People spreading this twelve-year old rumor urge others to boycott P&G products and to write to P&G in protest. But, it's not true! No P&G officer has ever appeared on Donahue or any other such show and discussed this. The man in the moon" symbol on many P&G products goes back over 100 years, and has no astrological or satanic implications. It is simply a common image used in advertising at the time.

Another rumor making the rounds among Christians is that Madalyn Murray O'Hair (the outspoken atheist) is trying to get all religious broadcasting removed from the airwaves through a petition to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). This one is not true either.

When Christians do not verify the circulating rumors, then at least two things happen:

• someone pays for others' ignorance. The FCC spends at least $2 million per year to handle the petitions sent to protest this supposed ban on religious broadcasts. The P&G rumor costs P&G money, too, and who pays? Everyone does, through higher costs at the grocery store.

• Christians look foolish. Most of the people who pass these rumors around are conservative evangelical Christians. The FCC and Procter & Gamble receive our indignant protests and probably think there are a lot of gullible people out there who believe these rumors, and that reflects poorly on our Lord Jesus Christ.