Friday, March 24, 2006

This Week in "God"

Stories of faith and irreverence, the latest vitriol from crazy Pat Robertson (he's complaining about radicals!), crazy angels, and more ... it's time for another installment of This Week in "God"! First up, we get touched by "his noodly appendage"...
Church That Reveres "Flying Spaghetti Monster" Finds Growing Following By Jim Beckerman The Record HACKENSACK, N.J. -- Unlike a certain other religion in the news, the First United Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster doesn’t object to cartoon depictions of the supreme being...

...In some pictures, He is shown reaching out to confer the blessings of life and happiness with what church members like to refer to as His “noodly appendage.” Flying Spaghetti Monster could be the next big thing on the pop culture menu...

[ Full Story ]

How do you pick a 'Secretary General' for a group like this...?

Rabbi Calls for 'UN of Religions' By Danny Wood BBC News, Seville Monday, 20 March 2006, 03:53 GMT

The Chief Rabbi of Israel, Yona Metzger, has called for the creation of a world body with representatives from the major religious groups.

Rabbi Metzger was addressing the International Congress of Imams and Rabbis for Peace in Seville, Spain... The imams and rabbis at this conference, which opened on Sunday, say the world is in crisis and it is time they acted to restore justice, respect and peace...

[ Full Story ]

Now, on the surface, this seems to be a pretty good -- perhaps even overdue -- idea. But note that he is calling for representatives from "major religious groups." Aren't some of those "major religious groups" responsible for most of the problems they want to address. And didn't some of those "major religious groups steal traditions or ride rough shod over earlier, indigenous religious expressions? Perhaps the "major religious groups" -- and then the world -- would be better served if they looked to some of what they consider to beminor religious groups. Some of those minor religious groups are already organizing, and probably have much to teach their bigger brethrens. There is the World Congress of Ethnic Religions for example. Athiest sells soul to priest; he gets to keep it but must do homework ...

Atheist: Church isn't a bad place Suzanne Sataline / Wall Street Journal Sunday, March 19, 2006

He sold his soul on eBay to evangelical, who has him critiquing sermons and services.

A few weeks ago, Hemant Mehta posted an unusual item for sale on eBay: a chance to save his soul...

...When the auction stopped on Feb. 3 after 41 bids, the buyer was Jim Henderson, a former evangelical minister from Seattle, whose $504 bid prevailed. Henderson, 58, wasn't looking for a convert. He wanted Mehta to embark with him on an eccentric experiment in spiritual bridge-building. Mehta's mission: attend 10 to 15 services of Henderson's choosing and then write about it for Henderson's Web site, off-the-map.org, whose professed mission is "Helping Christians be normal." "I'm not trying to convert you," Henderson told Mehta. "You're going there almost like a critic. ... If you happen to get converted, that's off the clock."

[ Full Story ]

I like the fact that some of the reviewed priests actually appreciated Mehta's criticism. But I'm not surprised that most of them blew it off.

Crazy Pat is at it again, this time documenting the "101 most dangerous academics in America."

Pat Robertson on College Professors: "You know some of them are killers!" March 21, 2006 Pat Robertson calls liberal professors “racists, murderers, sexual deviants and supporters of Al-Qaeda”

Crooks and Liars has the video of Pat Robertson in another one of his "moments."

Hat tip to People for the American Way for their coverage.

[ Full Story ]

C'mon, Pat, you really have to face the truth: No professor in America is a more dangerous radical than you!

From the "You should have seen the one that got away!" department...
'Angel' Claims He Killed Devil African Eye, via News24.com, South Africa Mar. 22, 2006 Zinkie Sithole www.news24.com Nelspruit - "I have killed the devil. He is dead. I killed him on February 18 this year," says Seuntjie "Mortalman" Nhleko, who claims to be an angel.

The 22-year-old, who lives in Zwelisha outside Nelspruit, said on Wednesday: "People say I'm crazy, but I hear God's voice inside me that tells me that I have a special purpose."

Nhleko said his rebirth as "Mortalman" took place on February 4 last year. "While I was praying, I heard a voice that told me not to be afraid. "It told me I would change forever and that all the people in the world were my children, including Jesus," he said.

[ Full Story ]

Nietzsche proclaimed, "God is dead," way back in 1882. So I suppose it was only a matter of time until someone finally offed the devil (only took 124 years). But here's what I don't understand: If Mortalman actually succeeded in killing the devil, and Satan is no more, then ... what exactly explains the fact that Dick Cheny is still sucking down oxygen? Hey, I'm just asking!

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