April 06, 2008
March 06, 2008
Jesus sparkled
January 28, 2008
Jesus loves me, this I know
'Cuz his light switch tells me so:
January 24, 2008
Jesus and the Bear by Jim Woodring
For an exegesis and (print!) of this painting, read the artist's post and comments.
December 24, 2007
Hooked on God
December 14, 2007
An intoxicating alternative to Christmas Tree idolatry
Does the prophet Jeremiah's condemnation of Christmas trees make you uncomfortable with decorating your own this holiday season?
Well, one way to maintain the tradition without violating the letter of Jeremiah's command would be to make your very own beer bottle Christmas tree! No woods or chopping necessary--just plenty of holiday cheer.
HT: Russell's Teapot, AltReligion, Unbounded Edition, Faith Central
August 24, 2006
American Idols
While searching around the web today I came across one man's tale of triumph over the lure of false gods. Yes, it's true: "Life can go on without blogging, cable and nascar."
Not everyone, of course, would agree.
May 13, 2006
One of these things is not like the other
On Broadway from 34th to 23rd (in New York, naturally), you'll find store after store selling cheap but oh so shiny religious jewelry. Among other things.
Above: in a display of pendants, a football player desperately tries to avoid Christ's call, only to crash into the Cross. In other words, just another day for the recruitment staff at Notre Dame.
May 12, 2006
Aquaman of Sorrows
May 10, 2006
Stoned
Stones have long been a source of inspiration for spiritual creativity. Crystals, of course, have been a mainstay of modern new age practice, while priests and preachers have waxed rhapsodic about the spiritual import of stones mentioned in the Bible.
Here's a recent human interest story about a woman who has created a small business crafting jewelry out of biblical stones. Pictured above: religious stones from Magicstones.com.
Of course, stones aren't the only hard object used in expressing a sense of higher meaning--ancient shell beads found in South Africa provide what may be the earliest evidence of symbolic thought. As noted in this article from National Geographic,
the production of art or jewelry is universally accepted as an indicator of symbolic thinking.
"Beads are tangible evidence of a concept of self," [archaelogist John] Bower said. "You're not going to decorate yourself if you have no concept of self."
April 29, 2006
The Old Rugged Cat
The newspaper in Clovis, New Mexico has a feature on Cheryl Burch, a local woman who crafts custom-made crosses for any occasion. For example, Cheryl recalls
creating a fruit-themed cross to coincide with another friend’s kitchen theme. “I’ve even made a cross decorated with cats,” Burch said.
If there were ever an article that cried out for pictures . . .
April 12, 2006
Roadside America
Betrayal of Jesus
Originally uploaded by bendystraw.
While the next three days of the Easter holiday get all the press, today is Spy Wednesday, the day on the Church calendar that marks Judas' betrayal of Jesus in exchange for 30 pieces of silver.
This incident has inspired any number of powerful images over the centuries, but none is literally more full of power than this Christmas light display.
March 21, 2006
"I'm melting!"
March 15, 2006
That Which Survives
The following sequence from Scary Movie 4 answers an important question here at the B of G:
Who would win in a fight, the Blingdom of God or an alien death ray?
So Not Fly for a White Guy
Words fail me. Just watch this latest video from You Tube . . .
Rapping Pastor with Bling
March 09, 2006
Jesus Complex
A whole line of WWSD fashions is now available at SantinoRice.com. For more on the WWJD phenomenon this parodies, click here.
March 07, 2006
The McPassion of the Christ
While the mission of the BofG is primarily to celebrate spiritual adornment, we are always open to the voice of prophets exhorting us to reflect upon our sins. Especially when the prophets are funny.
Above is a screenshot from The McPassion, a short parody of religious commercialism by award-winning filmmakers Rik Swartzwelder and Benjamen Hershleder. The premise: imagine if McDonald's had a done a tie-in with Mel Gibson's Passion of the Christ, a film marketed to Christians in much the same way as a secular commercial blockbuster.
The McPassion shoots at several targets, from the implicit anti-semitism of Gibson's blockbuster (McM's knife-wielding mohel is a blend of Friday the Thirteenth and the Protocols of the Elders of Zion) to the ubiquitous use of kids as a marketing gimmick reminder of Christ's love for his little ones to--ta da!--our universal penchant for religious tchotchkes. Above, a happy child wearing a McCrown of Thorns enjoys french fries in the shape of a eucharist . . .
while these two images tout a DaVinci Code Decoder Ring and a McDonald's version of the trendy Kabbalah red string bracelet. Want to see more? Until April 15, it's available for free viewing at themcpassion.com.
And while you're there, you might want to check out the discussion section, where the filmmakers generously include critiques that the film is simply anti-religious & anti-Christian. I'd post my own thoughts on this, but I have to go buy some Narnia jewelry before it sells out.
March 02, 2006
The Blini-dom of God??
"Please, Lord, don't let the woman selling the Jesus pancake on eBay actually be related to me."
That's the prayer of writer Susan Reinhardt when she discovers that her sister has gone from selling millionaire bling to miracle blini. Though Reinhardt's heavenly appeal went unanswered, at least it gave her a fun topic for a column. For more on sacred short stacks, click here!