We're approaching New Year's Eve, which means thousands of tourists flocking to New York to see the ball drop on Times Square. And as you may know, there they can also see other . . . um, anyway, Times Square also gives you a chance for a photo op with the Naked Cowboy, whose entrepreneurial drive has not only resulted in a nice income but has also made him a global icon of Manhattan.
What's he doing here on the BofG?
Look closely on his shoulder.
I said his *shoulder*, people.
Where you will a Jesus tattoo. Then click here for a close-up from the other side to see a pic of the Devil.
I'd make a deep point about how the Naked Cowboy thus embodies the moral complexity of the human race, but I'm too lazy. Sooo . . . happy New Year! Enjoy the champagne or grape juice or whatever other intoxicant-substitute your faith tradition happens to allow.
December 2007 Archives
A great quote from a revealing interview with Persepolis’ Marianne Satrapi at Payvand's Iran News.
The following pictures of Benazir Bhutto may not seem appropriate in light of her recent assassination. Wouldn't it be more respectful to show her in more formal dress with traditional head covering, as has been the norm since her death?
I don't think so. To understand her--and to understand why so many people wanted her dead--we have to go beyond her strategic public image to see her as she was.
HT: Agha Khanium
Over the past year, campaigns for internet censorship and intelligent design have not exactly helped foster an image of religion--and in particular the Christian faith--as a progressive force in technological advancement.
But it was not always thus.
Case in point: the world's first telephone book. Which, truth to tell, was just a telephone page, listing everyone who had a telephone connection in New Haven, Connecticut.
Loke closely and you'll see that the first person listed is the Rev. John E. Todd, pastor of the New Haven Church of the Redeemer. This prime page space was not given to Todd out of respect for his pastoral office. It's actually a nod to one of the weird facts of telephone history: for a while the good Reverend was the only person in the city willing to get one.
Really. The company distributed 1,000 flyers and was rewarded with only one subscriber, the aforementioned Rev. Todd. Thus encouraged the entrepreneurs pressed on, adding some doctors, a few dry goods merchants, a couple of stables (the transportation industry!) and the police. Cutting-edge journalists--the Yale News and the New Haven Register--and even a lawyer also got into the act.
The world's first commercial dedicated telephone exchange would be sustainable after all.
But it might have never happened if a forward-thinking pastor hadn't had pledged his faith in the future of an untried technology. Instead of imploding as Bell's folly, by March 1st, the phone company would have enough subscribers that it could afford to have operators make connections all night.
So remember--the next time you make a 3 a.m. booty call or phone a 1-900 sex chat, you can thank the Church of the Redeemer.
The video above attempts to lay the smacketh down on Christianity through a stylized montage echoing the style of the 911 Truth movement. Much of this will seem old hat--or old halo--to anyone remotely aware of comparative religion, but hey, it's an easy way to catch "Here Comes the Sun" until the Fab Four shows up on iTunes.
How will Christians defend the faith? Another heartwarming (ugh) video of a five-year-old girl reciting a psalm may do the trick for some, but I wouldn't be surprised to find believers taking a newfound interest in defending the Beatles' copyright.
In case you ever wondered why it's called the Festival of Lights . . . Andbb in somewhat related news, here's a meditation on how Christmas in Asia functions as a festival of lights.
Yesterday brought a tale of how a rash of thefts led one church to adorn its nativity scene Jesus with GPS tech. Turns out that's already obsolete, as religious jewelry in St. Augustine seems to have evolved its own artificial intelligence. At least that's what the owners of a Florida jewelry store are claiming.
Tony and Madalyn Mussallem own the store. He said, "My wife went through all the inventory and determined we didn't lose any crosses at all. All the [pieces of jewelry] that are crosses were found outside."
The burglars dropped jewelry on their way out the door and even outside the building. Out of hundreds of charms they stole, only the cross charms fell on the ground.
Madalyn said diamond crosses were also out of the case. She said, "The diamond crosses were over there on the floor when they tried to run out, and they're the most expensive crosses we had...and they fell on the floor!"
