US media to pick up and report on.

Afghanistan is an extremely conservative Muslim country--under the Taliban, women had to wear the burka or be put to death, and it was illegal for women to work, even if they had no other source of income, basically sentencing them to death, and it was a death sentence if you got caught teaching women to read--not a good scene. So, the fact that Christians could be put to death for their faith is not so outlandish.

Agreed Jae. It all has to do with the drive by media's agenda.

I wonder if the families of Afghani civilians that get killed in the crossfire between Taliban and Joint Forces operations get the time to send annoying chain emails too.

I wonder if the families of Joint forces troops that get killed in the crossfire between Taliban and Joint Forces operations get the time to send annoying chain emails too.

death knows no distinction between creed.

legitimate conservative Christian news sources

These are about as reliable and unbiased as legitimate conservative Islamic news sources :D

mtfbwya

These are about as reliable and unbiased as legitimate conservative Islamic news sources :D
Agreed. I wish that there was a news source whose only agenda was to report the news.

Anything that has the ending of "send this to as many..." is pretty much a spam message.

....never trust Cain-texts, obviously.

_EW_

Fixed.

....never trust Caine, obviously.

Double fixed!!
I wouldn't trust Michael Caine either. Have you seen the 'Jack The Ripper' miniseries...? I'm pretty sure he was drunk during the whole thing :D

http://www.televisionheaven.co.uk/jackrip1.jpg)

mtfbwya

Agreed. I wish that there was a news source whose only agenda was to report the news.And I wished I was born rich, unfortunately, some stuff aren't possible. At least not something so utopic.

And I wished I was born rich, unfortunately, some stuff aren't possible. At least not something so utopic.
I wouldn't say such a news source is impossible or utopian, but it's just that such a source won't stand in the face of competition.

Wow, thats so shocking because violence never happens in Afgani-never-shoulda-been-one-united-country-stan. People kill each other every day, not just because of the west vs taliban war but because its their culture. People are probably gonna whine police me out on that comment that theyre not savage barbarians who kill each other over everything. You'll be right, they dont kill each other over everything. They kill each other over who supported what from the arrival of Islam to the modern period with the Russian invasion and the Western terrorist hunt. The disputes between different groups in that area make Iraq's cultural issues look like non issues. This isnt about to change in a couple of years because more invaders came to tell them to change again.

Hey, I got this text message today saying:

"Please pray for the 22 Christian missionary families that will be executed today in Afghanistan! Please spread ths fast 2 as many will pray"


Some preliminary googling come up with a lot of people asking about it on Q/A sites and blogs, and googling it themselves. So far it doesnt seem like anyone has found anything about it.

The message has been spreading like wildfire all over. All blogs/posts seem to be in the past couple hours.

It looks like a hoax to me, but im not sure. Has anyone heard anything about this?


I call propaganda.

I call propaganda.

Why?

Regardless it is probably based off this, and like Chinese whispers quickly got silly;

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/article2112755.ece)

news sources like this blog (http://christianpersecutionindia.blogspot.com/) about the violence against christians in India (the Orissa thing) seem pretty reliable to me. (notice the message at the top)
(<-- wow, the last time i checked this was around september last year. afaik it started in august. im shocked its *still* going on)

in other news thousands of non-christians were killed in afghanistan,

I think that it is a viral message to be honest...if it were real then it would be on the news. ;)

in other news thousands of non-christians were killed in afghanistan,

I bet if Israeli militants killed 22 Palestinian families, you wouldn't be hearing cain-mails about it.

in other news thousands of non-christians were killed in afghanistan

yeah, this

I bet if Israeli militants killed 22 Palestinian families, you wouldn't be hearing cain-mails about it.yeah well 22 palestinian families is a pretty low ball offer

news sources like this blog (http://christianpersecutionindia.blogspot.com/) about the violence against christians in India (the Orissa thing) seem pretty reliable to me. (notice the message at the top)
(<-- wow, the last time i checked this was around september last year. afaik it started in august. im shocked its *still* going on)

Could you explain to me why you care about this specific incident and not how people of other religions are dying in much greater numbers? Im gonna go off my extremely limited religious knowledge and ask why you're not praying for them seeing as how the Christians are theoretically going to heaven while the others are going to hell, dont you think you should try and make the lives of the supposedly damned better?

