Recently in Religion & Beliefs Category

Real Time comedian Bill Maher and Borat director Larry Charles are men on a mission: to destroy society's blind faith in God. The medium they chose to convey their doctrine is not a dusty old book, but an entertaining documentary which highlights the ridiculous aspects of religion, hence its name, Religulous.

In an effort to spread their brand of enlightenment, Charles and Maher embarked on a romp around the world, questioning religious beliefs in the places they began and the palaces they paid for. The duo returned from their three-month pilgrimage with oodles of often-funny footage, much of it shot guerrilla-style as with Borat. Stringing interviews together with biting commentary and incisive footnotes, (to quote Kazakhstan's most famous fake export) they present their "cultural learnings" which they ultimately hope may "make benefit" of our "glorious" globe.

I chatted with Charles, who mastered absurdity while working on Seinfeld and Curb Your Enthusiasm, and took the opportunity to challenge a few beliefs of his own.

Click my HERE for full SuicideGirls.com interview.

A senior Vatican scholar has said it's OK to believe in aliens. In an interview with the Vatican newspaper L'Osservatore Romano published on Tuesday, Rev. Jose Gabriel Funes, who serves as the director of the Vatican Observatory, says that the possibility of extraterrestrial life "doesn't contradict" the Roman Catholic faith and that ruling out the existence of such life forms would be tantamount to "putting limits" on God's creation.

"How can we rule out that life may have developed elsewhere?" states Funes in the article entitled The Extraterrestrial Is My Brother. "Just as we consider earthly creatures as 'a brother,' and 'sister,' why should we not talk about an 'extraterrestrial brother'? It would still be part of creation."

The Vatican Observatory is one of the oldest astronomical organizations in the world. It was founded as part of the church's efforts to reform the Julian calendar in 1592. Today the organization serves as a bridge between church and science. With its help, the Vatican has adopted a somewhat more enlightened and conciliatory approach to science and its practitioners since the days when it imprisoned Galileo for his heretic belief that the earth revolved around the sun (and not vice versa, as the church liked to think at the time).

During an address to The Pontifical Academy of Sciences in 1996, Pope John Paul II famously quoted Pope Leo XIII saying, "Truth does not contradict truth." Clarifying the church's position further, Funea states that the Bible "is not a science book," and that he believes the Big Bang theory is the most "reasonable" theory to explain the creation of our universe, though he, of course, maintains that the big bang didn't happen by chance, but was instigated by God as part of his universal master plan.

Funes' recent L'Osservatore Romano interview, which has garnered much press, is not the first time the Vatican has gone on the record with regards to embracing the concept of alien life. A colleague of Funes', Brother Guy Consolmagno, the director of the Vatican Observatory's Research Group, which is based at Arizona's Steward Observatory, published a 48-page pamphlet on the subject in 2005 entitled Intelligent Life in the Universe? Catholic Belief and the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligent Life. In it, he posed many religious and philosophical questions about alien life: Do aliens have souls? Are they were subject to original sin? Do they need to be baptized and have a belief in Jesus in order to be saved? Do they even need to be saved? And if so, do we have the right to evangelize alien cultures?

Like Funes, Consolmagno is comfortable with the relationship between the Catholic faith and science, and the possibility of alien life. When asked about "how Catholicism would hold up" if intelligent life was discovered beyond our planet in an interview with the Catholic News Service, he responded by saying it would not mean "everything we believe in is wrong," rather, "we're going to find out that everything is truer in ways we couldn't even yet have imagined."

Don't get mad, get even. This very funny video turns the tables on the likes of Sally Kern. Much truth is often said in jest, and it certainly applies in this case. In 2005, New Scientist reported on a study that suggested that "genes contribute about 40% of the variability in a person's religiousness." A more recent study, also published in New Scientist, found that political ideology may be genetically inherited too. The Daily Mantra wonders if aversion therapy is as useful when used to treat political leanings and/or religion as it is when used to treat homosexuality? Perhaps gene therapy may ultimately provide a more reliable cure for right-wing Christian fundamentalists such a Sally Kern and our old pal Bill Donohue.

File this under bizarre. We're not quite sure of the back-story, but were amused by this random footage we found of a breakdancing crew doing their thing for the previous pontiff, John Paul II.