Tony said, "I think maybe God didn't want to go with these crooks!"
"It just seemed like the crosses jumped out," Madalyn said. "They weren't going and this is where they were staying."
From JewishSource: "Just try to pick up the Hail/Death of the Firstborn split. Fun for the whole family!"
Cindy Forrester crafts jewelry from an array of vintage elements. Her Winter Goddess necklace, for example, incorporates the word "Goddess" from an old dictionary. For more, check her Etsy shop, her blog or this article from the Orlando Sentinel.
Away in a manger is not only a hymn, it's also an apt description of what happens to baby Jesus in several nativity scenes each year--namely, he gets stolen. CrunchGear (via Wired?) reports that a Florida church has come up with a technological solution to a rash of creche-napping:
Their Baby Jesus™ keeps getting ripped off, even after they nailed it down (again with the Xmas irony), so they’re fitting it with a GPS tracker so that, if stolen again, they can track down their Jesus.
It's Christmas, and that means time for wives everywhere to break out the traditional skull jewelry and excoriate their addled spouses for buying them inappropriate gifts.
(Didn't know that Nicolas Cage--"star of National Treasure II, playing now at a theater near you!"--and his son were producing a comic book? Cage Factor has more on Voodoo Child and the entire line of Virgin Comics, which "hopes to challenge titans Marvel and DC by marketing largely to Asia and infusing the story lines with Eastern mythology." HT: The Beat)
As the photographer says,
"I mean, forget the trademark infringment, aren't these some of the worst Peanuts character reproductions you've EVER seen? "
Thor's hammer pendant from jelldragon.com
From a wire service round-up in today's New York Post:
A mead horn surely would make time in prison pass that much easier.
A Utah prisoner is suing the Department of Corrections for denying him his right to practice an ancient Nordic religion.
Michael Polk says prison officials have denied him the mead horn, rune staff, prayer cloth, sword and Thor's hammer that he needs to practice his religion.
Officials say the items were denied due to security reasons.
Polk will lose if he's looking to carry a real sword, staff and hammer--it's a slam dunk, really--but if I were one of the officials I would have provided the prayer cloth, if only to establish a record of reasonable accommodation. After all, a court did recently rule in favor of an inmate seeking to wear a Thor's Hammer pendant after guards failed to take his request seriously.
Core77 asks: "What's the sound of one hand texting? And where is this trend going? Our predictions: Unitarian KVM switches, Santeria iPods, Mormon USB hubs with up to seven connections."
Looks like their might have been ancient astronauts after all.
For more stuff like these one-of-a-kind handcrafted Festivus earrings, check out the Festivus Market:
Festivus is a holiday market for the rest of us! Staged each December, we provide a human-scale alternative to the loneliness of on-line shopping or the hassle of big box holiday parking lots by featuring the best of local cottage industries whose business reflects our core values of ecology, fair trade, craftsmanship and personal customer service. 12 noon to 4 pm on the first 3 Sundays of December.
But it's not something you're going to see in Green Bay, Wisconsin. When a citizen tried to add a Festivus pole to the city's holiday display, the mayor refused to allow it. The reason: Festivus is just "pop culture," not a real religion.
Two things. One, that's really not up to His Honor to decide. Festivus may have its roots in an episode of Seinfeld but it has taken a life of its own as a Christmas alternative. Banning it from the town display raises serious First Amendment issues, both in terms of the establishment of religion and the infringement of protected speech.
And from a political perspective, how smart a player are you if you're banning public recognition of Festivus in a state where the frakkin' governor himself has installed a Festivus Pole in the governor's mansion???
Really, a good local politician would keep tabs on such things:
The once-fictitious holiday created by George Costanze has spun off into a grass-roots celebration of its own, complete with a best-selling book of Festivus lore and an official Festivus pole manufactured by a Milwaukee-based firm.
But who would have known that its observers include Gov. Jim Doyle, or that he is arguably Wisconsin's best-known "Seinfeld" fan?
Doyle has placed a Festivus Pole -- the unadorned aluminum pole "known for its very high strength-to-weight ratio" -- among the other holiday paraphernalia at the governor's mansion.