Moved to Kavars, getting a bit too serious for Ahto ;) -- j7

@jawathehutt:
You know what I noticed? Nobody panics when things go "according to plan"…even if the plan is horrifying. If tomorrow I told the press that, like, a gang-banger will get shot, or a truck load of soldiers will be blown up, nobody panics...because it's all part of the plan. But when I say that one little old mayor will die... well, then everyone loses their minds!

in other news thousands of non-christians were killed in afghanistan,

Make a thread about it then. I'm sure the OP wasn't posting this because he thought the Deaths of 22 Christian Families is more important than thousands of non-Christian's who Die in War Zones, But, the fact that these 22 families (I assume consisting of women and Children) are supposedly being Executed for being Christian makes it jump of the page a bit.

in other news thousands of non-christians were killed in afghanistan,

QFE+T

I assume consisting of women and Children) are supposedly being Executed for being Christian makes it jump of the page a bit.

Were this true, its appearance in western media would be more prevalent than a chain letter.
Most Afghan Christians left Afghanistan upon the instillment of the Taliban. If something like this has happened, they would be able to report it without fear of reprisal. The news item J7 mentioned was widely reported, and a likely progenitor of the facts from which subsequent reports were distorted.

http://www.afghanhost.com)
(pro Christian Afghan news site - has no mention of aforementioned atrocity)

http://afghantimes.com)
(less of a Christian emphasis on this site, but openly report contriversial events of Christian Abdul Rahman. Also no mention of aforementioned atrocity)

The veracity of the content of said chain letter is pretty questionable...but is that surprising?

mtfbwya

Completely agree, Just thought jmac's comment was a bit "So you dont care that non-Christians Die huh?" Rather than my actual thoughts on the authenticity of the claim, or the fairness of racial/religious death media coverage

Could you explain to me why you care about this specific incident and not how people of other religions are dying in much greater numbers? Im gonna go off my extremely limited religious knowledge and ask why you're not praying for them seeing as how the Christians are theoretically going to heaven while the others are going to hell, dont you think you should try and make the lives of the supposedly damned better?

who said i didnt care about the others? that is a huge leap to a conclusion on your part. i never said anything about ignoring all the other religious violence. it seems youve assumed quite a bit.
i believe falung gong (i think thats it) followers face much persecution in china. they get the same treatment as christians do there, and its shocking. the same way i think how a paralytic man was doused in petrol and set alight for being christian is horrific.
Source (http://christianpersecutionindia.blogspot.com/2008/10/paralytic-burnt-alive-in-kandhamal.html)

Were this true, its appearance in western media would be more prevalent than a chain letter.
of course. but i posted it because even though i thought it was a hoax, i believed i couldve been wrong. and seeing that all other info about it i found on the net had been posted only a few hours before, i thought that perhaps news stations etc wouldve taken a while to make their news pieces. ;)

The veracity of the content of said chain letter is pretty questionable...but is that surprising? its not that far fetched at all...

who said i didnt care about the others? that is a huge leap to a conclusion on your part. i never said anything about ignoring all the other religious violence. it seems youve assumed quite a bit.

You posted a thread about christian families dying, but non-christians die every day in similar fashions, and AFAIK, you haven't posted a thread for them. How is he assuming anything? The proof is in the pudding.

You posted a thread about christian families dying, but non-christians die every day in similar fashions, and AFAIK, you haven't posted a thread for them. How is he assuming anything? The proof is in the pudding.

Why bother on a thread on Palestinians, when 2.5 million Sudanese people are slowly dying? 5,000 are dying each month. Proof is in the pudding...

You take this attitude and soon there aren't going to be any threads about anything. If I posted a thread about how 22 Muslim families had been kidnapped by Hindu extremists and were being threatened with execution would that be similarly wrong?

