Welcome

What 

This is my first attempt at a blog or any other sort of regularly updated piece of literature.   Ever.  As a result, the format, contents, tone, and pretty much everything else is liable to vary wildly between the various articles, blurbs, rants, essays, and other miscellaneous bits of information posted here.  However, there is a purpose... I'll let you know what that is as soon as I know - but I'm pretty sure it involves being thought-provoking/controversial and focusing on issues of interest to those incredibly intelligent people who also happen to have an interest in religion, particularly the life and times of the United Church of Canada and St. Andrew's United Church in Calgary, AB.

I will attempt to update this on a regular basis, and will also endeavor to respond to comments promptly.  The exact meaning of both 'regular' and 'prompt' will be determined as time goes on.

Also, the opinions expressed here are not necessarily my own (or those of any person or organization that I am affiliated with).  So, if something annoys you, makes you want to throw things,  or goes completely against what you believe or have been taught, DON'T PANIC.  That's a good thing.  Think about your reaction, what exactly caused it, and leave a comment or question or rant of your own.

Why

It seemed like a good idea at the time. 

News from Away 

 - News articles, stories, and web-pages... from the sublime to the ridiculous

• Religion and Stress - a breif report on a study on religious fervour and anxiety
• • Further reading - a different study finds that those who claim a strong religious affiliation consider theselves happier more often than those who do not claim a strong religious affiliation
• Sermon Sources - plagarism is apparently not limited to students
• Religion in Sports - a recent article, although much much more has been written on the topic
• American Idol - what is a secular pop culture-based show doing when it promotes evangelicalism?
• • Further reading
• Another look at Kaballah - a thorough examination of a center in LA
• Religious Liscense Plates? - Florida considers allowing a Christian group to produce and legally sell specialty liscense plates
• Religious Destruction? - is religious (Christian) faith speeding up the destruction of the planet?
• Religious Cell Phones? - a review of cell phone plans aimed at those professing specific beliefs
• Religious Liberty? -  a  brief dicussion of FLDS polygamy in the US
• • A Canadian perspective - a somewhat outdated report from Bountiful, BC 
  • Further reading on the Texas incident
  • More further reading
• Religious Tourism? - an exhumed saint provides some extra income for a shrine
  

   Old News

• Religious Violence - an academic explores 'why'
• Religious Tolerance - it includes more than just tolerating those you like
• Religious Programming - spreading the Word via podcast, and perhaps increasing the market for this product
• Religious Loyalty - weekly service attendance is positively linked to marital fidelity
  

• A Numbers Game - statistics on who's bigger (and therefore better) than who

• The 'New' Sins - they may not be deadly, but they are food for thought
  
• Going in Circles - a brief discussion of labyrinths as a form a walking meditation
• "Resist, Counter and Protest" - a move to influence public education in BC
• Prosperity Prayer Product - how to become rich from the comfort of your own home
• Ancient Psychedelic Drugs - how Moses really heard a voice in a burning bush
• Hunky Jesus Competition - the name says it all; a somewhat alternative Easter practice
• A recent "newsworthy" baptism - surprisingly, not a step towards positive inter-faith relations
• Taking Christ out of Christianity - a deliberate act by a Ontario minister
  

(Any articles of interest and other commentary is always welcome - feel free to leave a comment.)