'Far East Side Story': Rival Buddhist monk gangs rumble in the street

To dispel the myth that Buddhist monks sit around all day meditating on their navels, rival gangs of Vietnamese and Cambodian monks tried to put a little whoop-ass on each other in Cambodia on Friday. I can't help but think of the movie West Side Story when I think of these monks in flowing orange robes smacking each other around.

I don't even pretend to understand what their beef is with each other. You can read the story yourself, or just look at the pictures.

I hear ya snapping your fingers and singing to yourself, "When you're a Jet...." Me too.

Duh-NA-NA-na-nah....

Buddhism | Buddhist Monks | Vietnam | Cambodia | Religious Tolerance | Born Jesus

Miami pastor sports '666' tattoo; claims to be Antichrist, 'the best person in the world'

Previously posted on Feb. 19. Moved back to the top to reflect the 4/19/07 update.

Just what we need, another reincarnation of Jesus Christ.

And of course, like the Original, this one is pissing off other religious leaders. He's already being compared to Jim Jones and David Koresh, though no one's drinking Kool-Aid® or marrying eleven-year olds quite yet.

Not only does Jose Luis de Jesus Miranda, or "Daddy" as his thousands of followers call him, sport a "666" tattoo, he claims to be God.

"The spirit that is in me is the same spirit that was in Jesus of Nazareth," de Jesus says.

The "mark of the devil" and a God-complex.... Ah, the Pharisees and Sadduces, the Catholics and the Baptists will all have a field day with this man. Already branded as a "cult-leader" by cult experts Rick Ross and Prof. Daniel Alvarez, de Jesus is poised to soon become famous. He has appeared on CNN's Anderson Cooper 360 [watch video on YouTube] recently, and NBC's Today Show (where he referred to himself as "Jesus Christ Man") several months ago. CNN published yet another article about him today.

De Jesus is proud of his 666 tattoo, saying not only has the Anti-Christ been misunderstood, but that he is the Anti-Christ. The Antichrist is not the devil, de Jesus tells his congregation; he's the being who replaces Jesus on Earth.

"Antichrist is the best person in the world," he says. "Antichrist means don't put your eyes on Jesus because Jesus of Nazareth wasn't a Christian. Antichrist means do not put your eyes on Jesus Christ of Nazareth. Put it on Jesus after the cross."

Apparently his particular "vision" is working. He was born poor in Puerto Rico 61 years ago, has survived prisons stints for petty theft, and is a former heroin addict. His church, which boasts "thousands of members in more than 30 countries," pays him a $136,000 per year salary. He sports Rolex watches and drives BMWs and Lexuses, which he says are gifts from members. He formed the group "Growing in Grace" in the 1980s, after his 1973 epiphany in which the resurrected Christ "integrated himself within me."

His church members love him. Last week, 30 of them gathered in Miami to go en masse to a tattoo parlor to get their very own "666" tats.

UPDATE Thurs., April 19: The Central American nations of El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras have banned Jose Luis de Jesus Miranda from entering their countries. Miranda was scheduled to be in Guatemala on April 21 and 22 to celebrate his 61st birthday with his followers. Thanks to Jennifer Emick at altreligion.about.com for the heads-up on this update.

Jesus Christ | Christian | Christianity | Growing in Grace | Jose Luis de Jesus Miranda | Born Jesus

I saw Jesus in the sky!

You'd think if Jesus wanted His name painted across the sky He would do it Himself.

But since He hasn't, Jerry Stevens of Holy Smoke, Inc., of south central Florida, is doing it for Him.

This photo was taken by a blogger at Distant Creations who was visiting Disney World recently. There was a smiley face, too, that he said didn't fit into the camera frame. Commenters at his blog say that ol' Jerry is up there most every weekend — so often that locals pay him no attention — burning gas for God.

You can probably hire Jerry to annoy the pagans and granfalloon the Christians at Disney World or other Florida attractions during your vacation by visiting his website. There's also a link there that, according to its title, you can click on to "accept God's Love."

Sources: Distant Creations and BoingBoing

Jesus Christ | Christian | Christianity | Skywriting | Disney World | Born Jesus

Blogswarm Against Theocracy

Last weekend's Blogswarm Against Theocracy seems like it was a modest success. Several hundred bloggers typed up a a storm swarm.

My friend the Widow's Son at the Burning Taper blog left a trail of interesting rants and articles about theocracy in America. Check 'em out:

• Blogs Against Theocracy: 'We're not gonna take it!'
• Get your theocracy off my democracy: America is not a Christian nation
  
• Statue of Liberation through Christ: Does it honor God, or is it just a ridiculous eyesore?
• List of blogs that participated in the Blogswarm Against Theocracy
• Onward Christian Lawyers: Pat Robertson's law school grads fill Dept. of Justice

Jesus Christ | Christian | Christianity | Blogswarm Against Theocracy | Theocracy | Born Jesus

Then I guess I'll have a beer

The Coca-Cola Company doesn't mind placing its logo in the hands of hundreds of various movie characters, unless his name happens to be Jesus.

The Italian film Seven Kilometers from Jerusalem has been pulled from its scheduled release today, after Coke lawyers complained that the modern-day Jesus depicted in the movie drinking their product gives the company a bad image.

"We are not interested in this kind of product placement," a Coca-Cola Italia spokeswoman said.

The film will be re-edited, and should be released before the end of April, Variety reported.

Jesus Christ | Christian | Christianity | Coca-Cola | Movies | Born Jesus