Religious dogma in the Middle Ages helped create the modern domestic chickens, new research suggests. Christians subject to fasting edicts at that time were banned from eating meat from four-legged animals, but they could eat chickens and eggs. Continue reading
Less than 24 hours after the U.S. House of Representatives approved a new healthcare plan, the plan’s detractors have found the saddest possible way of protesting. Thanks to a new website, you can ship your cremated remains to a Republican lawmaker should you die as a result of the plan. Continue reading ‘Nobody dies Read more
In April a church for marijuana lovers opened in Denver. Dubbed the “International Church of Cannabis,” the group says it will ultimately serve as a “spiritual home to adults who seek to become the best version of themselves by way of the cannabis flower — a sacrament regarded as a gift from the universal creative Read more
Famed muralist Okuda San Miguel has taken his signature style most recently seen in the revitalized Kaos Temple skate park and transformed an old Moroccan church facade into an artistic destination. His “11 Mirages to the Freedom” mural wraps around the entire building, highlighting 11 different characters whose two-dimensional appearances interact with the structure itself. Read more
A Catholic deacon has won a competition to live in one of central Europe’s last hermitages, beating 50 other applicants to occupy a 350-year-old cliffside cell above a small Austrian town. Stan Vanuytrecht, 58, responded to an advertisement placed by Fr Alois Moser, which asked for someone with a “connection to Christian belief” and “at Read more
The sign of the cross is a gesture that has ancient and biblical roots. While it may appear that some Catholics make it superstitiously, it was never intended to be done in such a way. According to writings that date back to the 3rd century, Christians have been making the sign of the cross over Read more
Muslims aren’t supposed to drink wine, and it seems coffee become something of a cultural substitute. As a result, at the beginning of the 17 century some people thought that coffee in some way represented an anti-Christian beverage, a “bitter invention of Satan.” They said the pope should condemn and forbid it for Christians. Continue Read more
A meeting to organise religious leaders — for people who don’t believe in organised religion? The humanist clergy — spiritual leaders for people who don’t like to talk about God but do like to gather for a moral purpose — are trying to get a lot more organized Read more
Why did the English poet, Catholic convert, and Jesuit priest Gerard Manley Hopkins decide to give up poetry for Lent? On January 18, 1866, he composed his poem “The Habit of Perfection,” which hailed the virtue of asceticism. Five days later, on January 23, he included poetry in a list of things he planned to Read more
The Tearfund has issued a lenten challenge –The Great Wardrobe Clean Out. Set a time to look in your wardrobe Repurpose, reuse recycle Stop it building up again The challenge is part of the Tearfund’s Lenten campaign. People who signed up, received a daily email suggesting people to rethink ethical consumption Read more