According to new statistics released by The Vatican, there are now more Muslims in the world than Catholics. "For the first time in history we are no longer at the top: the Muslims have overtaken us," said Monsignor Vittorio Formenti, who compiled the figures for the church's 2008 yearbook.

The Vatican estimates there are around 1.13 billion Catholics worldwide, while United Nations figures put the number of Muslims at around 1.3 billion. However if all denominations of Christianity are clumped together, Jesus still tops the charts, with an estimated 2.1 billion followers in total.

Formenti noted that while the number of Catholics in proportion to the world's population remains stable, Islam's popularity was increasing due to higher birth rates. In an interview with the Vatican newspaper L'Osservatore Romano, Formenti said, "While Muslim families, as is well known, continue to make a lot of children, Christian ones on the contrary tend to have fewer and fewer."

Despite The Vatican's no waste policy when it comes to sperm, it seems that Catholics have some serious shagging to do if they're to regain the top spot. Certainly it seems Gabriel Archangel, the patron Saint of Conception, needs to pull more weight. In light of his obvious slacking on the job, perhaps The Vatican might think about relaxing its attitude to IVF?

Don't try this at home. Devout Catholics in the Philippines are marking Good Friday with ritual flagellation and voluntary crucifixions. At least a dozen people from two villages in the North of the former American colony were crucified with "nails the size of pencils," including a 15-year old boy and an 18-year old girl. Scores more flogged themselves with bamboo whips and paddles tipped with broken glass.

The tradition began in the village of Cutud in the early 1960's. The local passion play has since mushroomed into a major tourist attraction, and has spawned copy-cat productions in nearby villages. At the behest of the country's health minister, participants were urged to have Tetanus injections, and use sterilized whips and nails. "If we can't stop flagellants from whipping their own flesh, the best thing these penitents can do is ensure that their whips are clean and well maintained," said Health Secretary Francisco Duque.

Though the proceedings are officially frowned upon by the Roman Catholic Church, thousands came out to watch the extreme devotional spectacle. In Cutud, the Reuters news agency reports that, "the atmosphere was festive, with hawkers selling beer, ice-cream and souvenir whips." VIPs were able to watch the proceedings, which were the hottest ticket in town, from a "specially elevated viewing platform.”

Photo courtesy of Jesus Christ Superstar: The Original Motion Picture Soundtrack Album. For further Good Friday-themed listening, the Daily Mantra recommends the Life of Brian: Soundtrack Album, which features the classic crucifixion anthem "Always Look On The Bright Side of Life."

A new study has concluded that religious people are happier, and better able to cope with bumps in the road of life. Professor Andrew Clark from the Paris School of Economics and Dr Orsolya Lelkes from the European Centre for Social Welfare Policy and Research analyzed the attitudes expressed in existing household survey data, and concluded that those who had faith to lean on had a more positive outlook on life than atheists or agnostics.

"What we found was that religious people were experiencing current day rewards, rather than storing them up for the future," said Clark, who presented his research at the Royal Economic Society's annual conference in Coventry, England earlier this week. "Churchgoing and prayer are also associated with greater satisfaction," noted Clark. Religion also seemed to help people cope with adversity such as divorce and unemployment, serving as a "buffer" and "insurance policy."

Researches were unable to conclusively clarify however, whether it was faith itself that made people happier, or religion-related lifestyle factors, such as a stable family life, regular consumption of communion wine, or a higher incidence of singing. Either way, the God pill seems to work better than Prozac, which along with other similar drugs was found to be ineffective in all but the most serious cases of depression in another recent study (see previous story).

This is an interesting Current TV video pod on exorcism in England in the 21st century (if player fails to load, click HERE to view). Meanwhile in Australia the Sunday Mail is reporting that there's a shortage of priests trained to perform exorcisms in the Catholic Church there.

One priest, who wished to remain anonymous for fear of reprisals (though we're confused as to from whom), claims he carries out exorcisms at an average rate of once a fortnight

"Being possessed by a demon is terrifying in one's mental and emotional life," said the priest. "Some of these manifestations are extremely powerful, causing people to be plagued by disturbances. They hear voices and see hideous creatures in their sleep."

To deal with the increased demand for exorcisms worldwide, The Vatican's chief exorcist, Father Gabriele Amorth, has be charged with "setting up exorcism squads to deal with the rampant growth of Satanism" by Pope Benedict XVI.