Why bother on a thread on Palestinians, when 2.5 million Sudanese people are slowly dying? 5,000 are dying each month. Proof is in the pudding...

You take this attitude and soon there aren't going to be any threads about anything. If I posted a thread about how 22 Muslim families had been kidnapped by Hindu extremists and were being threatened with execution would that be similarly wrong?

Yes, it would, and maybe there shouldn't be threads about anything if you can't give all the issues equal coverage, as they're all equally horrendous. I'm of the opinion that pretending like you're saving the world by talking about one issue or doing charity work for one disease or condition is a good way to pat yourself on the back while the world continues to be ****. Don't bring it up if you can't bring everything up, because you can report on 22 families getting killed, but so long as the numbers rise, it'll just be reporting the next in a long, LONG line of deaths.

You want to talk about something, debate about how to fix something? Look at the larger picture. Your little battle to save the lives of a few isn't going to work. Not enough people care.

As futile as it might be, someone saving people from one disaster is still saving people, people as in living breathing human beings who are probably enjoying being saved. Compare the guy who doesen't fight the little battles. He won't save any people at all, guess who is making a bigger impact.

As futile as it might be, someone saving people from one disaster is still saving people, people as in living breathing human beings who are probably enjoying being saved. Compare the guy who doesen't fight the little battles. He won't save any people at all, guess who is making a bigger impact.

That is pretty much a line of waste material that has no weight on this argument. Are there people that fight the little battles? Yes. Are they important? Yes. Is anyone here one of those people? Probably not, because those people are getting shot at, living in unsanitary conditions and feeding starving children, or playing some games with child cancer patients right now. I never said that people in various organisations who save civilians and fight our battles aren't important, but when it comes to discussing issues from the comfort of our computer chairs, I think we can spend our time on more important things than the smaller battles. Like voting. Because I'm pretty sure you can get more done by putting a good person in power than you can get from talking about saving the little people but not actually saving them, because that person is in a position to actually change the world.

None of us are actually fighting any battles that will make a difference. We're just telling ourselves we are by talking about it and caring.

You do realise, that your post is actually a contradiction that doesn't make any sense? Observe;

Yes, it would, and maybe there shouldn't be threads about anything if you can't give all the issues equal coverage, as they're all equally horrendous.

Firstly please explain to me;

a) Why you bother posting here, if all the threads are not equal coverage.
b) Why I don't see a trillion posts by you, giving equal coverage to all the horrible things going on in the world?

So we shouldn't discuss anything because we can't give everything equal coverage? Indeed, how can any individual give all issues equal coverage, last time I checked I wasn't omnipotent. It is impossible to give all the issues equal attention; you don't give everything equal attention, so why do you think anyone else should?

I'm of the opinion that pretending like you're saving the world by talking about one issue or doing charity work for one disease or condition is a good way to pat yourself on the back while the world continues to be ****.

Again this makes no sense, why bother trying to change anything if it doesn't make a difference? Further more, if small things aren't done, how does anything get better, last time I checked, I didn't see superman flying around the world.

Watch your contradiction again; Why do you bother trying to save Lucas Forums, from the various apparent injustices around, when millions of Africans are dying every day? Seriously, which is more important?

Don't bring it up if you can't bring everything up, because you can report on 22 families getting killed, but so long as the numbers rise, it'll just be reporting the next in a long, LONG line of deaths.

You can bring any subject, of a serious nature in Kavars, this is one thread about a specific issue.

You want to talk about something, debate about how to fix something? Look at the larger picture. Your little battle to save the lives of a few isn't going to work. Not enough people care.

So, you contradicted yourself again, how does one change the bigger picture if no-one cares? You cannot change the bigger picture, without changing the small picture you influence. I can 'save the lives' of those I love, so why not do that? Why not do what I can? Instead of attempting 'to look at the bigger picture' and actually doing nothing.

