religion

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If you believe it: kids who live to tell

All the hype about the newly released Amir Bar-Lev documentary--"My Kid Could Paint That"--makes me think of when I was casting "Wiccan types" last year & more than a few mothers kept bragging to me about the past lives of their offspring. Of course, this isn't to cast any shade on Wiccans, or challenge the could-be-a-past-life-reference accounts of families--secular and otherwise--for whom I've babysat. I'm always interested in how families make sense of life & death vis-a-vis the idiosyncrasies of their... READ ON

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Predators and Pray?

If you're looking to put a little Jesus in your paintball routine, make sure to visit Wisconsin's Promised Land, the nation's largest Christian paintball park. Being neither a Christian, nor a Bible scholar, I was a little shocked by the idea, but apparently the facilities are going over incredibly well with pastors, youth group leaders and gun-savvy believers in the region. I guess it makes sense. Apparently, all warfare begins with a group prayer, curses aren't allowed (no... READ ON

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Jonestown

I've always heard of Jonestown and "drinking the Kool-Aid," but I've never known much about it. On this morning's Oregon Public Broadcasting local news segment, I heard an interview with one of only five survivors from Jonestown (he lives in Oregon now). Listen to the interview with Tim Carter, who survived because he was sent away on an errand while the rest of the colony...you know, drank the Kool-Aid. (Actually, apparently it was Flavor Aid.) What was the errand? According to Wikipedia, Carter was... READ ON

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Fake Your Way Through a Conversation About: St. Augustine

Name Dropping: Saint Augustine (Saint Uh-GUSS-tin if you're trying to impress people; St. AWW-guh-steen if you're talking about the town in Florida): (354-430). The most important Christian theologian ever, except for St. Paul, whose thoughts on God ended up filling out the latter half of the New Testament. Augustine didn't get so lucky—but he still gets read by anyone seriously studying the Christian understanding of... READ ON

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Other Holidays to Look Forward to

Since I'm single this Valentine's Day, I figured rather than mope about it, I should be more proactive and get my social calendar in order. That's why I'm penciling in a bunch of holidays to celebrate in advance, just to make sure that when the time comes I'm prepared. Sure, I might have "forgotten" to get myself a lady friend this Valentine's Day, but I guarantee you when The Festival of Snakes comes around, there's no way I'm going to be caught... READ ON

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Verily, it is the Young Men's Christian Association

This photo is floating around the Internet. (I saw it at Happyscrappy, who got it from Jameth, who... and so on.) I'd love to know who these geniuses are, and what the painting is, but honestly, I'm too busy laughing to really... READ ON

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Is this a joke?!

What in the name of Kabballah is going on here? While I've been stunned/fascinated by the sustained growth of the "energy drink market" (and particularly the drinks from these guys), I was completely blindsided by the introduction of the Kabballah Energy Drink. What's particularly confusing to me is that unlike other sacrilicious beverages like HeBrew (The Chosen Beer), this Kabballah liquid seems to come packaged 100% free of irony. According to the ingredient list however, it... READ ON

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The 11th plague was "Piranha 2: The Spawning"

James Cameron's post-Titanic life is just getting weirder and weirder: In The Exodus Decoded, a 90-minute documentary that will be shown in America this month, Cameron and Simcha Jacobovici, the Canadian film producer, claim a volcanic eruption on the Greek archipelago of Santorini triggered a chain of natural catastrophes recorded in the Bible as the 10 plagues that God visited upon Egypt as punishment for enslaving the Jews. Cameron believes the parting of the Red Sea may have been a tsunami that... READ ON

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Raining Cats and Gods

According to UPI reports, this summer's massive drought has spurred public officials in Lubbock, Texas to plead their case to a higher authority "“ you guessed it, they're taking their case to God! In fact, town officials have decided to petition the Big Man with numbers by organizing a massive community prayer. Mayor David Miller, the City Council and the Lubbock County commissioners "are expected to adopt resolutions this week asking local residents to both pray and fast"... READ ON

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Out of Africa, and now back in

According to this article in The Guardian yesterday, a new book has been published to help Africans understand the Bible. Called the "Africa Bible Commentary," the 1,600-pager, "provides explanations of verses from all 66 books of the Bible, using local proverbs and idioms to make reading relevant to African eyes while remaining true to the scriptures. More than a decade in the making, the book has been put together by 70 scholars and theologians from 25 countries, and represents a range of Protestant... READ ON