Jenny's blog

Not Christian Enough

I got another one of those weird Christian emails today; you know the ones: “Jesus kills people who mocked him (like John Lennon and Marilyn Monroe)” or “America is God’s Special Chosen Country” or “In God We Trust missing from US dollar coin” or “crazy liberals are taking prayer out of schools” or “lunatic goverment officials threatening Touched by an Angel”.

I hate those emails.

First off, they come from a friend you love and respect: a fellow Christian.

They’re full of unreliable (at best) propaganda or lying tripe (at worst).

Then they try to guilt you by saying something like “send this on and get 45 prayers” or “email if you love Jesus” or “pass this on because you believe in the Bible, too”.

AND finally they demand accountability by asking you to email them back (so they’ll know you passed the junk on.

Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr…………

I believe in the Bible, I love prayers, and Jesus is my Savior, too, but don’t people THINK about the stuff they read, or worse, pass along???? Gosh. I seem to be especially susceptible to it because I have a religious website. Do people really think I’m going to pass along the words from your friend-of-a-friend’s-missionary-companion’s-golden-convert’s patriarchal blessing or the stories about the “little birdies” or other LDS/Christian drivel to the 4-5,000 people who visit this site each day?

Apparently they do.

But I guess I’m just not Christian Enough for all that bible-thumpin’-savin’-sinners-thru-email forwarding.

Ah well. I’ve learned to ignore emails with certain headings: “don’t miss this” or “you’ll never believe it” or “open within 3 days or die” or “Christians unite” or “this one’s for the troops” or “petition HBO” ….

BTW Christian Emailers: “In God We Trust” _IS_ in fact inscribed on the new dollar coin. It’s on the outer edge. Read http://www.snopes.com/, for crying out loud.

Posted by Jenny Smith

I'm Jenny Smith. I blog about life on the 300+ acres of rolling farmland in Northern Virginia where I live. I like tomatoes, all things Star Trek, watercolor, and reading. I spend most days in the garden fighting deer and groundhogs while trying to find my life's meaning. I'm trying to be like Jesus -- emphasis on the trying.