Jennifer's Alternative Religions Blog December 2005 Archive

Candelaria, Communion Snacks, Holy Cows, Pope Joan
The last day of year is host to a number of religious festivals. One of the more beautiful is the Candelaria of Brazil, where followers of the Candomble religion ... Read More

Saturday December 31, 2005 | permalink | comments (0)

Exorcism Rise, Jesus & Satan Party Naked, Spirituality in New Zealand
The marketing of exorcism by the Vatican seems to be paying off for Mexican priests, who are receiving more business than they can handle. The over-promotion of exorcism ... Read More

Friday December 30, 2005 | permalink | comments (0)

Censored South Park, Ark of the Covenant
On the subject of South Park, they finally got one deemed too nasty for television...or too offensive to increasingly vocal Catholics The same group that brought you the 'Happy Holidays' ... Read More

Friday December 30, 2005 | permalink | comments (0)

Tom Cruise, Magical Training, Pope Joan
Tom Cruise's mouth has (not surprisingly) earned him another round of criticism, and a whole new group of enemies- this time, firefighters annoyed that Cruise claims Scientology a better cure ... Read More

Thursday December 29, 2005 | permalink | comments (0)

Spiral Scouts, Pagan Textbooks, Pagan Glurge
Oregon based Spiral Scouts offers Pagan parents an alternative to traditional scouting. Speaking of Paganism, you know you've arrived as a religion when you get your very own textbook. ... Read More

Wednesday December 28, 2005 | permalink | comments (0)

New at Alternative Religions
The Rubáiyát of Omar KhayyámIncludes the beautiful antique illustrations. There are also new entries in Weird, and new texts in the Library.

Wednesday December 28, 2005 | permalink | comments (0)

Satanic Bluejeans, Exorcism Death Update
A clothes designer with an anti-Christian agenda is marketing Satanic- themed bluejeans to protest what he sees as the evils of Christianity. (I thought that had already been settled ... Read More

Tuesday December 27, 2005 | permalink | comments (0)

Christmas War Tally
From the looks of things, the media's not accepting the Christian's insistence that the "Holidays" are their exclusive domain. In other words, Bill O'Reilly and his fellow whiners got ... Read More

Tuesday December 27, 2005 | permalink | comments (0)

Matisyahu, Nun Bun, Ecommunicated Priest
If you like reggae and haven't checked out the extremely talented Hasidic artist Matisyahu, I wholeheartedly recommend him. (A good DJ choice for a Hanukkah Party)The "nun bun" (a ... Read More

Monday December 26, 2005 | permalink | comments (0)

Zoroaster
Yesterday, one of the largest faith groups in the world celebrated the birth of their savior. Today, one of the smallest groups comemorates the death of their prophet./savior. ... Read More

Monday December 26, 2005 | permalink | comments (0)

Scientology's Anti-psychiatry "Museum"
Are Scientologists maybe a bit jealous of all the publicity surrounding the creationists? Perhaps wishing to outdo anti-evolution museums, they're opening an anti-psychiatry museum. After reading their own description ... Read More

Saturday December 24, 2005 | permalink | comments (0)

"Frosty the Snowman" Religious allegory, Decline in Angels
Is "Frosty the Snowman" religious allegory? An unusual article in the Salt Lake Tribune follows an interesting post 9/11 market trend: the decline in sales of angels and angel related books ... Read More

Saturday December 24, 2005 | permalink | comments (0)

Festivus Poles, Occult College Course, Saturnalia Comic
Need a new holiday tradition? Seinfeld fans or folks with too much disposable income can get their very own Festivus pole

Friday December 23, 2005 | permalink | comments (1)

Narnia Nuts, More Solstice Tales, Imponderables
Did you know that Narnia is required reading for witches? Neither did I..but it's true, because a "former witch" says so. (Not) Looks like Bill ... Read More

Thursday December 22, 2005 | permalink | comments (0)

The Spirit of Yule
Regular reader Basha offers her personal holiday story: How I found the spirit of Yule...a True Story

Thursday December 22, 2005 | permalink | comments (0)

Yule!
Today is the Solstice, aka the birthday of the sun (and umpteen sun gods). The Winter Solstice is the shortest day of the year, after which the days grow ... Read More

Wednesday December 21, 2005 | permalink | comments (0)

O'Reilly, Christian Nudists, Italy's Exorcists
Bill O'Reilly gets a well-deserved smack. O'Reilly, still on the warpath over whether or not retailers should proclaim "Merry Christmas" or "Happy Holidays" while pushing merchandise assembled by child ... Read More

Tuesday December 20, 2005 | permalink | comments (0)

