Holy Weblog!

theatlantic: In Focus: Polygamists in the Rock A small...

joycegarcia — Thu, 15 Nov 2012 17:51:46 -0600

In Focus: Polygamists in the Rock

A small community of fundamentalist Mormons, about 15 polygamist and monogamist families, have established a unique home for themselves, living in modern homes literally carved into the side of a massive sandstone rock in the desert south of Moab, Utah. Rockland Ranch, informally called “The Rock,” was founded about 35 years ago by Robert Dean Foster, who set out to create a safe, remote space for a Christian community that embraced plural marriage. Large houses were built by using dynamite to blast caves into the sandstone cliff, then finished into relatively modern homes complete with running water, electricity, internet access, and more. Reuters photographer Jimmy Urquhart was recently invited to visit and photograph The Rock, and returned with these images, a rare glimpse into a unique Utah community.

Read more. [Images: Reuters/Jim Urquhart]

It’s tough to be a Mormon hipster, according to The New...

joycegarcia — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 07:11:28 -0500

It’s tough to be a Mormon hipster, according to The New York Times. (via Young Mormons Find Ways to Be Hip - NYTimes.com)

life: Few religions are as misunderstood and feared as Haitian...

joycegarcia — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 20:42:59 -0500

life:

Few religions are as misunderstood and feared as Haitian Vodou. Countless people around the globe, shown images of a ceremony, might confidently say, “Yes, that is Vodou.” But very few, when pressed, could coherently discuss the core tenets of the belief. For photographer Anthony Karen, Vodou is at once a fascinating subject and — in a very real sense — the gateway to his vocation.

“About 13 years ago, I was in a transitional point in my life. I felt Haiti calling to me. I traveled there, and had the opportunity to sit in on two Vodou ceremonies. On the same trip, I discovered my passion for photojournalism and have traveled extensively to Haiti over the years.”

Here, LIFE.com presents previously unpublished pictures of a June 2011 Haitian Vodou ritual in honor of St. Francis de Assisi.

Why Does God Love Beards?: A discussion of facial hair in world religions.

joycegarcia — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 20:24:04 -0500

Why Does God Love Beards?: A discussion of facial hair in world religions.:

utnereader:

(via Slate)

An Amish splinter group has gone on a crime spree, forcibly cutting the beards off of their rivals. Many religions, including Sikhism, Islam, and sects of Judaism, encourage or require their men to keep beards. Jesus Christ is often depicted with a beard. Why does God like facial hair so much?

latimes: Celebrities gave Kabbalah Centre cachet, and spurred...

joycegarcia — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 13:41:44 -0500

latimes:

Celebrities gave Kabbalah Centre cachet, and spurred its growth: The heightened profile of the L.A.-based Kabbalah Centre popularizing previously secret Jewish mysticism came with a continued emphasis on soliciting donations, sometimes in ways some found offensive. Then the IRS stepped in.

The second part of two-part Times investigation. Read the first part here.

Photos: Sandra Bernhard, left, introduced Madonna and Roseanne Barr, center, to the Kabbalah Centre. The list of celebrities attracted to the center later included big names such as Elizabeth Taylor, Gwyneth Paltrow, Britney Spears and Paris Hilton. Credit: Richard Hartog / Los Angeles Times, Associated Press, Reuters, Getty Images, Associated Press, Associated Press

latimes: Chinese Jews feel more at home in Israel: Descendants...

joycegarcia — Sun, 16 Oct 2011 14:01:02 -0500

latimes:

Chinese Jews feel more at home in Israel: Descendants of Persian traders in Kaifeng, China, move to Israel with the help of a religious group and finally learn Jewish rules and traditions.

The first family of Kaifeng Jews to immigrate to Israel was almost sent back to China. Shlomo and Deena Jin (no relation to Yecholya Jin) had overstayed their tourist visas in 2005. As they faced deportation, Shavei Israel worked with authorities to allow them to stay after going through the conversion process. Shlomo, at the time in his late 40s, endured a circumcision to complete the conversion.

Photo: Jews from Keifeng, China, pray at the Western Wall in Jerusalem. The group came straight from the airport. Credit: Michael Freund

latimes: Couple’s success spreading kabbalah yields to discord,...

joycegarcia — Sun, 16 Oct 2011 13:59:30 -0500

latimes:

Couple’s success spreading kabbalah yields to discord, tax probe: Philip and Karen Berg, founders of the L.A.-based Kabbalah Centre, set out to make secret Jewish mysticism available to the public. But former followers are now critics, and the IRS is investigating.

Stay tuned for Part Two on Tuesday.

Photo: The book “Practical Kabbalah” is displayed at the “Angels and Demons, Jewish Magic through the Ages” exhibition at the Bible Lands Museum in Jerusalem. Credit: Gali Tibbon / Getty Images

He's baaack.

joycegarcia — Sat, 15 Oct 2011 18:19:09 -0500

He's baaack.:

Mark Memmott on NPR.org: [Harold] Camping, who says he’s recovering slowly from a stroke he suffered in June, has posted a new audio message. He’s sounding a little less than definite, but still convinced that the end is coming soon. And he’s also predicting it will all sort of happen with a whimper, not a bang.

In a culture obsessed with dogs, dog whisperers and domestic...

joycegarcia — Sat, 15 Oct 2011 02:23:36 -0500

In a culture obsessed with dogs, dog whisperers and domestic pets of all kinds, religious groups are paying attention, too. Many megachurches, where members often meet in smaller affinity groups, are sponsoring groups for pet lovers. In 2007, the Humane Society hired a liaison to religious communities, and next month its Web site will start a directory of affiliated ministries. In seminaries and divinity schools, the study of animals and religion is growing.

