A Welsh View

Happy Easter

I'm going to try something different today. I'm only going to post Easter related articles today. I've already posted the giant Cadbury's Creme Egg, the solid Easter egg and the world's largest Easter egg so I won't be posting them again. Hopefully there will be enough out there for me to post about.

Are Britons Turning Into Atheists?

The Mirror: Only 44% Now Believe In God

People who believe God exists are now a minority in Britain, a survey claimed yesterday.

According to a poll by YouGov, just 44 per cent believe in God compared to 77 per cent in 1968.

A majority - 81 per cent - also believe the country is becoming more secular, with fewer people going to places of worship.

But among this percentage, 68 per cent of believers and 14 per cent of non-believers, regretted that society was becoming less religious.

Only a third of the 1,981 people who took part in the online survey believe in heaven and even fewer believe in the devil. Just a quarter think hell exists. Fewer than half, 43 per cent, believed their souls would outlast their bodily life.

Young people especially are significantly less religious than older generations, with more than a third saying they were agnostics or atheists.

Among middle-aged people and the elderly, the figure is far smaller, according to YouGov.

The Telegraph has the full poll results here

Britain Has Almost 400,000 Jedi Knights

According to an article in the Daily Telegraph there are over 170 different faiths or belief systems in Britain and obscurely, the Jedi Knight faith is #5 with a 390,127 followers. This is more than Sikh, Jewish and Buddhist. The article has a lot more details and figures for other religions and beliefs.

Universe's 6,000th Birthday

The Guardian: Universe's 6,000th birthday

Britain's geologists are about to celebrate the fact that the universe is exactly 6,000 years old.

At 6pm tonight at the Geological Society of London, scientists will raise their glasses to James Ussher, Archbishop of Armagh (below), who in 1650 used the chronology of the Bible to calculate the precise date and moment of creation.

Working from the book of Genesis, and risking some speculation on the Hebrew calendar, he calculated that it began at 6pm on Saturday October 22, 4004 BC.

However, their celebration is not entirely accurate...

More than 6,000 years have passed since 4004 BC. The symmetry is only apparent. The date is a mere numerological reflection. The real anniversary passed unnoticed, in 1997.

The Google Bible

The King James bible reprinted with key words changed. The words changed are...

God with Google,
Light with Search,
Earth with Web,
Heaven with Googleplex,
Adam with Googlebot,
Egypt with Microsoft,
LORD with ENGINE,
Israel with California,
Noah with Silicon Valley,
and Man with Algorithm.

Here's a sample...

Book 01 Genesis

001:001 In the beginning Google created the Googleplex and the web.

001:002 And the web was without form, and void; and darkness was
upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of Google moved upon
the face of the waters.

001:003 And Google said, Let there be search: and there was search.

[via Linkfilter]

Celebrity Atheists

The Celebrity Atheist List (also feat. the Celebrity Agnostic and Ambiguous List). [via Linkdump]

Pilgrim Carries Mother On 17-Year Trek

BBC: Pilgrim Carries Mother On 17-Year Trek

Village womenfolk consider him a saint as he trudges along the national highway leading towards India's technology hub, Bangalore, in the southern state of Karnataka.

Swami, as he is described, is on an epic mission - he is carrying his aged, blind mother, Kethakdevi, on his shoulders on an all-India pilgrimage.

He has already covered more than 6,000km (3,750 miles), beginning the journey in his native village of Piparia, near Jabalpur in the northern state of Madhya Pradesh eight years ago.

If all goes well, Kailashgiri's grand plan is to end his spiritual quest at the next Kumbh Mela Hindu festival in the holy city of Varanasi in 2013.

You would think that his mother would be grateful that her son is carrying her so far but evidently not...

"He is a nice son but I am getting tired. I sometimes feel like ending the journey and getting back home," says his mother, wrapped in a white sari.

Religious Movements

A ton of information about religious movements around the world. [via Linkdump]

Major Religions of the World

A list of major religions of the world ranked by the number of adherents.

No Shrapnel Please

Ananova: Vicar 'asks for notes only'

A priest stunned guests at a wedding when he reportedly asked for notes only to go into the collection.

The Reverend Mark Sowerby put a sign next to the collection bowl saying 'Paper money only', says the Sun.

Sowerby, of St Wilfred's in Harrogate in North Yorkshire, said:"I am sick of counting small change to the value of £5 to £15 a wedding.

"Such gifts are not only insulting to God but I have better things to do with my time."

If They Won't Come To Church, Go To Them

Tennessean: New places for sharing spirituality include some with taps and spirits

More and more, church groups are meeting in bars or other nontraditional locations to reach out to people who might feel a little intimidated by churches and those who don't feel spiritual in traditional settings.

''Theologically, you can't go to church,'' said Kimball, pastor of Vintage Faith Church in Santa Cruz, Calif., in a telephone interview. ''The church is the people, not the place. The church gathers. … You can gather together in a pub. You can gather together in a home. You can gather together in a park.''