Humbugs, Santarchy
Atheists want to be left alone with their Humbuggery.Am I the lasdt person to hear about Santarchy? (which has not, as some suggest, been mistaken for a religion. ... Read More

Tuesday December 20, 2005 | permalink | comments (0)

Dee/ Shakespeare Link, Gospel of Judas
Did Dr. John Dee conjure up the floating dagger for Shakespeare's Macbeth? A celebrity conversion that's causing some consternation: Beck, the ScientologistI can't help but like this letter, written in ... Read More

Monday December 19, 2005 | permalink | comments (0)

Magic Show Recreates Christ's Miracles, O'Reilly Fibs about "Christmas War."
A television magician for Britain's Channel 4 is causing a ruckus after re-creating the miracles of Jesus for a Holiday special. The show covers everything from walking on water to ... Read More

Sunday December 18, 2005 | permalink | comments (0)

Mona Lisa, Narnia, Tool of the Devil, Wassail
Mona Lisa's secret? 9% disgust... Waiting for the fundamentalists to tackle Narnia? Wait no longer. Need Wassail for your Saturnalia party? Now here's someone who understands ... Read More

Saturday December 17, 2005 | permalink | comments (0)

Giving the Holidays Back, "Resurrected Pope" excommunicated, Very Bad Gifts, Pagan in a Christian Culture
At least one catholic is for giving the 'holiday season' "back to the Pagans." (Of course, he doesn't seem to mean it in a nice way.)

Saturday December 17, 2005 | permalink | comments (0)

Sunol Water Temple
Today I have something a little different for you. This weekend I went out and took snapshots of the Sunol Water Temple, a little known landmark in my ... Read More

Friday December 16, 2005 | permalink | comments (2)

Da Vinci Code Trailer, New Puzzle?
The New Da Vinci Code trailer has finally hit the streets, along with what appears to be another cipher to puzzle out. Watch carefully, and you'll find a scrambled ... Read More

Thursday December 15, 2005 | permalink | comments (0)

A Reader's Thoughts on the Narnia Movie
From Reader Mary Wood: "I have memories of my dad reading the “Narnia” books to me at bedtime before I could read. I remember the series being a huge motivation for ... Read More

Wednesday December 14, 2005 | permalink | comments (0)

Nostradamus
Today is the anniversary of the birth of Michel de Nostredame, the French physician and astrologer whose prophetic verses, believed to have predicted numerous world events, made him an enduring ... Read More

Wednesday December 14, 2005 | permalink | comments (0)

Vintage Hysteria, Satan's Grotto, Kensington Runestone
"For Whom Hell's Bells Toll" is a look at the eighties vintage anti-rock propaganda piece Hell's Bells (and its uninspired sequel), including a cheeky list of groups mentioned in the ... Read More

Tuesday December 13, 2005 | permalink | comments (0)

Rude Archbishop, Long Awaited Answer
A disrespectful Russian Orthodox Archbishop has ignited a controversy after referring to Hindu Deity Lord Krishna as Satan, and describing the construction of a Krishna temple as an 'obscenity.' And now ... Read More

Friday December 9, 2005 | permalink | comments (0)

Christmas Warriors Hiss Again, Man Jailed for Refusing Conversion, Narnia, Poor Religion Reporting
It looks like the "Christmas war" is a bit of a lopsided battle after all- even George Bush can't bring himself to send "Christmas" cards, to the fury of fundamentalist ... Read More

Wednesday December 7, 2005 | permalink | comments (0)

Paintballing Preacher's Wife Defends Violence, Asatru Ceremony for Kennewick Man
Remember the preacher who expressed his displeasure with Halloween by attacking trick-or-treaters with paintballs? He's apparently not the only nut in the family. Speaking up for her temporarily ... Read More

Tuesday December 6, 2005 | permalink | comments (0)

Human Sacrifice, Yezidis, Wiccan Denied Prescription
Some interesting stuff out there today. First up is this weird little snippet from :Witch sacrifices wife . Next, one of the better media treatments I've seen on ... Read More

Monday December 5, 2005 | permalink | comments (0)

Voodoo AIDS, The So-called "War on Christmas," Cthulu Circus
I wonder if anyone would be offended if this article replaced "Voodoo" with "Christianity?" As far as I know, religion, even religion that makes outsiders squirm a bit, does ... Read More

Friday December 2, 2005 | permalink | comments (0)

The Golden Bough: Mistletoe History and Lore
Misteltoe's standing as an icon of the winter holiday stems from very ancient beliefs. How did this rather ugly, poisonous plant became so popular? The answer lies in ancient sun ... Read More

Thursday December 1, 2005 | permalink | comments (0)