"I assume we'll be celebrating the traditional Festivus," Doyle deadpanned in an interview on Festivus Eve.
. . .
The governor's official Festivus Pole is the creation of the Wagner Companies, a Milwaukee-based firm that makes aluminum railings and stair supports.
Tony Leto, vice president of sales and marketing, said the company's president, Robert Wagner, gave the pole to Lt. Gov. Barbara Lawton, who in turn gave it to Doyle's office. Both Wagner and Lawton are members of the state Arts Board.
"We're delighted that the governor likes it," Leto said in an interview Thursday.
He added that the company has sold more than 200 poles through its Web site, festivuspoles.com, and that business was running near fever pitch on Thursday, with last-minute shoppers desperate to get their poles on time.
The company notes that the poles are made in Milwaukee, "a city known for its high strength-to-weight ratio."
Doyle said he is so pleased with the pole that he may have to buy it back from the state, which owns all official gifts, "so we can permanently have a Festivus Pole."(Be sure to go to AltReligion (thanks!) for more on the manger meltdown in Green Bay.)
The latest PostSecret has the following true confession:
Ahhh, a riddle!
Assuming the daughter's name isn't God of Thunder, there were two possibilities that came to mind.
The first is the Kiss classic Beth, a derivative of the Hebrew Elisheva, or Elizabeth, popularly translated as consecrated to God.
Another candidate is Shandi (from Shanti?), which doesn't refer to a biblical concept per se but whose folk etymology claims an origin in an unspecified foreign term for God is gracious.
I probably missed one, so if you have a better idea feel free to shout it out loud.
Tony Hendra makes the provocative argument in his recent jeremiad against silicone valleys:
In a sermon several years ago—one he quoted again in October at Larry King's behest—evangelist Joel Osteen urged the ewes of his flock to shop at Victoria's Secret. The reason for this apparent lapse from the Christian right's typical white-lipped terror of sex? Flirty underwear helps wives better please their scripturally mandated lords and masters.
Once you get past the pseudo-feminist claptrap, women who boost their boobs don't seem a whole lot different from Joel's ewes. Heidi, et al., are the real boobs, obediently conforming to some caricature of beauty fantasized by traveling-salesman types. Face it, O lovely woman: That shiny new bosom was fashioned by, and for, men. And you will wear it in public as long as men approve. You could say über-boobs are Western Civ's equivalent of. . . a burka.
Today's New York Times takes a look at Egypt's stybblistic evolution out of being a secular state.
That the norm for women is to wear the hijab will not come as a surprise. What stands out is the fashion for men: the alamat el-salah, or zebibah, which is a mark on the forehead that comes from touching the ground in prayer.
But should it really come as a surprise that this mark should become popular in Egypt?
The following preview for Marianne Satrapi's animated version of Persepolis tells a complete story through evolving style. If you haven't read any of her work, check out this interview in the Wall Street Journal and hie thee to a bookstore.
A few weeks ago the New York Times did an article on the green grinch, the person who insists on giving you eco-friendly presents that suck. In merry old England the Warrington town council seems have topped 'em all with its "Recycle for Warrington" display in the town center.
Christians allege that this is the vanguard of a sinister secular plot to rebrand Christmas with "a corporate message about waste management." The town council, on the other hand, is calling on Christians to get a grip:
"All the traditional symbols of the season have pride of place in Warrington - we have the crib showing Jesus in his manger right in front of Warrington's famous Golden Gates, we have two giant Christmas trees, and we have all the usual festive lights, reindeers and Father Christmases - as we have had for years in the borough.
"One addition this year is one sign on one street, commissioned by the council's recycling team, to promote the message that with all the Christmas cards, trees and festive wrapping that will be generated at this time of year, it is good for people to remember to recycle."
Lost in all the shouting: whether the best way to promote concern for the environment is through a FRAKKIN' ELECTRIC LIGHT DISPLAY!!!!!!
The Alicia Silverstone movie Clueless is a clever update of Jane Austen's Emma, but I never thought of it as a milestone of Iranian culture.
