Finding God in your inbox? Spam goes spiritual

— -- The messages are simple enough.

Some include a prayer, others offer stories or pictures.

Then, slipped into the cyber-epistle, the kicker: If you love God and/or are not ashamed of your religious beliefs, forward the e-mail to a particular number of people.

"Sometimes they are genuine witnessing tools and some of them have a very good, theologically sound, powerful message," said Doug Wilson, assistant professor of Christian studies at the University of Mobile in Alabama.

Others, he said, are lacking in biblical perspective.

"I believe in sharing our faith and doing it openly," Wilson said. But, he added, he doesn't know that forwarding e-mails is an effective method.

While modern technology allows the messages to circulate far and wide, religious chain mail is hardly a new phenomenon.

In her book Not in Kansas Anymore: A Curious Tale of How Magic Is Transforming America, author Christine Wicker noted the popularity of a chain letter circulated in the early 18th century. The missive, "supposedly written by Jesus, promised that those who carried it could not be damaged by guns or swords, but anyone who did not copy and pass it on would be cursed by the Christian church," Wicker writes.

Although those inclined to circulate such letters might consider their actions more hallowed than hoodoo, the idea that a blessing is the result of human action is a magical one, according to Wicker.

"Religion tends toward supplication, whereas magic sets forces into operation, commands, and demands," she explains in Not in Kansas Anymore. "It relies on the power of objects, of symbols, of numbers, of words, and of human will. It empowers human experience over doctrine. Religious people wait on God; magical people push."

By forwarding messages, senders may be hoping for a particular result. But Wicker said such actions may be a way of witnessing and spreading blessings.

Wilson said his decision to share an e-mail "has everything to do with the content, not the blessing or cursing that may be in that tagline."