Last week I started receiving Facebook
messages from people wondering why they were getting a friend request from me
when I was already their friend. It
turned out; I was the victim of what has become a very common thing on Facebook
and in social media: Somebody was
impersonating me without my knowledge or permission.
Someone had lifted an online picture of me, and some other
public photo’s of mine, and put together a Facebook page, using information
about me available online. That person
then opened a Facebook account pretending to be me. The only thing the phony got wrong was my
gender. For some reason he/she listed me
as a woman! This last mistake was a red
flag to people who actually knew me.
Why do this? Why pretend to be someone else online? There are several reasons someone might want
to impersonate you in social media. If
someone is tricked into accepting an imposter as a “friend,” then that phony
friend has access to information posted for friends only. It’s a way of data-mining, as the practice
has come to be called. It also gives the
imposter fake credibility, since he/she can make comments or give advice
pretending to be you, thus tricking people into taking the imposter seriously. More disturbingly, it can be a way of
smearing someone’s character, since a person impersonating you can post things
supposedly from you that make you look bad.
I reported it to Facebook several times, and when some of my
friends started reporting it, the fake account was closed down. A big “thank you” to my friends who reported
the imposter! So if you have a friend
being impersonated, report it right away.
You may think this is a new problem, but it goes back to
Jesus’ day. There are many books claiming
to be written by Paul, Peter, Andrew, Judas, Mary, and a whole host of early followers
of Jesus. These books were almost
certainly written by people pretending to be them. If you’re interested in reading these books check
out one of the online collections of “Pseudepigrapha” – the fancy name used by
scholars for the library of ancient books written by imposters.
.Jesus himself warns against those who would impersonate
him!
Then Jesus began to say to them,
"Beware that no one leads you astray.
Many will come in my name and say, "I am he!' and they will lead
many astray (Mark 13:5-6 NRSV).
Not everyone speaking for Jesus, God, the Holy Spirit, or
the Apostles, is really speaking for them.
And to spot the imposters, there are some simple things to look
for.
Jesus is all about love (of even enemies), forgiveness,
healing, and grace. Anyone who doesn’t
speak with these qualities isn’t speaking with the mind of Christ. And since Jesus is a reflection of God,
anyone who doesn’t speak with these qualities isn’t speaking on behalf of God. And since the Holy Spirit is the power of
Jesus and God at work in the world, anyone who doesn’t speak with these
qualities isn’t speaking on behalf of the Holy Spirit. And since the Apostles were filled with and
moved by the Holy Spirit, anyone who doesn’t speak with these qualities
probably isn’t speaking on behalf of the Apostles.
When it comes to me, and other friends of yours, don’t be
fooled by an imposter. And when it comes
to Jesus, God, the Holy Spirit, or any aspect of your faith, it pays to be extra
careful.
In God’s Peace;
The Real David
No comments:
Post a Comment