Hey, ya learn something new every day:
The hit 1995 teen movie “Clueless” might be known best for introducing Americans to Alicia Silverstone and Paul Rudd, but first-time novelist Porochista Khakpour remembers it for another reason: It injected Iranian Americans into the U.S. popcultural consciousness.
“There’s that scene when (Silverstone’s character) Cher says, And that’s the Persian Mafia. You can’t hang with them unless you own a BMW.’” Khakpour, 29, delivered the line in an authoritative teen-queen squeak. It was a “hideous” milestone for Iranian-born, South Pasadena, Calif.-bred, Brooklyn, N.Y.-based Khakpour, substituting for the stereotype of Iranians as veiled women and religious fanatics another unappealing notion — of an excessively wealthy, insular immigrant community “in shoulder pads and gold jewelry.”
Khakpour’s goal was to challenge both stereotypes in her first novel, “Sons and Other Flammable Objects,” which was published this fall. Her main characters, like her own family, are resolutely middle class and are more Zoroastrian than Muslim.
Fresh from the latest Heeb, here's a juicy morsel from How to Cook a Gentile by Evan Dorkin and Sarah Dyer.
Believe it or not, this is an avant-garde digital art exhibit in Miami. Below, the parting of the Red Sea; Creative Review has all the images and a description of the project.
Above: Items from the Christmas collection of Nightlight, a Christian charity in Bangkok that helps women and children to leave the sex trade by giving them work in a jewelry business.
For more stuff like this, check out Products with a Purpose, which also sells fashion items to help women in the sex industry.
The item above appears under the category Baby Crosses on SmileyMe.com. I immediately jumped on the link, wondering if--a la the genre of Muppet Babies and Tiny Titans--there'd be a picture of Jesus as a little kid crucified and happy.
No such luck, but what I did find is almost: the All Things Bright and Beautiful Cross.
Now you might be thinking--more kitsch? What's so special about that?
Ahhhh, but look carefully. It's a rainbow and a smiling moon and sun, accompanied by a song,
All things bright and beautiful,
all creatures great and small,
all things wise and wonderful,
the Lord God made them all,
all imprinted on the instrument of torture used to kill Jesus Christ!
What better way to introduce your child to the problem of theodicy. I mean, if it were me lying in a crib with nothing to do all day but stare at my surroundings, it'd only be a matter of time before I'd start to wonder . . .
If the Lord God made all good things and the cross is a wonderful thing, then he made evil. But how could he make evil--or even allow it--without contradicting divine justice?
Of course, I pretty much had the same thoughts after reading The Cat in the Hat, but I was a strange kid.
The Major League Baseball steroid scandal prompts this observation from Dallas News Religion:
How many of these guys wear crucifixes on their gold chains, make the sign of the cross when they come up to the plate, or point heavenward after they make a good pitch to get out of a jam?
What, exactly, are they praying for? That Jesus help them remember to pack their syringes before road trips?
Scanner points us to this nifty Jesus Christmas tree car magnet from The Christmas Shop at London Bridge, but that's only part of the story.
The reason for this burst of evangelical piety on Nerve.com? A recent resolution by the U.S. House of Representatives in support of Christmas. A few members have gotten flack for voting against it, but read the language--by counting numbers (3/4 of the U.S.--booyah!) and citing the Christian origin of the U.S., does it implicitly argue that Christianity is our state religion?
Unlike Romney's speech, though, the Resolution does not leave out nonbelievers--it expressly cites non-Christians' celebration of Christmas as grounds for acknowledging and supporting "the role played by Christians and Christianity in the founding of the United States and in the formation of the western civilization."
The eastern civilization, we presume, has always been godless.
HOUSE RESOLUTION 847
Recognizing the importance of Christmas and the Christian faith.