“Animal ministries are in every state,” said Christine Gutleben, the Humane Society’s first director of faith outreach, “and they do everything, including pet food in traditional food drives, to donating to local shelters, designating church grounds as animal sanctuaries, hosting adoption events, printing animals for adoption in church bulletins.”

(via “Pet Ministries Are Growing in Churches,” The New York Times)

Photographer Sanjay Kewlani on the annual Ganesh festival in...

joycegarcia — Sat, 15 Oct 2011 02:04:00 -0500

Photographer Sanjay Kewlani on the annual Ganesh festival in Mumbai — and the deity debris left behind afterward: “These are idols of a god that was worshiped so fervently just a few hours ago. Beautifully formed with eyes painted to look lifelike, they were lying on the beach with a blank death stare, while urchins picked through the debris. It makes one think about whether treating the city and the gods in this manner is worth the celebrations.” (via “Drowned Gods: A Holy Holiday Leaves A Huge Mess : The Picture Show,” NPR)

popmedia: Gervais, tellin’ it like it is. Even though he’s an...

joycegarcia — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 10:58:52 -0500

popmedia:

Gervais, tellin’ it like it is. Even though he’s an atheist, he’s dishing out some gems even the religious can heed.

utnereader: Trappist Caskets: Cistercian monks (also known as...

joycegarcia — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 19:16:29 -0500

utnereader:

Trappist Caskets: Cistercian monks (also known as Trappists) are called to live by the work of their hands. “The primary purpose of manual labor for a monk is cultivation of interior quiet and mindfulness of God,” explains the Reverend Alberic Farbolin, one of the monks at New Melleray and one of the artisans at Trappist Caskets. In addition to promoting contemplation, building caskets provides an opportunity to minister to others’ suffering.

Keep reading …

Am I the only one amused by the fact that this guy’s name...

joycegarcia — Tue, 11 Oct 2011 12:31:28 -0500

Am I the only one amused by the fact that this guy’s name is “Mullet”? OK, probably.

BERGHOLZ, Ohio (AP) — The leader of a breakaway Amish group said an attack on fellow Amish in which a man’s beard was cut off was a religious issue stemming from long-standing resentment of his group’s treatment.

Sam Mullet, 66, said the goal was to send a message to Amish in Holmes County that they should be ashamed of themselves for the way they were treating Mullet and his community.

“We’d like to get up in the morning, be left alone, live like normal people,” Mullet said Monday. “They won’t leave us be.”

(via Ohio Amish leader: Beard-cutting religious matter - Yahoo! News)

utnereader: Exorcism is experiencing a renaissance in American...

joycegarcia — Tue, 11 Oct 2011 11:05:00 -0500

utnereader:

Exorcism is experiencing a renaissance in American Catholicism. And as interest in exorcism rises, the church faces a host of tricky questions. The devil is in the details. Keep reading …

latimes: A decision on the razor’s edge: In Sikhism, the body...

joycegarcia — Tue, 11 Oct 2011 03:48:00 -0500

latimes:

A decision on the razor’s edge: In Sikhism, the body is a gift to be honored by leaving it in its natural state. Maintaining kesh, or hair, is one of the five articles of faith. But as Sikh women in America know, not all potential husbands appreciate that.

“The guys do the whole, ‘Wow, that’s awesome,’ ” when they meet a woman who keeps kesh, Kaur said. “Then they walk away, and you know they’re never going to date you.”

Photo: Nilofer Chariwala uses threading on the eyebrows of Stacie Negrete at Ziba Beauty, a salon in Artesia. Credit: Anne Cusack / Los Angeles Times

"Rick Perry may be born again, but his incompetent tolerance of a bigot to introduce him suggests bad..."

joycegarcia — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 13:57:16 -0500

“Rick Perry may be born again, but his incompetent tolerance of a bigot to introduce him suggests bad things about his competence in the here and now. As a result, I will look forward to seeing him at the Wedding Supper of the Lamb, but if he does not repudiate the comments, will pass on him for the Inaugural Ball.”

- (John Mark Reynolds, philosophy professor at evangelical Biola University, “Why evangelicals must stand up to anti-Mormon bigotry,” The Washington Post)

(via Criggo | Newspapers are going away. That’s too bad. |...

joycegarcia — Sun, 09 Oct 2011 22:27:02 -0500

(via Criggo | Newspapers are going away. That’s too bad. | Page 2)

"Three years after an implosion of the nation’s financial system helped push the country into its..."

joycegarcia — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 01:03:55 -0500

“Three years after an implosion of the nation’s financial system helped push the country into its worst economic nosedive since the Great Depression, pastors are still trying to figure out how to address people’s fears from the pulpit. But first they have to deal with their own fears, some pastors and scholars say. Though millions of Americans are angry over the economy, little moral outrage seems to be coming from the nation’s pulpit, they say. Too many pastors opt for offering pulpit platitudes because they are afraid parishioners will stop giving money if they hear teachings against greed, said the Rev. Robin R. Meyers, senior minister of Mayflower Congregational United Church of Christ in Oklahoma City. “Money is the last taboo in church. It’s much easier to talk about sex than money,” said Meyers, who wrote about greed and the other seven deadly sins in his book, “The Virtue in the Vice.””

- Preachers confront ‘last taboo’: Condemning greed amid Great Recession (CNN Belief Blog)

Man rips out his eyeballs in church

joycegarcia — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 00:54:38 -0500

Man rips out his eyeballs in church

'Police Ask Christian Bikers to Leave Public Fair' (Christian Post)

joycegarcia — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 01:03:00 -0500

'Police Ask Christian Bikers to Leave Public Fair' (Christian Post):

Two members of the Bikers for Christ ministry were told by police to leave a public street fair in Manteca, Calif., for wearing vests that displayed the organization’s colors and patches.