Thursday, September 24, 2015

Langar at the Golden Temple

The Golden Temple in Amritsar, India serves a langar, a free meal to thousands daily. No questions asked.


Sunday, September 13, 2015

Mormon "Preppers"

According to this article, some Mormons expect the end of the world to begin this month. This kind of thinking is not unique to the Latter-day Saints.

Sikh. American.

Islamophobia is real. It is wrong. It is inexcusable.

And sometimes it leads ignorant  bigots to act out against other religious groups.

Here is a good op-ed piece about being a Sikh American.

The High Holy Days

Rockford Rabbi Binah Wing explains Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur in this article.

Wednesday, September 9, 2015

Santhara Update

Following up on this post, India's high court has lifted the ban on the Jain practice of santhara. Read about it here.

The decision is controversial. A quick Google search on "santhara" turns up many articles debating the practice.

More on that Statue of Baphomet

An article on the BBC website decodes the symbolism of the Temple of Satan's statue of Baphomet.

It should be noted that the Temple of Satan, like most modern Satanists, does not really conceive of Satan as an evil spiritual being. From the article:

We understand the Satanic figure as a symbol of man's inherent nature, representative of the eternal rebel, enlightened inquiry and personal freedom rather than a supernatural deity or being.

Monday, September 7, 2015

Bible Museum in Washington DC

Ads for the Museum of the Bible keep showing up on my Facebook feed. This article explains a lot. And it has a cool illustration:






Circumambulating the Kaaba on a "Hoverboard"

When ancient religion meets modern technology the results can be...disconcerting.

The man in this video appears to be using a hands-free segway to perform tawaf, the walk around the Kaaba in Mecca.



I'm not sure what to make of this. Neither, it seems, do some Muslims.

Article here.

Wednesday, September 2, 2015

The Mormonizing of America

Mormonism is influential beyond its numbers. Especially now. This article examines some of the reasons.

Kumbh Mela

Good article explaining the Hindu festival of Kumbh Mela here.