"There is a progressive distancing from God and this helps the Devil. The action of the Devil is a lot more widespread than in the past not because he has more strength but because he is given more space," said Amorth in a recent CNN/IBN interview which was first broadcast on February 4, 2008.

"We deal with priests and bishops who know nothing about the subject because for three centuries exorcisms were almost totally abandoned. They have never seen exorcisms, they never performed them. They believe in the Devil, but they don't believe much in the actions of the Devil, so they prefer to send everyone to psychiatrists and psychologists," Amorth continues. "Thank God there is a Pope who wants to fight the Devil head on."

Want to commune with God over a pint? On the first Friday of each month between 9p.m. and midnight customers at the Market Cross Pub in Carlisle, PA will be able to do just that thanks to a rather unique outreach program set up by Bethel Assembly of God Church senior pastor Chuck Kish. Through this new monthly ministry, Rev. Chuck hopes to offer inspiration beyond that found in the bottom of a glass, and alternative solutions to those that might otherwise try drinking their troubles away.

"He approached me on the idea about a month, a month and a half ago, and I kind of did a double-take on it," said bar owner Jeff Goss in an interview with the local Sentinal newspaper. "Once we started talking about it, I realized what a great idea it was. I'm sort of an internal optimist. Working here for 14 years, I've seen customers, regulars and employees who have had their ups and downs through life."

"There was a lady at one of the bars who was married for 30 years and her husband just up and left her, and she was there about to drink herself into oblivion," explains Rev. Chuck. "The bartender said before she could do that, maybe she'd like to talk to the chaplains. It was a sort of pilot thing for us, and we were able to give help in a very tangible way. That's when I realized, you know, this is going to work."

It could be argued that the warm, friendly, and intimate atmosphere of a pub is far more conducive to confession and communion than the chilly atmosphere of many churches. Certainly the location seems more appealing than that of Rev. Chuck's bricks and mortar church, which is located five miles out of town on State Route 34 next to the Graham Cadillac dealership and Merrick and Fair Performance Dealership.

Rev. Chuck plans to make sure there's at least one male and one female pastor on hand to serve those in need, and he promises they'll be no preaching or proselytizing at the bar. "We're not going in there to strong-arm anybody," Rev. Chuck said. "We give more pastoral care, listening to what you have to say."

The unorthodox pastor, who also serves as the Senior Police Chaplain for Carlisle and North Middleton Police Departments, is no stranger to offbeat outreach. Rev. Chuck runs a youth program called the B.A.D. Attitude tour, and offers a road side ministry on Sunday mornings at the Truck Stop TV Lounge at the Petro Stopping Center on the Harrisburg Pike. "Many drivers have come to accept Christ as their savior during these services."

Let's hope any water into wine miracles are confined to the Market Cross Pub, since though Jesus was partial to a glass with a fish and bread supper, he certainly wouldn't approve of drinking and driving.

To promote togetherness, the Relevant Church in Tampa, Florida is asking its married members take part in a 30-Day Sex Challenge, during which they'll be required to “purposely engage in sexual activity” at least once a day.

A statement on the church's website explains, "People are not having enough sex. An epidemic of breakups prove the needs that lead to a great sex life are being overlooked. Dirty dishes, frumpy clothes, and a lack of authentic connections are killing the romance. A great sex life is a challenge and takes focus, determination, and planning. Some say it's an unrealistic goal, but we disagree. We believe you can have a great sex life, in fact we believe God wants you to have a great sex life."

"We believe this challenge will not only improve sex lives, but also strengthen relationships," the statement continues. "For far too long the church has remained silent on the subject, leading many people to believe that God is against sex, which is completely counter to what the Bible teaches."

Sadly it seems God only wants you to have a great sex life if you're married. The challenge set forth for the church's single parishioners could prove to be a little more, well er, challenging. They're being asked to abstain from all sexual activity for 30 days. There was no information given on what same-sex couples, who are not single but also not married, were expected to do during this 30 day period. But if you have to ask, you probably know the answer.

When we tried to download the official 30-Day Sex Challenge Guide from the church’s website, we were told the page was "temporarily unavailable" due to "capacity problems." We're therefore guessing this idea has been a hit with a least one subsection of the church's Christian soldiers.