Journeys In Between

Religion News

Religion news that grabbed my attention this week.

Jedi attack. "A man who dressed up as Darth Vader, wearing a black garbage bag for a cape, and assaulted the founders of Britain's first Jedi church has been given a suspended sentence ... Hughes claimed he couldn't remember the incident, having drunk the best part of a 10 litre box of wine beforehand." I think that speaks for itself.

Vatican refuses to rule out alien life. "The search for extraterrestrial life does not contradict belief in God, the Pope's chief astronomer said, adding that some aliens may even be innocent of the original sin." I backed up on that original sin comment but I certainly have no theological issues with aliens per se. My own skepticism about intelligent life and UFOs is grounded in science.

The Church of Google

"We at the Church of Google believe the search engine Google is the closest humankind has ever come to directly experiencing an actual God (as typically defined). We believe there is much more evidence in favor of Google's divinity than there is for the divinity of other more traditional gods."

"We have compiled a list of nine proofs which definitively prove Google is the closest thing to a "god" human beings have ever directly experienced."

Googlism, the definitive net religion?

Woman jailed for worshipping tea pot

Oh, this is choise! Came across it via Ben Edson.

Thomas Bell reports: "A sharia court in Malaysia jailed a woman for joining a "tea-pot worshipping" cult. Kamariah Ali, a 57 year old former teacher, was arrested in 2005 when the government of the Muslim majority country demolished the two storey high sacred tea pot and other infrastructure of the "heretical" Sky Kingdom cult. For the eccentric sect, which emphasised ecumenical dialogue between religions, the tea pot symbolized the purity of water and "love pouring from heaven".

Tea pot worship! Doesn't get more unusual that this. Even beats sacred cow dung worshippers. Then again, I've seen a few old church ladies in my time who've come close to doing the same thing. Maybe not so strange after all :-) 

But there is a serious side to this. The report continues:

"But in Malaysia, despite constitutional guarantees of freedom of worship, born Muslims such as Mrs Ali are forbidden from converting to other religions."

Seems there is some confusion in Malaysia over what takes precidence with apostates, Sharia Law or Consitutional Law. Implications for accomodating Sharia Law in western countries? I'll let you think about that.

As for me, though I find her believes odd I support her freedom to hold them.

Religion in the news

Americans shift religious loyalties "A groundbreaking survey about religion in the United States shows Protestants are on the verge of becoming a minority in the country they helped to found." For more see the Pew Research Centre and this vid featuring Jim Wallis.

Sikhs in spin over turban bans "The Sikh community is outraged at what it says is a lack of cultural awareness after two incidents involving the wearing of turbans."

Airline gets rid of 'devilish' numbers "Lithuania's main airline is to change the code number under which its shares are listed to get rid of sixes at the end -- giving way to a Christian tradition identifying the number 666 as a cipher for the Antichrist."

Pat Rafter turns to Buddhism and Hinduism "Tennis great Pat Rafter has turned to Buddhism and Hinduism as his spiritual outlet - a big move from his Catholic upbringing."

The Urantia Book

I was searching through the dusty shelves of the university library over lunch today when I came across a copy of The Urantia Book. Have you heard of it?

It is one of those books I had heard of in New Age circles but never read before, so I sat down and, boy, is it looooong. I had no idea how looooong it was. See for yourself. It even makes the Book of Mormon look like a light read. But I was in for another surprise, like the Book of Mormon, it too presents an alternative Jesus. Does that grab your attention?

The Urantia Foundation in Australia describes it thus:

The Urantia Book, first published by the Urantia Foundation in 1955, was authored by celestial beings as a special revelation to our planet, Urantia.

The book's message is that all human beings are one family, the sons and daughters of one God, the Universal Father. It instructs on the genesis, history, and destiny of mankind and on our relationship with God. It also presents a unique and compelling portrayal of the life and teachings of Jesus, opening new vistas of time and eternity, and revealing new concepts of Man's ever-ascending adventure of finding the Universal Father in our friendly and carefully administered universe.

The Urantia Book's view of science, philosophy, and religion is perhaps the clearest and most concise integration of these subjects available to contemporary man. There is little question among the over 400,000 people who have purchased, read, and who study the Book: The Urantia Book has the capacity to make a significant contribution to the religious and philosophical thinking of all peoples; it truly has the potential to shape world destiny.

Over and over, people from around the world have discovered that the Book has profoundly impressed and changed their lives - inspired and stimulated them to reach new levels of spiritual growth and enhanced living.