Don't bring it up if you can't bring everything up, because you can report on 22 families getting killed, but so long as the numbers rise, it'll just be reporting the next in a long, LONG line of deaths.

You want to talk about something, debate about how to fix something? Look at the larger picture. Your little battle to save the lives of a few isn't going to work. Not enough people care.

This is an unreasonable request. People are free to bring up whatever issues are important to them. Telling them to bring everything up isn't going to work.

The work has to start somewhere, Adavardes. One person can make a difference somewhere, but it has to start with one person helping at somewhere.

None of us are actually fighting any battles that will make a difference. We're just telling ourselves we are by talking about it and caring.BS. I just saved a guy from going blind last night be giving him an appropriate diagnosis of glaucoma and arranging for treatment. I've saved a friend from dying by suicide in the last few months. I've rescued a friend who was having an deadly allergic reaction to a bee sting. I've kept a few other people alive until the ambulance could get to them to take them to the hospital. I've helped countless others deal with their blindness, or treated eye infections, or helped prevent them from going blind by treating their eye disease. I've held my grandmother's hand as she died so she didn't die alone.

The people I've saved from going blind have stayed productive in the work force or in their homes, and that's made a huge difference to the people around them, their own independence, and kept them off of disability, which helps all of us. Try and tell some of the people I've helped keep their sight that it hasn't made a difference.

Maybe you feel you haven't made a difference, but others have, and will. Don't belittle people here because you're having what appears to be some serious unhappiness with life.

@Jae: I don't understand why that was in mod colour. To differentiate where I'm speaking as a mod versus where I'm speaking as a fellow forum member. --Jae

@jonathan7: Read my post just before yours. Oh, and don't place my qualms with LF in your argument. It's kind of useless.

@jonathan7: Read my post just before yours. Oh, and don't place my qualms with LF in your argument. It's kind of useless.

Your post fails to address any of my points, no the point about LF is perfectly valid, this is a small little internet site, it really doesn't matter.

That is pretty much a line of waste material that has no weight on this argument. Are there people that fight the little battles? Yes. Are they important? Yes. Is anyone here one of those people? Probably not, because those people are getting shot at, living in unsanitary conditions and feeding starving children, or playing some games with child cancer patients right now. I never said that people in various organisations who save civilians and fight our battles aren't important, but when it comes to discussing issues from the comfort of our computer chairs, I think we can spend our time on more important things than the smaller battles. Like voting. Because I'm pretty sure you can get more done by putting a good person in power than you can get from talking about saving the little people but not actually saving them, because that person is in a position to actually change the world.

None of us are actually fighting any battles that will make a difference. We're just telling ourselves we are by talking about it and caring.

I work for a Charity thanks, I've been all over the world, worked in homeless shelters, looked after destitute children in third world countries, and been in a war zone - so please, don't make judgements, when you have no data available.

You obviously ignored this the last time I posted it at you;

"I have no data yet. It is a capital mistake to theorise before one has data. Insensibly one begins to twist facts to suit theories, instead of theories to suit facts". – Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s detective Sherlock Holmes

One of the other Moderators here, has worked for the UN and been shot at, so please unless your God, I don't see how you can know what different people here do.

Your little battle to save the lives of a few isn't going to work. Not enough people care. In my opinion saving one person is enough to justify my actions. I will even take it down to an extreme level. If I can brighten one person’s day relieve some of the stress and heartache of their life, then it is worth my effort at least to me. I’m not out to change or save the world. That is beyond my capabilities. However, that does not mean I cannot make my part of it a little better and a little more pleasant for those around me.

Also isn’t the first step in changing a problem admitting there is a problem and then examining that problem for the best solution in solving it? I don’t know how well presenting a solution would be if there was not a problem or if the presenter did not have the knowledge necessary to present a solution with a feasible chance of working.

Mmk, so tell me, how does talking about this online help? Please, tell me, how does adressing one isolated incident and not actually physically resolving it do anything. Please tell me why discussing it on a forum that doesn't matter in the grand scheme of the world resolves anything.

