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Bogus petition concerning removal of Christian programming from the airwaves once again circulating
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Be sure the petition you are signing is real
A bogus e-mail is once again circulating that encourages Christians to sign a petition to prevent an unnamed organization from succeeding in getting the FCC to eliminate religious broadcasting from the airwaves. This is a decades-old hoax that has repeatedly surfaced since the 1970's in various forms. The e-mail that appeared in the JWS Ministries inbox this week, entitled "Pastor removed from television," began with the following statement:
"Removal of Joel Osteen, Joyce Meyer, Charles Stanley, David Jeremiah and other pastors from the airwaves. An organization has been granted a Federal Hearing on the same subject by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in Washington , D.C. Their petition, Number 2493, would ultimately pave the way to stop the reading of the gospel of our Lord and Savior, on the airwaves of America."
The e-mail claims that this unnamed organization has accumulated some 287,000 signatures in support of their cause, and encourages Christians to sign their name to an ever-growing list at the end of the e-mail and forward it to others to do likewise. The e-mail JWS Ministries received included the signatures of 934 people.
Hoax.
The tale that some organization is attempting to remove religious broadcasting from the airwaves is a hoax that has been around for decades. It began as a circular letter in the 1970's claiming that Madelyn Murray O'Hare, the late atheist activist, had filed the petition. After her death in1995, the petitions continued to circulate in various forms. With the advent of the internet, the petitions began circulating in e-mails. Every few years, in some form or another, this petition appears.
Although the main story remains the same, the details tend to vary. Sometimes, it is a petition to the U.S. House of Representatives, usually identified as "H.R. 2493." Other versions claim it is the FCC that is being petitioned. During the popularity of the television series "Touched by an Angel," the petitions claimed that the attempt was to remove that program and other programs that mentioned God.
The FCC has been fighting a losing battle in informing the public that, not only does such a petition not exist, it doesn't have the authority to regulate religious broadcasting.
Origins.
In 1974, Jeremy Lansman and Lorenzo Milam petitioned the FCC to prevent religious organizations from obtaining licenses to broadcast on broadcast channels reserved for education. The original petition, RM 2493, had nothing to do with banning Christian broadcasting, and was turned down in 1975 by the FCC. This should have been the end of the matter, but rumors began to circulate and grow until not only was RM 2493 a bill to ban all religious broadcasting, and the infamous name of Madelyn Murray O'Hare attached to it, but the FCC had to hire extra staff to deal with the incoming petitions.
In the late 1980's, William Murray, former atheist son of O'Hare who had since become a Christian evangelist, actually suggested that his mother's organization was behind the circulation of the petition in order to make Christians look foolish.
No matter the source, the petition continues to circulate, and Christians continue to make themselves look foolish, without any help from atheists, by signing it and circulating it.
Christian response.
How should Christians respond? Obviously, Christians should not sign or circulate this bogus petition. To do so would actually border on a violation of the Ninth Commandment. Beyond this, Christians should realize that it is irresponsible to sign and circulate any petition making any sort of claim without first checking out the facts.
In the case of the H.R. 2493 hoax, numerous articles have been published over the years in denominational newspapers (not to mention the secular media). Pastors and church leaders have told their congregations for years about the existence of this hoax. Websites such as snopes.com have repeatedly published denouncements of the hoax. Yet, many people continue to sign and circulate this bogus petition.
When a believer is asked to sign this bogus petition, he should lovingly and gently inform the person from who he received it of its fictitious nature.
It is commendable for believers to want to get involved in defending their faith, and defending their right to promote the Christian faith on the airwaves. But the efforts, energy, time, and work should be reserved for legitimate battles. There are certainly plenty of those.
Jesse welcomes your e-mails, comments, and feedback.
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