Whereas Christmas, a holiday of great significance to Americans and many other cultures and nationalities, is celebrated annually by Christians throughout the United States and the world;
Whereas there are approximately 225,000,000 Christians in the United States, making Christianity the religion of over three-fourths of the American population;
Whereas there are approximately 2,000,000,000 Christians throughout the world, making Christianity the largest religion in the world and the religion of about one-third of the world population;
Whereas Christians identify themselves as those who believe in the salvation from sin offered to them through the sacrifice of their savior, Jesus Christ, the Son of God, and who, out of gratitude for the gift of salvation, commit themselves to living their lives in accordance with the teachings of the Holy Bible;
Whereas Christians and Christianity have contributed greatly to the development of western civilization;
Whereas the United States, being founded as a constitutional republic in the traditions of western civilization, finds much in its history that points observers back to its roots in Christianity;
Whereas on December 25 of each calendar year, American Christians observe Christmas, the holiday celebrating the birth of their savior, Jesus Christ;
Whereas for Christians, Christmas is celebrated as a recognition of God's redemption, mercy, and Grace; and
Whereas many Christians and non-Christians throughout the United States and the rest of the world, celebrate Christmas as a time to serve others: Now, therefore be it
Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
(1) recognizes the Christian faith as one of the great religions of the world;
(2) expresses continued support for Christians in the United States and worldwide;
(3) acknowledges the international religious and historical importance of Christmas and the Christian faith;
(4) acknowledges and supports the role played by Christians and Christianity in the founding of the United States and in the formation of the western civilization;
(5) rejects bigotry and persecution directed against Christians, both in the United States and worldwide; and
(6) expresses its deepest respect to American Christians and Christians throughout the world.
Does the prophet Jeremiah's condemnation of Christmas trees make you uncomfortable with decorating your own this holiday season?
Well, one way to maintain the tradition without violating the letter of Jeremiah's command would be to make your very own beer bottle Christmas tree! No woods or chopping necessary--just plenty of holiday cheer.
HT: Russell's Teapot, AltReligion, Unbounded Edition, Faith Central
No, really. In this filmed performance of a recent Electric Arc Radio show, Chocolate Rain's Tay Zonday plays God. TZ also sings "Say No to Nightmares," which is only appropriate, given the recurring "Fear Not" theme in sacred texts.
Speaking of products imbued with soul, AltReligion has sent over a link to a company that embodies the spirit of the age: Spiritual Water.
While the site can give off a real new age-y vibe, the featured products make clear where the makers' spiritual sympathies lie--or at least what they perceive as the most favorable market. For your drinking pleasure, here's Formula J':
"Do you need Jesus in your life? Do you want to have Jesus with you thru the day? Grab a cold Formula J' Spiritual Water bottle, read the prayer, believe in God, believe in yourself and the sky’s the limit…"
Anton Fahlren, chief designer of Nokia phones:
"I think people think of a product now as more than just a piece of technology in their hands, but a total package of technology and functions, look and feel - they see it as having a soul, if you like," Fahlgren says.
"When you design a product, you learn a lot about the complexity of the technology and what things you have to think about from a design point of view. But, I think, it is very much the artistic side that is important to give soul to the product.
"That is the role of design and it always will be. At the end of the day, what you bring to the table as an electronics designer is that artistic soul and creativity."
HT: Core77
Two stories out of Canada today highlight an emerging twist in the American culture war:
Soccer rules tangled up in Hijab: an Edmonton girls team is benched after a league bans Islamic head scarves during games
Killed for not wearing a Hijab: A father kills his daughter for removing her hijab at school
And in more hopeful news, the New York press is abuzz with the story of how a Muslim guy saved two Jews being beaten up on the subway by self-proclaimed Catholics, one of whom preceded the attack by flashing his Jesus tattoo.
The dumbest part of the assault? One of the attackers said it was in retribution for the Jews killing Jesus on Hanukkah.
Y'know, I think I tripped over this woman yesterday. @#%^?! meditators in Times Square! Via TechSpace:
In business news today, Penthouse has acquired Various, Inc., owner of sex and swingers community AdultFriendFinder.com, for five hundred million dollars. Also in the Various stable: BigChurch.com, a Christian dating site.