It's neat that you've fought little battles. Good for you, you're to be commended for doing your part for humanity. It doesn't change the fact that talking about those same little battles here will ultimately have no impact on our world. If we're going to sit behind our screens and talk about world affairs and politics, let's talk about the big picture and not how tragic one of many incidents is. You read exactly what you wanted to read, and made it out that I was attacking you or insinuating that you didn't do your part. No wonder my posts don't make sense to you.

b) Why I don't see a trillion posts by you, giving equal coverage to all the horrible things going on in the world?

Because I don't ever post a thread unless it's about a world leader or a world issue that affects everyone, not a solitary incident like this. All or nothing.

So, you contradicted yourself again, how does one change the bigger picture if no-one cares?

This is funny, because it ignores a large part of my sentence.

Not enough people care.

What does that mean? That means talking about a singular issue that only effects a small amount of people ONLINE isn't going to do anything. Now, if you talk about an issue everybody cares about, that effects everybody, you're getting somewhere, because then you have majority participation of the masses. The fact of the matter is that this thread is doing nothing, but pretending to be doing something. I'd prefer to do something by looking at the bigger picture, or doing something by actually doing it, not talking about doing it.

Mmk, so tell me, how does talking about this online help? Please, tell me, how does adressing one isolated incident and not actually physically resolving it do anything. Please tell me why discussing it on a forum that doesn't matter in the grand scheme of the world resolves anything.

The bigger question is why are you doing this? Not me, I'm not the one arguing that this is a waste of time.

What does that mean? That means talking about a singular issue that only effects a small amount of people ONLINE isn't going to do anything. Now, if you talk about an issue everybody cares about, that effects everybody, you're getting somewhere, because then you have majority participation of the masses. The fact of the matter is that this thread is doing nothing, but pretending to be doing something. I'd prefer to do something by looking at the bigger picture, or doing something by actually doing it, not talking about doing it.

I thought most of the masses didn't care, so why are they going to participate? Why are you even in the forum, instead of 'doing something about it'?

so tell me, how does talking about this online help? Please, tell me, how does adressing one isolated incident and not actually physically resolving it do anything. Please tell me why discussing it on a forum that doesn't matter in the grand scheme of the world resolves anything. I don't know. It is my opinion that knowledge is always useful. I like discussing issues so I can see how important or how unimportant people view certain issues. I also believe it is important to build awareness of what is happening in the world. Awareness is very important. Don’t believe me? Look at the money spent by business, churches, political parties, charities… on advertisement and product and name placement to build awareness of their product.

The truth is this is an international forum. It is entirely possible that someone may see this and know of the incident. Someone may be able to validate the claim. Even better if there is someone able to protest it. But just because there is one small event that doesn't mean it isn't important.

If you don't find it important, why is it important enough to comment in?

Hey, I got this text message today saying:

"Please pray for the 22 Christian missionary families that will be executed today in Afghanistan! Please spread ths fast 2 as many will pray"

this?

I found this info on the internet

http://www.csw.org.uk/urgentactionafghanistantextmessage.htm)

I found this info on the internet

http://www.csw.org.uk/urgentactionafghanistantextmessage.htm)


Surprisingly, I never seem to get bored of being right :xp:

It's sad to see that 2 of the missionaries died, but it's good to know the rest were released.

*arguments about futility and uselessness of thread.*
i could reply to this, but any counterarguments i have have been deftly presented by Jonathan and Jae.

Mmk, so tell me, how does talking about this online help? Please, tell me, how does adressing one isolated incident and not actually physically resolving it do anything. Please tell me why discussing it on a forum that doesn't matter in the grand scheme of the world resolves anything.
have you considered the possibility that someone who read this thread may have been at a critical point in their life where they were contemplating what to do with their life and this could have been the inspiration they needed to make the decision? what if, because of this thread, some person helped a hundred others in a war zone? I cant help but think of kreia's echo gospel that she preached so much.

I found this info on the internet
thanks. this will be a useful link to point to anyone who asks about this.