Tokyo

I’ve just got back from the 19th World Congress of the International Association for the History of Religions, which took place in Tokyo. No time for blogging just now, but as a stop-gap here’s a pic from the Kanamara Shrine in Kawasaki, where preparations are currently underway for the yearly festival. According to the English-language [...]

Busy

I’m going to be busy for the next seven days…see you all next week!

Court Case has Miles to Go

The Thomas More Center reports on a court finding in favour of Rev. Austin Miles:
…a California state court has set aside a $1 million dollar default judgment [Michael] Newdow obtained against Reverend Austin Miles for libel.
The libel judgment was based on a news article written by Reverend Miles in which he opined that Newdow had lied [...]

Armyless in Gaza

Ha’aretz has a bit more about the mass rally at the Temple Mount (site of the al-Asqa Mosque and Dome of the Rock) currently being planned by the Israeli far right. I assume this is the same proposed action that WorldNetDaily advertised just a few days ago, although WND gave April as the date, while Ha’aretz [...]

Bashing the Bishop

The BBC reports that Argentine bishop Antonio Baseotto, who ministers to the military, has been “sacked”(“de-recognised” would perhaps be a better term, since only the Pope can do a sacking) by the government after suggesting a Pinochet-style execution for Health Minister Gines Gonzalez Garcia, who supports legalising abortion:
Quoting a passage from the New Testament, he [...]

Jerusalem the Pink

Staying with the alleged “Holy City” of Jerusalem (see yesterday), the AP reports in Ha’aretz (link from The Revealer) on the upcoming WorldPride 2005 slated for the city:
A coalition of evangelical Christians from the United States and local ultra-Orthodox Jews said Wednesday it would try to prevent an international gay pride parade from being held [...]

Israeli Far Right Puffed on WND (again)

WorldNetDaily’s Jerusalem correspondent Aaron Klein puffs the Israeli far right with a sensational headline bannered on WND’s homepage:
10,000 Jews to ascend Temple Mount
Group seeks to reclaim Israeli control of holy site
Well, if that is actually the case, then I am rather alarmed. Small groups of Jewish activists have tried to enter the Temple Mount [...]

Broock No Criticism

Stephen Mansfield, author of the best-selling The Faith of George W Bush, has written a spirited defence of neo-Pentecostal leader Rice Broocks (whom I’ve covered before) on his blog (Feb 21; no permalink – thanks to a reader for the link):
Recently, some friends showed me a web site on which critics were trying to make a [...]

Chinatown, Kobe

In Chinatown, Kobe:

(I’m on the left)

Doug Giles to Reconstruct USA

A contact kindly forwards me a new interview with Doug Giles, posted at the Chalcedon Foundation. Giles relates his early years as a junkie (although the youthful arrests for burglary are no longer part of his shtick) and how a charismatic church caused him to “clean up” his act (no mention of His People either). However, these [...]