Did I promote a cult?

"I told one guy his place was to be a pimple on the ass of the body of Christ."
--Ole Anthony

About a month ago, I posted this quote from a man named Peter Rollins: "God spoke to me, repeating four simple words: 'I do not exist.'" Then I linked to an interview with Peter Rollins, done by The Wittenburg Door. I mentioned that Rollins had a very interesting way of thinking about God and that The Wittenburg Door is one of my favourite websites.

Today I found an article there about Ole Anthony, the founder of the organization that owns The Wittenburg Door. The organization is called the Trinity Foundation, and publishing Christian satire isn't its only activity; it also investigates televangelists and manages affordable housing projects, among other activities. The article is written by a friend of his, who is quite involved in running The Wittenburg Door (he is two of the most frequent writers on the website--yes, he goes by two different names). It makes Ole Anthony sound like an eccentric man who stands up for the little guy and doesn't care about offending people. He also has a strong sense that following Jesus requires sacrifice. That quote at the top of this post is from this article.

Today I found an article that told a different story. This one paints him as an egotistical control freak. His organization that helped people who'd been controlled and victimized by religion was controlling and victimizing people itself.

I know journalists sometimes twist things, but if this second article is accurate, this organization just might be a cult. I'm not one to tell people what they can and can't read (I'll probably keep reading The Wittenburg Door myself), but I'd like to remind people to take things with a grain of salt. I still think The Door has some great things to say, but not everything in it is good. And I'd be very leery about joining their organization if the opportunity ever presented itself. The articles I linked to are long, but they are both recommended reading if you ever start reading The Wittenburg Door.

Your Beautiful Mind

I got a new CD recently--"The Impostor" by Kevin Max. I'd like to share the lyrics of one of the songs with you:

The question is
where did this begin
who authored and who finished it?
such a beautiful world
but such a twisted plan
for it to end before we really lived in it

oh tell me why is this happening?
oh tell me why should i believe in anything?

and I find your beautiful mind in everything
but everything can't make me believe
and I find your beautiful eyes see everything
so show me something beautiful please

corporations rise
as the working man will fall
we bit the apple
now the apple is eating us
we want our 15 minutes
and then we want it all
and watch our own image bleeding us

I feel so cold, and i'm growing old
so come on now just finish it

oh tell me what's the purpose of love anyway?
she looks the best when she just walks away

and I find your beautiful hands make everything
and everything is all I need
and I find your beautiful eyes see everything
so show me something beautiful please

oh I cannot figure it ( please show me Lord)
I cannot get into it ( please show me Lord, oh let me see You)
is there a code that I can't crack
my life is slipping right off the tracks
don't even know if I want it back
so take it away from me

and I find your beautiful mind in everything
and everything is all I need
I find your beautiful eyes see everything
so show me something beautiful
I find your beautiful eyes see right through me
so show me what you want me to be

The envelope gets pushed

Last week, I promised I'd push the envelope this week. So this week, for the first time in the history of this blog, I am posting a video that I made:

Promotional Gimmick, Coming Soon

I'm short on ideas for stuff to write this week. I did think of something to post, but it's not ready yet. Stay tuned. Next week, I'll really be pushing the envelope.

Destroying the universe?

It looks like someone is trying to sue to stop scientists from running something called a Large Hadron Collider. Check out the article here. Basically, some people are worried that this Collider could create a black hole that might swallow the earth. Or the Collider could destroy the universe.

As far as I know, there's no real scientific consensus on whether the universe is infinite or not. But I think this article proves that either the Large Hadron Collider will not destroy the universe, or the universe isn't infinite. If the universe is infinite, then basically everything that could possibly happen in 13 billion years would have happened somewhere. Since we're on a relatively new planet, odds are, aliens would've already developed Large Hadron Colliders, and some of them would've tested it. Obviously, it did not destroy the universe. But we don't know what happened to their planets. On the other hand, if the universe is not infinite, there is a chance we might be the first to develop this technology. Should we be worried?

I do not exist

"God spoke to me, repeating four simple words: 'I do not exist.'"

I just read an interview with a guy named Peter Rollins on one of my favourite websites, The Wittenburg Door. (If you noticed that they don't know how to spell Wittenberg, your knowledge of German geography is much greater than mine. I had to be told about that.) Anyway, Peter Rollins has a pretty interesting way of thinking about God. Have a look at the interview here.

Later on Sunday

(See my post from earlier today if you haven't read it already.)

Mary turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus.

"Woman," he said, "why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?"
Thinking he was the gardener, she said, "Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him."

Jesus said to her, "Mary."
She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, "Rabboni!" (which means Teacher).

Jesus said, "Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet returned to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, 'I am returning to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.'"

Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news: "I have seen the Lord!" And she told them that he had said these things to her.

--John 20:14-18 (NLT)