The Gospel According To The Simpsons

Ananova: The Gospel according to the Simpsons

A vicar is planning a series of evening classes on the Christian message in The Simpsons.

The Rev Robin Spittle, 46, of All Saints Church, Kesgrave, Suffolk, is inviting his parishioners to join him for four classes, each one focusing on one of the four main characters - Homer, Marge, Bart and Lisa.

While the connection between the antics of the cartoon family and the teachings of the Bible may not be immediately obvious, Mr Spittle said each episode had Christian themes running though it.

What a great idea.

The Ossuary in Sedlec

The Ossuary in Sedlec is situated in Kutna Hora in the Czech Republic about 44 miles east of the capital Prague. The ground surrounding the church in Sedlec is considered holy after it was covered in soil gathered from the Holy Land in the 13th Century. As the land was considered holy it quickly became one of the most popular cemetaries in central Europe.

Within just a few days of being considered holy over 30,000 bodies were buried there. In order to allow other people to be buried there, an ossuary was created. The bodies were removed from the graves in the cemetary and placed inside the ossuary. For over three and a half centuries the bones lay stored in the ossuary before a local woodcarver, Frantisek Rindt, was given the task of decorating the church with more than 40,000 sets of bones.

This site contains a large selection of pictures of the ossuary and some more information. [via Linkfilter]

God's Got Mail

News24: God's got mail

Jews who want to send notes to heaven used to have to travel to Jerusalem and stuff them into the crevices of the Western Wall. Now, they can log onto the internet and send them by e-mail.

The service, announced on Monday by Israel's Bezeq telephone company, expands on the company's existing fax service to the Wall, which receives about 200 notes a week and more on holidays.

Since more people have access to the internet than fax machines, Bezeq hopes the e-mail service will bring many more notes.

Tradition holds that God will grant the pleas placed between the massive stones of the Wall, a retaining wall that surrounded the Jewish Temple.

Bezeq currently takes the faxed notes, puts them in special envelopes and twice a week brings them to the Wall.

If you feel the urge to email God the address is kotel@onemail.bezeq.com.

What Can The Simpsons Teach Us About Religion?

ABC: Funny Faith

Religious Scholar Thinks The Simpsons Can Teach Us Something About Prayer.

The Rev. Scott Miller, who admits to being dubious at first, is now an unabashed The Simpsons convert. He uses the show to turn students at Boston University on to God. For Miller, the show is a great way to get students talking about the nature of prayer.

This satirical show may seem like an unlikely source of inspiration, but one study found 70 percent of The Simpsons' episodes contain a reference to religion.

Mark Pinksly, author of The Gospel According to Simpsons [a great book] says the creator of the show, Matt Groening, turned to religion because they were running out of topics — and he found religion to be a treasure trove.

The Moving Church

Here's a novel way of transporting a church from A to B.

Create Your Own Church Sign

Create your very own church sign. [via Linkfilter]

"I'm not normally a religious man, but if you're up there, save me, Superman!"

Ananova: The Gospel According To The Simpsons

A Scottish church is to run a course on the Gospel according to The Simpsons to try to boost congregations.

Church leaders at Holburn West Church in Aberdeen say the adventures of Homer and his family are an ideal way to explore moral and religious dilemmas.

Each of the four meetings will cover a different episode with a group discussion of the main themes taking place after.

The Rev George Cowie, spokesman for the Presbytery in Aberdeen, said: "Despite its anarchic humour, The Simpsons is one of the few television programmes which portrays a modern family who attend church regularly.

"The course at Holburn West will endeavour to close the gap with popular culture, and it is open to anyone who wishes to learn more about the Christian faith."

[via Madville]

Vatican: condoms don't stop Aids

Yesterday I posted about a new report from the United Nations Population Fund about the possiblilty of a global catastrophe due to the rising cases of HIV amongst young people it seems that the Catholic church is not at all concerned. The church is telling people that condoms do not prevent the HIV from being transmitted.

The Catholic Church is telling people in countries stricken by Aids not to use condoms because they have tiny holes in them through which the HIV virus can pass - potentially exposing thousands of people to risk. The church is making the claims across four continents despite a widespread scientific consensus that condoms are impermeable to the HIV virus.

A senior Vatican spokesman backs the claims about permeable condoms, despite assurances by the World Health Organisation that they are untrue.

The WHO has condemned the Vatican's views, saying: "These incorrect statements about condoms and HIV are dangerous when we are facing a global pandemic which has already killed more than 20 million people, and currently affects at least 42 million."

The organisation says "consistent and correct" condom use reduces the risk of HIV infection by 90%. There may be breakage or slippage of condoms - but not, the WHO says, holes through which the virus can pass.

Why does the Catholic church feel the need to interfere with what is clearly a major problem? [via The Guardian]

There's No Need To Worry

It seems that it wasn't the unpredictable nature of hurricanes that meant that damage was less than expected back in 1985 and 1995 when hurricanes Gloria and Felix moved back out to sea. It was the the staff at the Christian Broadcasting Network who were praying that the storms didn't do too much damage, bless them.