While almost every generation produces a number of people who pose as the bearers of a 'new revelation,' it is surprising that The Urantia Book does not advocate a new organised religion. Its viewpoint builds upon the religious heritages of the past and present, encouraging a personal, living religion based on faith and service to one's fellows.

Note the phrase, "carefully administered universe" in the above text. They are not joking. I got the distinct impression that the universe, according to The Urantia Book, is governed by a celestial accountant. Not being an accountant type I am therefore still struggling to see the appeal so I went looking at a few sites:

Urantia related webpages

• The Urantia Foundation
• The Skeptics Dictionary
• The Urantia Book Fellowship
• The Urantia Foundation, Australia
• Truth Book
• Friends of the Urantia Revelation
• Let Us Reason
• The Urantia Book
• Urantia Association International
• Urantia Book Related Websites
• Directory of Global Urantia Resources
• Urantia Groups

Urantia related videos

• What is Urantia?
• Urantia Book paper
• Urantia Book Diagrams
• Urantia Foundation trustee
• A Sample Workshop
• What the Urantia Book means to me
• Hilvania, Urantia Book reader

But I am still struggling.

Here is a thought experiment though: if a Urantia book reader engaged you in conversation, over God, Jesus and the nature of the universe, what would you say?

Scientology protests in Australia

Videos here from the anti-Scientology protests across Australia earlier today. Feeling very uneasy about this. Not that I'm a fan of Scientology by any stretch of the imagination. But I struggle to see how it is going to make any positive difference. Persecution rarely does.

But besides that, I also have concerns about how easy attacks one religion could spill over into attacks against other religions. I would rather not have the fires of xenophobia fanned in this country thank you very much. I am sure there are far more effective ways of subverting the attempt of Scientologists to subvert the openness of YouTube than this.

And really, are Scientologists really that much of a threat? I mean, is the legalism of Scientologist leaders winning them mass conversions? I haven't seen any evidence for it. So why not explore other approaches. I wonder have any of these protestors actually met any Scientologists?

Krishnamurti is making me cranky

Have any of you read Krishnamurti before?

Some time ago I got my hands on a copy of "Inward Revolution" by Krishnamurti and I finally got around to beginning it this week. Still only part way through but getting rather annoyed by it already. For a teacher dedicated to expounding the virtues of deep communication and awareness he sure doesn't listen to his students too well. In the dialogical segments he is cutting them off, projecting stuff onto them and generally disparaging them in a way I know I would have found quite offensive if I had actually been in the original audience.

And in the more monological sections he just seems to ramble on a hell of a lot, far more than the Zen masters and Yogis that I have read elsewhere. I am wondering, are all Krishnamurti's books are like this? Sheesh.

I wanted to read this to gain more insight into a guy so closely connected with Annie Besant, Aldous Huxley, Joseph Campbell and others, and of course the Theosophical Society. Not sure if I'll last the distance now. Developing more of an inward apathy than an inward revolution.

Which Religion?

Which religion is right for this guy? Scientology? Judaism? Islam? Christianity? Rastaferianism? The Church of God the Utterly Indifferent? What say you?

Tolerance and Intolerance

Is Christianity intrinsically intolerant? Ross Clifford and Philip Johnson make some interesting comments on this in "Jesus and the Gods of the New Age" :

"New Age and postmodern seekers often speak of Christians being intolerant of other paths due to their exclusive emphasis on Jesus Christ as the only way to God. The forgotten truth, though, is that, philosophically, tolerance doesn't demand acceptance of others' views; rather, its focus is on the right of people to hold them. It is summed up in this aphorism: 'I may disagree with your view, but I'll defend your right to hold it.' That's tolerance! It is intolerant to impose universalism on others." (Clifford and Johnson, 2001, 193)

In short, people often get very muddled when talking about tolerance.

Tom Cruise Scientology Video

Tom Cruise is not having the best week. Here's the latest buzz if you haven't already heard:

"A video featuring Tom Cruise giving a speech on Scientology has been seized on by gossip websites, with bloggers ranking the appearance as even more extreme than the actor’s infamous encounter with Oprah Winfrey’s sofa."

If you are interested in reading more or watching the Tom Cruise video see Religion News Blog.

You know, I was actually audited by a Scientologist once. Yeah, really. I was hooked up to one of their E-Meter thingies at a Mind Body Spirit Festival. What can I say of the experience? I felt somewhat like Ben Stiller in "Meet The Parents." You know the scene, when Robert De Niro hooks Ben up to a lie detector machine. Oddly enough though, I never converted.