Believe It Or Not: 7 Facts You’re Not Supposed To Know About Religion
[Site editor's note: the Huffington Post recently published some excerpts from the new Disinformation title 50 Things You're Not Supposed To Know: Religion, authored by Daniele Bolelli.]
Religion is one of those big taboo topics that many people are terrified to touch: too afraid that others will question their religious loyalties and just as afraid to step on the minefield that is the overhyped sensitivity of some believers.
And this is precisely why it is so much fun to talk about it.
People, after all, live and die in the names of religious values, so the stakes of what we are playing with couldn’t be any higher. And yet, few fields can make many human beings as unwilling to face the evidence as religion. It is exactly because these ideas are so central to their lives that they don’t want anyone to plant doubts in their minds.
If this is you—if you are afraid of tackling contradictions,…
Jesus’ Face Appears In British Woman’s Laundry Sock
It’s common knowledge that Christ manifests himself by appearing in everyday items — here’s his first visitation of 2012. Via the Daily Mail:
This image of Jesus’ face was found on a sock among items of laundry in Kent. Sarah Crane, from Orpington, was stunned when she hung her laundry out to dry and discovered the face of Jesus staring back at her.
I’d left the washing out to dry overnight – and it had probably been sitting there a bit too long when I noticed the face in the sock,’ she said. ‘I called my boyfriend over straight away – we could both clearly see the face of Jesus in the sock.
Miss Crane said she began making a shrine to the sock, but when she moved it, some of its delicate creases fell away and the image is now not as clear.
God’s Hit Man
[Site editor's note: The following is an excerpt from the new Disinformation title 50 Things You're Not Supposed To Know: Religion, authored by Daniele Bolelli.]
Since the dawn of time, God’s faithful followers have been locked in a war without mercy against the forces of evil. Christian theology (and Muslim too, for that matter) is clear on this matter. This is a fight that can’t stop until the final showdown at the end of times, when God’s partisans will drown their enemies once and for all in rivers of blood. Until then, the battle rages on, and the entire earth is divided in opposing armies. Neutrality is just not an option. Much like rust, Evil never sleeps, and its agents are constantly busy trying to hurt the followers of the one true faith. Given this outlook, it then logically follows that it is wise for God’s people to strike down the devil’s…
Christian Faith Requires Accepting Evolution
Jonathan Dudley writes on Huffington Post:
As someone raised evangelical, I realize anti-evolutionists believe they are defending the Christian tradition. But as a seminary graduate now training to be a medical scientist, I can say that, in reality, they’ve abandoned it.
In theory, if not always in practice, past Christian theologians valued science out of the belief that God created the world scientists study. Augustine castigated those who made the Bible teach bad science, John Calvin argued that Genesis reflects a commoner’s view of the physical world, and the Belgic confession likened scripture and nature to two books written by the same author.
These beliefs encouraged past Christians to accept the best science of their day, and these beliefs persisted even into the evangelical tradition. As Princeton Seminary’s Charles Hodge, widely considered the father of modern evangelical theology, put it in 1859: “Nature is as truly a revelation of God as the Bible;…
A Crisis of Faith
The Infinite and the Beyond — Podcast: Episode #016 — A Crisis of Faith
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In the latest episode of The Infinite and the Beyond, we talk with fellow podcaster and author Jeva Singh-Anand about his new book Bedtime Stories for the Faint of Heart. Jeva is the host of the Lance and Graal podcast and Professor Zarnoff’s Channel on YouTube. We also discuss his background as a former Christian Fundamentalist and what happened to cause him to move away from his life as a fundamentalist.
I go back to Lodge after a year of staying away from it and I share my experiences with that return. We learn about 16th century heresy in this episode’s edition of A Corner in the Occult as we learn about Father Giordano Bruno. I read a single listener message to a nostalgic pagan podcaster music track. I also announce a contest for this episode.
Dr. Deepak Sarma and the History of Hinduism on The Black Fridays
The Black Fridays Bonus Episode 27 — Dr. Deepak Sarma
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The Black Fridays welcomes Dr. Deepak Sarma this week for a discussion on the nature of faith, the Hindu faith, and Hindu interpetations of paranormal phenomena. A fascinating discussion that I am sure you will enjoy. Dr. Sarma is a Professor or Religious Studies at Case Western Reserve University. Sarma earned his M.A. in religious studies and his Ph.D. in philosophy of religion from the University of Chicago. He has a B.A. in religious studies from Reed College in Portland, Ore.
Lord Save Us From Your Followers
Interesting new movie about the religious clashes occurring around America today. Official site here.
