Survey: U.S. religious landscape in flux

This was in my email this morning. This is a big deal. The various Protestant denominations employ a lot of people in this country.

Religions that are growing include Church of Latter Day Saints, Islam, and neo-Paganism.

Accused witch gives birth in tree

It is hard to believe that this is still going on anywhere in the world, but apparently it is.

Papua New Guinea is largely Christianize today, with several different denominations. However, the pre-Christian animist roots are still very prevalent. This incident could possibly be a result of what American Pagans might call a "witch war". In other words, two groups with a long standing disputes, each using traditional magic against the other. The one that was losing decides to resort to more direct violence.

Bishop fined in gay discrimination case

This is an example of a power struggle between religion & secular government. The gay-rights issue is only the latest incarnation of it.

CURRENTS / Religion gets personal

This was so interesting! This is an article from the Daily Yomiuri about new innovations in funerary customs in Japan.

"Buddhism came to play a big part in funeral services in Japan in the late Edo period (1603-1867) at the politically motivated instruction of the shogunate. Before that, community leaders had conducted rituals in accordance with Shinto-influenced customs when a member of their community died.

In an attempt to stamp out Christianity, the shogunate required all families to register with a temple and placed the Buddhist institution in charge of ritual care of the dead. With the funeral being such an important Christian rite, the shogunate could deduce that anyone who did not follow the Buddhist service after death was likely to be a Christian."

I had no idea that there was this much tension between the Shogun and the Christians in the 1600s, but it makes sense.

Dispute Over Salary Survey of Christian Ministries

Jack Siegel, a Chicago lawyer, says that "Mr. Dehler is playing the role of “armchair compensation expert” and may be condemning Christian leaders for perfectly acceptable pay levels given their workload and successes". I don't know. Is $465,000 in combined compensation a little much? I wonder what the Office Coordinator makes?

The Story Behind the Killings of Congo's Rare Mountain Gorillas

I got into an argument (well, rather, let us say a passionate discussion) on my hobby blog about over population. It started with me saying that there are just too many people in the world, and someone else insisting that human population will eventually control itself. My point was that, yes, human population will be controlled, but it will not control itself. Mother Nature with control it for us. In the mean time, there are an awful lot of endangered species whose existences hangs by a threat because, well, gee, there are just too many people.

This article kind of proves my point. Yes, people need firewood. And, now there is a charcoal black market. And, whenever there is a black market, there is a mafia. And, gee... this is what a mafia does, no matter where it is.

Putting the clock back 10,000 years

I found this in my email this morning. The interesting thing here (besides the fact that the information is just fascinating to anyone who is interested in ancient proto-Celtic civilization, is that the information is coming to us through Avon Corp. What is up with that? Is Avon somehow connected to the River Avon? I have no idea, but enjoy, anyway!

Gorillas Found Tossing "Weapons," Study Says

I am, quite frankly, am shocked that they think this is such a big deal. Caesar, the incredibly beautiful gorilla that used to live at the L.A. zoo (sadly, he died of an intestinal infection a few years back), used to hurl turds and visitors, then hide behind the rocks. This was his very own brand of gorilla-game, and I always felt very honored when he hurled turds at me.

Taoist homosexuals turn to the Rabbit God

I found this in my email this morning.

My exposure to Taoism is mostly through the New Age Movement. New Agers tend to be very tolerant towards the LGBT community. However, it never occurred to me to wonder what Taiwanese Taoists think about the matter. This article was a gift!