Talk about "unequally yoked"!*
Pictured above: didn't this guy on the BigChurch.com home page appear in, like, every porn movie made in the 1970s?*In the "unequally yoked" link, the "Can Jews and Baptist Marry Blog" (now that's niche marketing!) asks the age-old question, "can a practicing Jew and a practicing Baptist co-exist?" I actually learned the answer to this on an old episode of Doctor Who. Turns out a Jew and Baptist can co-exist as long as they don't touch each other, but if they kiss the whole universe will collapse.
I don't even want to begin to tell you what can happen with a Zoroastrian and Pentecostal . . .
In last night's video, LARPers fused Jesus and justice (OK, "evil justice"). This morning, a glittering iconic visual melange
:
Did you know that one of the three wise men who visited the baby Jesus was a sneaker-wearing demon summoner? It's but one of the historic faith and fashion facts revealed by this fun animated "tale of three nerds who turn a nativity scene into a LARP battle."
By for tax reasons, via Transbuddah.
When teaching entrepreneurial strategies and values, there are a couple things I always advise folks to look out for: the unintentional illicit double entendre and unoriginal borrowing of other people's ideas. And for reasons I won't get into today, religious enterprises seem especially inclined toward both.
Today's example:
The "Hot!" Burning Bush tee-shirt touted by Threadless knock-off Can U Believe It.
The double entendre is obvious, accentuated by the strategic placement of fallen leaves in the woman's lap as if to focus attention on where the fire will start. The first question that popped into my mind when I saw this picture was, "Isn't abstinence supposed to prevent that??"
The second problem is more systemic. From Godtube to blatant trademark ripoffs, Christianity is fostering a horrible reputation for unethical appropriations of others' intellectual property. Commercial companies have by-and-large held back from filing lawsuits, no doubt in large part due to fear of a Christian consumer backlash. Can U Believe It? only adds fuel to the fire, blatantly ripping the business model and interface design of popular user-created t-shirt site Threadless.
As this Mediabistro article indicates, resentment toward this practice is growing and at some point we'll hit the tipping point. Or to put it in more theme-appropriate language, "Repent, for the judgment of law is at hand."
Years ago, back when I was in college, I attended an annual Messiah church sing-a-long with a married couple. The wife found the whole experience inspiring; the husband fell asleep. Perhaps he and the other male conscripts would have paid more attention at the Messiah performed last weekend at the Beverly Hills Presbyterian Church.
While the Pac Man Christmas tree is indeed most excellent, it doesn't exactly score high on the environmental sustainability scale.
That's where Portland's Free Geek program steps in. As nonprofit tech consultant Beth Kanter explains, the tree pictured above is made out of recycled computer material and CDs.
And here's another example of the program's creative dealings with e-waste: "a Chinese New Year's dragon made from the paper inside of printer drums."
Speaking of suit and tie . . .
The following video features Andy Kaufman's return to hosting the ABC SNL knockoff Fridays after his notorious (staged) fight during the previous season, when he refused to continue a sketch with a pre-Kramer Michael Richards. Why is it here on the BofG? Because Kaufman announces that he is engaged to gospel singer Kathie Sullivan & has become a born-again Christian. The two then sing a gospel duet.
Born again was once the rehab of a previous generation, and Kaufman nails PR conversion to a T: the studied humility, the mannerized singing, the modest attire and the commitment to suburban domesticity. What's particularly amazing about this hoax is that Kathie Sullivan went along with it--I'm not sure that a Christian artist could participate in such a stunt today without getting ostracized for worldliness and deception. Now that it's history, though, the performance is safe for spiritual meditation.
And since it's the Christmas season, here's another rare Kaufman appearance from before he became a celebrity. The setting: the Dating Game. The setup: instead of appearing as himself, Kaufman plays his bachelor in the character of Foreign Man, who would eventually evolve into Latka Gravis on Taxi. In the first part, he flips a suggestive question about Santa Claus into childlike innocence. The close is a classic meta-level indictment of the devaluation of honesty in a show where everyone was a wannabe actor auditioning for stardom:
Here's a blast for the past via WFMU. Watch it without the sound off and you can feel how alien the styles in this 1971 video now appear. Listen to the sound for for a fascinating spiritual syncretism: magnetic fields, Stonehenge, dowsing, pagan ritual, laser-beam visions and Hare Krishna.
