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The Demonic Doorway?

Tuesday, November 30, 2010

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WorldNetDaily
Is Harry Potter in cahoots with hell?
Hit movie renews concerns that children are being lured to Satan

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Posted: November 29, 2010
9:45 pm Eastern

By Drew Zahn

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For the second weekend in a row, "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 " – the seventh film in author J.K. Rowling's fantastically successful series about young wizards – sits atop the box office charts, smashing ticket-sale records as the franchise only gains steam en route to its finale.

But the wild success of "Pottermania" has also brought back critics of the franchise who question – or even outright condemn – the movies' spiritual ramifications.

"Harry Potter and these 'Twilight' vampires glamorize the power of evil," argues author and Roman Catholic Priest Thomas J. Euteneuers.

A practicing exorcist, Euteneuers told Deal W. Hudson of InsideCatholic that he intended his new book, "Exorcism and the Church Militant," as a warning on how the Harry Potter series and Stephanie Meyer's "Twilight" movies about teenage vampires, for example, desensitize children to "the dark world" of witchcraft.

Miracle?

Turn your critical eye to this story. What do you think? 

Controversial Mary Statue Weeps Because We're Killing This World

by Joseph Laylock

Joseph Laycock is a doctoral candidate studying religion and society at Boston University. He is also the author of Vampires Today: The Truth About Modern Vampires.

For three months, the city of Windsor, Ontario was abuzz with the story of a Virgin Mary statue that wept tears of oil. Ensconced in a small shrine built on Fadia Ibrahim’s front lawn, the statue attracted hundreds of pilgrims, though it caused havoc for neighbors, city officials, and church authorities.

Miraculous images of the Virgin Mary, part of a tradition commonly known as “folk piety,” exist independently of any religious authority and the fervor generated is sometimes too much for the church—or anyone—to control. In this most recent case the attention eventually overwhelmed the statue’s owner, such that, on November 5th, in order to protect the privacy of her family, she had the statue relocated to St. Charbel Maronite Catholic Church. In fact, the Virgin told her she would prefer pilgrims visit her in church rather than on Ibrahim’s front lawn.

Religiocentricism?

We all know about political correctness. Is there such a thing as theological correctness? 

Michael Zimmerman, Ph.D.

Founder, The Clergy Letter Project

Posted: November 10, 2010 02:47 PM

In the Creationist Universe, Religious Dogma Trumps Scientific Inquiry

While the results of the midterm elections provided some evidence on the state of the economy, there's a far clearer indicator of just how bad things are. William Dembski, one of the main proponents of intelligent design, has recanted his scientific views in an attempt to keep his job. As philosopher Michael Ruse has said, explaining but not condoning Dembski's actions, "here he is with a wife and kids to support and the threat of the sack."

The issue is as clear as any could be and demonstrates the kind of litmus test that proponents of religious fundamentalism impose on their adherents -- even on their stars. And make no mistake about it, William Dembski is a first order star in the intelligent design firmament. He is a prolific author who has earned both a Ph.D. in mathematics as well as a Masters of Divinity degree. He is a fellow of the Discovery Institute and a professor of philosophy at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. Indeed, you can't read anything about intelligent design without encountering Dembski's arguments in support of this version of creationism.

Critical Thinking about Climate Change

link to original story 

Everybody has a right to his own opinion . . . unless, of course, the opinion endangers the rest of us. The dangers of religiocentricism: it excludes critical thinking. 

Global Warming

TUESDAY, NOV 9, 2010 18:10 ET

And God said to Noah: Don't fret about global warming

A Republican seeking to chair the House Energy committee explains why devastating climate is impossible VIDEO

BY ANDREW LEONARD

Back in March 2009, when Nancy Pelosi ruled the House of Representatives with an iron fist, one could chuckle at Republicans who came to committee hearings quoting scripture as the rationale for their positions on energy policy.

A Local Fox Station Asks For Your Say . . .

 

 

Anti-Science Tea?

http://www.religiondispatches.org/dispatches/laurilebo/3679/prepare_for_attack_on_science_by_newly-elected_republicans/

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Prepare for Attack on Science by Newly-Elected Republicans

by Lauri Lebo @ Religion Dispatches

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I met a girl who sang the blues
And I asked her for some happy news,
But she just smiled and turned away.

In addition to the drubbing Democrats took last night, it looks like science and reason got brutalized too. 

Last night’s Republican victories swept in a cadre of anti-science senators - Rand Paul (R-KY), Ron Johnson (R-WI), Marco Rubio (R-FL), Kelly Ayotte (R-NH), John Hoeven (R-ND), Pat Toomey (R-PA).

Most of the anti-science candidates are targeting climate change as their attack issue du jour, and will likely join forces with the new congressional Republican leadership, which has vowed to lead witch hunts in the form of congressional hearings into the Environmental Protection Agency’s regulatory policies. And even more frightening, to use the high-profile events to go after climate scientists. 

Halloweening . . .

ESSAY from Religion Dispatches (link)

October 28, 2010

Halloween, Evangelicals, and the Macabre

Reflections on our Monstrous Creations

 By JOHN W. MOREHEAD

It’s October and the telltale signs of Halloween are everywhere; everything from candy to breakfast cereal marketed in orange and black, doors and windows festooned with fake cobwebs and, on a slightly less positive note, evangelicals intensify their critique of all things macabre and “occultic.”

American evangelicalism has always had a strong sense of evil which it battles in various manifestations—frequently in the form of popular culture. This sense of the presence of and confrontation with evil, however, is intensified during the Halloween season whether the focus is the holiday itself or those minority religions associated with it.

European Christians and Evolution

Link to original article in USAToday

Oct 31, 2010

European Christians are evolutionary outliers 

08:00 AM 

European Christians are outliers among their coreligionists, finds a survey of creationist beliefs, with a 70% acceptance of the evidence for evolution.In the Evolution & Development journal survey by David Wilson of Australia's University of Newcastle, roughly 4,300 respondents worldwide detailed their religious beliefs and scientific views. The 2008- 2009 survey took three minutes to complete. It shows:

"The most common reason for Christians not accepting evolution was that ''the Bible's book of Genesis should be interpreted literally'' (73% of respondents) and generally reasons were based not on evidence but on religious doctrine. In contrast, the most common reason for not accepting the existence of a god by atheists who supported evolution was that ''there is no evidence'' (85% of respondents) and generally reasons were based on evidence and not on sentiment or principle."

Don't Know Much About the Middle Ages . . .

Look at the pictures and I turn the pages . . .

 

 Don't know much about religion?

 Take the PEW test to find out. 

 Compare your scores to the nation.

 Find out who did best -- and worst.

Go to this link, then come back and share how you did.