Eoin Butler: writer, journalist and Mayoman of the Year
Tripping Along The Ledge
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Faith Alive
1. What’s the difference between a saint and a masochist? Not a whole lot, provided you’re the Pope.
2. “The Lord directed that I go to the sun tanning salon and get sun tanned more evenly on their suntanning beds.” A fascinating (and, on balance, pretty sympathetic) snapshot of life inside the polygamist Fundamentalist Church of Latter Day Saints from this month’s National Geographic. 3. Scientology cris-o-tunity in Haiti. (But where the hell’s Tom Cruise? Come on Tom, you just know you’re the only person who can help… It’s KSW, baby!!)
5. Admittedly, this last one has absolutely nothing to do with religion. But I think it has a nice ecumenical message all the same…
January 27th, 2010.
January 27th, 2010 at 11:10 am
I think that last one has the most religious message of all.
January 27th, 2010 at 1:22 pm
It’s been quite some time since I’d last seen that Cruise video. I think it gets scarier every time you see it. *shudder*
January 27th, 2010 at 1:25 pm
@ gueleton – it’s obviously been edited a bit but even still, the guy is batshit crazy, no doubt about it.
January 27th, 2010 at 1:52 pm
Don’t know if you’ll have read this but there’s a book called ‘The Year of Living Biblically’ by AJ Jacobs which looks at the odder aspects of religion by attempting to live according to the literal rules of the bible.
Bonus Fact – According to the Old Testament if you are in a fight with your neighbour and his wife attempts to protect him by grabbing your genitalia you must cut off her hand.
January 27th, 2010 at 3:42 pm
@ Chris – I haven’t read it but I seem to remember it getting a pretty scathing review in the New York Time (I think.) Is it any good?
January 27th, 2010 at 5:14 pm
Number five is brilliant esp. I got a redneck homeboy his name is Chuck, We takin monster bong hits in his monster truck…..
Pisstake or serious you think?
January 28th, 2010 at 11:36 am
The book isn’t the most groundbreaking thing ever written but it has its moments. Its also suprisingly balanced in its views (I really wanted to say he wasn’t preachy). He never overly praises or condemns the views of groups he’s talking to, he just tries to understand why they believe what they believe.
Considering my views on religion are firmly rooted in the atheist (possibly stretching to agnostic) category I thought that managing to make me understand what I sometimes consider to be the madness of religion a little bit more understandable while keeping me entertained made it a worthwhile read. Mind you I do remember a few cringeworthy introspective moments about how to raise his son without religion. I think the best description I can give of this book is its a book you would borrow off a friend or buy in an airport.
January 28th, 2010 at 12:48 pm
@ Massey – I’m pretty sure it’s real.
@ Chris – I’d have thought that, as positions on the existence or otherwise of God go, atheism is more of a stretch than agnosticism, no?