Judging from the switch from robes to suit and tie, spiritual speaker Prem Nawat doesn't do all the much speaking nowadays in front of naked hippies chanting in a field.
A timeless tradition once again takes wing. Be sure to take the sidebar for more.
Another must-read: Faith Central's Advent Calendar. Day 8 alone features a true classic of bad kitsch design: a nativity scene where the characters double as a whistle. Yes, that's right: you can make the Virgin Mary whistle by blowing in her, um, holy seat:
Chemorox, the "original bitter cancer blog," provides a compelling alternative to the glib repacking of breast cance as an upbeat journey toward spiritual affirmation. (Quick aside: The entry with the Burger King sign is jaw-dropping.) Below: a Celtic-themed tattoo bra, which she concludes "sure beats the fake areola/nipple thing."
Fans of South Park are no doubt familiar with Mr. Hanky the Christmas Poo, who literally craps on the commercialization of Christmas. As the documentary video below indicates, Mr. Hanky actually, um, flows from Catalonian Christmas traditions said to predate Santa Claus: the Caganer and the Tio de Nadal. The Caganer is a squatting shitter that can take a variety of forms; the Tio de Nadal is a shitting log.
This short-but-tres-informative video is well worth watching not least of all because it transcends the obvious and uneasy jokes about "holy shit" that reflect American scatological taboos; DallasNews Religion reproduces a recent Religious News Service article on the subject.
v
Let's see, Pac Man is the hungry baby Jesus* and the ghosts are our sins . . .
Ahhhhh, ferget about the obligatory spiritual lessons. As someone who pretty much decimated his college savings on Pac Man, Galaga and Asteroids back in the day, this real-world working Christmas tree game in Madrid is arguably the coolest holiday display ever.
Below: a video of the tree in action.
*Or not:
This is one of many "strange and wonderful real photo Christmas cards" at The Square America Christmas Spectacular, a project of the addictive Boat Lullabies found photo blog.
Earlier this week I was at an office in the Empire State Building when I heard singing. Cheerful songs, holidayish yet unfamiliar. The voices led me out to the lobby, where a crowd had gathered to listen to . . .
Hanukkah carolers.*
The December holidays are like that. Judaism, Christianity, the pagan Saturnalia--religions had mashup culture down cold long before Web 2.0. Pictured below is designer Sahar Batsry's fusion for the season: the Treenorah.
HT: Kottke and Kitsune Noir.
*Although I wasn't familiar with the songs, I'm pretty sure none of them were on this CD.
With donations falling after the latest Congressional inquiring into ministry fundraising abuses . . .
Nahhhh, that's not it. This homeless Jesus is one of a series of figurines called Fishermen, which embody spiritual virtues through images of Jesus in everyday modern life . . . like ridin' a hog.
Oddly enough, one activity not depicted by a statue is fishing.
Thanks to the pentacular AltReligion for the tip!
Looking for the ideal way to commemorate Mitt Romney's speech on freedom of religion and his Latter Day faith? How about this First Amendment Lager t-shirt from Wasatch and Squatters Beers, a Salt Lake City brewers cooperative whose other labels include Polygamy Porter, Evolution Amber Ale and of course, Brigham's Brew!
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But the story isn't over. As noted on neopagan blog Views from the Cyberhenge, an Air Force Pagan/Wiccan congregation has encountered opposition to its attempt to get official recognition for its Wiccan chaplain. The interesting fillip: their candidate had already previously been approved as a Protestant chaplain. The congregation has an online petition to get help from Congress.
One of the first items of spiritual jewelry examined here at the BofG was the Silver Ring Thing. The SRT is what you might call a pre-engagement ring, a pledge to not to engage in sexual relations until marriage.
Of course, not everyone thinks that the abstinence movement is a good idea. Within evangelical circles, one of the most popular responses to what some see as the negativity of the abstinence message is Sex God, a book (and video and speaking tour) by Michigan pastor Rob Bell.
