For Those of You on Your Way to Church This Morning ...a note from Michael Moore October 4th, 2009 1:56 AM Friends, I'd like to have a word with those of you who call yourselves Christians (Muslims, Jews, Buddhists, Bill Maherists, etc. can read along, too, as much of what I have to say, I'm sure, can be applied to your own spiritual/ethical values). In my new film I speak for the first time in one of my movies about my own spiritual beliefs. I have always believed that one's religious leanings are deeply personal and should be kept private. I'm also against any proselytizing; I certainly don't want you to join anything I belong to. Amidst all the Wall Street bad guys and corrupt members of Congress exposed in "Capitalism: A Love Story," I pose a simple question in the movie: "Is capitalism a sin?" I have come to believe that there is no getting around the fact that capitalism is opposite everything that Jesus (and Moses and Mohammed and Buddha) taught. I guess that's bad news for us Americans. At the same time, Wall Street bankers ("Blessed Are the Wealthy"?)
Survey: Atheists Know More About Religion Than Believers Have a question about religion? You ought to ask someone who has completely rejected it. According to a survey conducted by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life, atheists and agnostics tend to know more about religion than members of most faiths, the Los Angeles Times reports. (More on NewsFeed: Atheists are the new movie villains.) Why did atheists do so well? (More on TIME.com: What your brain looks like on faith.) The survey had one bright spot, at least: 80% of respondents knew that Mother Teresa was a Catholic.
Australian strip clubs safer than churches - dnaindia.com Aussies are safer in a strip club than a church, suggests new government data. According to the latest figures compiled by the New South Wales Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research, 1600 people were charged with committing a range of 27 offences in the state's "places of worship'' in 2008. Astonishingly, the data showed only 282 people were charged with the same offences in adult entertainment premises. "Most people would think of churches and synagogues as sanctuaries in society,'' News.com.au quoted bureau director Don Wedderburn, as saying. Wedderburn added: "But maybe that's naive, because the statistics show they are likely to rob, assault or steal from people there like anywhere else. The figures are genuinely surprising.'' The data showed 85 people were assaulted in places of worship, compared to 66 at an adult entertainment premises. The report names churches, synagogues, monasteries, mosques, convents, cathedrals and chapels as places of worships.
UnBooks:The Autobiography of Jesus of Nazareth This isn't me. Not even close. I'm pretty sure I never looked like a gay wrestler. The novel The Autobiography of Jesus of Nazareth is also available in paperback. Jesus of Nazareth. But do you really? So much of my life has been just plain mistranslated, and gotten wrong. I know it has been a while since I was alive, but so many people have the wrong impression of how my life went, I have to set the record straight somehow. Mom was a virgin I'm pretty sure I never glowed. Yeah, right. The 12 Apostles It has been said that upon reaching adulthood, I went out and found 12 men to follow with me around, and help me with my work on earth. Looking at it all now, I guess I can't really fault the Catholics for trying to eat me every Sunday. Turning Water into Wine According to the bible, I was at a wedding party, and the people were running out of wine. Well, while James was busy, the rest of us rolled 4 of the vintner's barrels of wine out of a barn, down the road, and to the party. Where was I?