Volume 32

On April 1st, 1957 British TV reported that a mild winter and declines in the pasta weevil population meant Swiss farmers were harvesting a bigger than usual spaghetti crop. It showed footage of peasants pulling strands of spaghetti from trees. Hundreds called to learn how to grow their own spaghetti trees.

In 1962, Sweden’s only TV network said new technology made it possible for black and white shows to be seen in colour. All viewers had to do, as demonstrated by technical expert Kjell Stensson, was pull a nylon stocking over their TV screen. Thousands did. Actual colour TV didn’t hit Sweden until 1970 — ironically, on April 1st.

One of the worst spoof goofs was in 1996 when Taco Bell said it had bought that famous symbol of American freedom, the Liberty Bell, and was renaming it the Taco Liberty Bell. Hundreds vented their outrage until Taco Bell revealed it was a joke. White House rep Mike McCurry smirked that the Lincoln Memorial had also been sold, and would be renamed the Ford Lincoln Mercury Memorial.

On April Fool’s Day two years later, Burger King ran a full page ad in USA Today to say it had developed a “Left-Handed Whopper” for America’s 32 million southpaws. When thousands went looking for the new burger — or requested “the right-handed version” — the company had to issue a news release explaining it was all a stunt.

Even science gets into the act. In its April 1995 issue, Discover magazine said wildlife expert Dr. Aprile Pazzo had found a new species in Antarctica: the hotheaded naked ice borer. With bony plates on their heads that grew red hot when fed by tiny blood vessels, these creatures reportedly burned through ice to hunt penguins. In a similar vein, British astronomer Patrick Moore told BBC radio that the planet Pluto would pass behind Jupiter on April 1st, temporarily lessening Earth's gravity so, if listeners jumped in the air at exactly 9.47 a.m., they’d experience a strange floating sensation. On cue, BBC got hundreds of calls from listeners claiming they’d felt it. One woman said she and eleven friends had floated around the room.

Hoaxes like these are most effective when they appeal to what we secretly want, use even a tiny element of truth, or beguile us into believing what we’re told by supposed experts. This happens all the time in the religious world, too. Though we must always leave room for the miraculous workings of God, we have to be careful not to fall for the schemes and scares of scammers and scallywags.

Many people of faith have been mocked or milked dry by those who’ve offered to deliver what’s held deep within the heart. Need tangible evidence of God? You can see the face of Jesus in this bagel. Need cancer cured? Send your generous offering to the televangelist. Even when trying to discern what God wants us to do, it’s vital that we not listen only to what we want to hear, especially knowing that Satan masquerades as “an angel of light”(2 Cor. 11:14)

By focussing on a tiny mustard seed of truth without seeing a mountain of distortion, many Christians have failed to catch on when the holy is transformed into a hoax. Yes, God does want his people to prosper, but that doesn’t mean He intends all of us to be rich, despite today’s health and wealth theology. No, Jesus doesn’t want us to exclude anyone from our love, but that doesn’t obligate us to accept every belief and practice, regardless of their scriptural basis.

But just as so many of us are mystified by the world of science, most people are gullible when it comes to the Gospel. So they trust the self-described experts, whether it’s the mystics, miracle-workers or those who manipulate such speculations as the Jesus tomb. So be vigilant and well-versed in your faith, because when opponents try to put the ho-ho in hoax, it’s seldom a laughing matter.

By Rick Gamble. Published in Cross Current, the weekly newsletter of the followers of Christ congregation in Brantford, Ontario, Canada. Reprint at will in not-for-profit publications. To subscribe to this free weekly article, send a note to Rick at sgamble@bfree.on.ca