Sex God may seem like a radical innovation--which is part of its appeal, especially among teens and twenty-somethings--but it's actually the latest in a long tradition of attempts to sex up the Christian message. Bell and his followers use the language of sex play, scholarship and postmodernism to justify a radical liberating ethic of, well, having sex only in marriage, much like twenty years ago Josh McDowell used a blend of '70s sex manuals and pop psychology to promote "Maximum Sex" . . . in marriage.
If it's novelty you seek, perhaps the cheekiest response to the Christian abstinence movement appears in the video below:
What better way to accessorize your Absolut Shabbat t-shirt and Chanukah Ham? Available from Menorah.com (HT: Fashionista)
Via Andrew Sullivan: "Pande Beratha (C), dressed as a tree, takes part in an anti-deforestation campaign along with two others outfited as Hindu god Hanuman near the venue of the UN Climate Change Conference 2007 in Nusa Dua, on Bali island, 03 December 2007." NPR has a lot more, including a picture of Greenpeace's secular bear:
No, really. NancyKay Shapiro found this sign at a New York City (!) Balducci's:
Of course, Christianity isn't the only religion known to adapt commercial trademarks. Here's a t-shirt sold by Chabad at Tulane:
For Christian stores, trademark violation is a pardonable sin--there's hardly a logo in existence that hasn't been knocked off to promote the gospel. Yet even for Christians, sometimes this common practice can go too far. Case in point: this Christianized Staples tee:
For Christian blogger Shane Vander Hart and other critics, "Jesus is not an easy button"--and Christians should not buy into a message that equates faith with instant gratification.
Fans of musical satire may also recall a song that raised a similar critique, albeit long before the Staples shirt: Martin Mull's gospel tune "Jesus is Easy," which linked the born-again movement to other 1970s' lifestyle fads:
I tried yoga, I couldn't do it
I tried macrobiotics, I couldn't chew it
I blew it
Scientology
It made a fool of me
Now I'm back to thinkin' things that I thought when I was three
Chorus
Jesus is easy just get down on your knees
He's gonna listen to your every prayer
Jesus is easy just get down on your knees
He's everywhere. Jesus Christ, he's everywhere!
I tried reefer, I couldn't roll it
I tried acid and mescaline I could not control it
I tried coke I couldn't afford
My soul was feelin' bored
Now I'm high as a kite
I'm up in heaven with the lord!
Chorus
I tried women, oh how I tried
I took little boys in leather suits outside
And had 'em tied
I tried a poodle, a collie
Kukla, Fran & Ollie
But Mary in a manger's got me satisfied
Jesus is easy just get down on your knees
He's gonna listen to your every prayer
Jesus is easy just get down on your knees
He's everywhere. Jesus Christ, he's everywhere!
So you're covered in tattoos, convert to Islam and decide to make a pilgrimage to Mecca.
Except there's one problem: you understand that tattoos are forbidden. Does that mean that you have to settle for a shopping trip to Dubai instead?
Not at all, sez Islam Online:
In short, a new Muslim convert cannot be casted out of Islam, after recently embracing it, for having no means to remove tattoos applied during his pre-Islamic life.
In his response to the question, Dr. Muzammil Siddiqi, former president of the Islamic Society of North America, states the following:
“First of all, I would like to stress the fact that it is haram to have tattoos on the body. However, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) is reported to have said, “Islam takes away the sins done before it.”
Thus, if these tattoos cannot be removed easily or if you have to spend a lot of money to remove them, then you should not worry about them.
When Hajj becomes obligatory on you, you should perform it and do not neglect it because of tattoos on your body. No one should stop you from going to Hajj because of tattoos. I have seen hundreds of pilgrims, men and women, who come from some countries and they have all kinds of tattoos on their faces and bodies. It is forbidden in Islam, but among some tribes in Africa, unfortunately, it is still practiced, even among Muslims.”
"For the first time in six years schoolgirls, who were banned by the Taliban from getting an education are attending classes.