What Emails Would Jesus Forward?

Recently, I received an Email forward that claimed to be an appeal from radio psychologist Dr. James Dobson asking my help in fighting famous Atheist Madeline Murray O'Hare. The Email claimed that she was responsible for 'Touched By An Angel' being taken off the air, and now she was trying to take all Christian broadcasting off the air.

It turns out this is a hoax. Dr. Dobson has made no such appeal. 'Touched By An Angel' was a successful program that ran for 9 seasons (1994- 2003) and simply ran its course. O'Hare disappeared in 1995. In 2001, authorities in Texas found her remains in a shallow grave.

The Email ended with a "PETITION TO REINSTATE PRAYER IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS." You're supposed to add your name to the bottom of the list and forward it on to everyone in your address book. The one millionth signer was supposed to Email the whole shebang to President George W. Bush.

The guy doesn't even have Email, he's said he doesn't believe in it. If you were President, would you open any Emails with a Million "Fwd: Fw: Fw: Fw:" in the subject line?

So, who would write these prayers for public schools? Southern Baptists? Methodists? Roman Catholics? Greek Orthodox? Lutheran? These groups are all Christians, yet there are many Evangelical Protestants who do not believe that Coptics, Lutherans and Catholics are true Christians.

The Lutheran Church Missouri Synod doesn't recognize 7th Day Adventists as actual Christians because they deny the doctrine of the Trinity taught in the canonical Creeds.
Jehovah's Witnesses and Mormons are not Christians, although many of them think that they are. What if my child had a Scientologist teacher? Or a Unitarian or a Jew, Hindu, Hare Krishna or Buddhist? Or what about a practitioner of Wicca or some other neo-pagan tradition?

I'm a public school teacher and I don't believe that it's my place to tell my students how to pray, let alone what to believe. If they are Christian, and it's okay with their parents, I would love to encourage, help nurture and mentor their faith. But the time for that is outside of class, not in front of all their classmates during time meant for Journalism, Art or whatever other subject matter. The last line of the Email said this:

"REMEMBER! : Our country was founded on freedom of religion."

Many people these days are proud of the fact that the Pilgrims founded the Plymouth colony for religious freedom. But who were they seeking freedom from? King James I, as in "the King James Bible." Protestants and Christians were killing each other in England in Jesus name for decades. The Puritans weren't exactly known for offering religious freedom to others, heretics, Jews, and of course accused witches certainly weren't.

The Plymouth Company that founded the Massachusetts Bay Colony and the London Company that founded Jamestown were businesses. America was founded on making money, even if it was Christians who did it.

Please, read Matthew 6:5-7 and rethink your position. Jesus never forces Himself on anyone.

If you want you kids to pray in school, enroll them in a Christian school. May I suggest a few excellent Lutheran Schools- visit http://www.valpo.edu/lutheran/lhsdir/index.htm

The separation of Church and state is the price we pay for our freedom of religion.
I loved the "Touched by an Angel" show, but lets face it, the true religion of America is consumerism. Money makes TV networks turn-round. If your faith in and relationship with Jesus is important to you, turn off your TV and open your Bible. You'll win more souls by being like Him, and near Him than by trying to force a cultural/political agenda on anyone, by TV programming, petitions, prayer in public schools, or Spam Emails.

"I would rather be exposed to the inconveniences attending too much liberty than to those attending too small a degree of it." - Thomas Jefferson