Weird Religion

Blessings abound as we round up some of the weirdest and most wonderful and most horrible stories from the end of 2021. Baptist women try to lead, small green children will grow up on Mars and turn feeble, you will find $600,000 in a megachurch bathroom, and you will protest our Nazi government in a Cheesecake Factory.

And here are links to the stories, in no particular order:

Speaking Babylonian in Marvel: https://www.tcd.ie/news_events/articles/whats-the-babylonian-for-thank-you-trinity-academic-provides-ancient-babylonian-translations-for-marvel-studios-eternals/

Future world will suck: https://futurism.com/the-byte/ar-pioneer-warns-metaverse

Mars mutant children with photo of green child: https://www.the-sun.com/tech/4044467/elon-musk-mars-children-mutations-skin-bones/ 

Southern Baptist Women Lead: https://apnews.com/article/religion-baptist-6c5ea89af77883048855b41e4bc30963 

Bendroth book Leah referenced: https://www.amazon.com/Fundamentalism-Present-Margaret-Lamberts-Bendroth/dp/0300068646 

WSJ reports: people leaving religion during pandemic: https://www.wsj.com/articles/more-americans-left-religion-during-the-pandemic-11639494003 

Satanic theories about concert deaths: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/nov/09/astroworld-disaster-fuels-wave-of-satanic-conspiracy-theories-on-tiktok

New religion on the internet https://www.vox.com/the-goods/22832827/manifesting-tiktok-astroworld-conspiracy-qanon-religion 

$600,000 in the church bathroom walls: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/plumber-finds-cash-checks-loose-toilet-wall-joel-osteens-lakewood-chur-rcna7512 

City buried beneath Iowa: https://religiondispatches.org/mormon-group-digging-for-scriptural-city-of-zarahemla-in-iowa-is-a-portrait-of-religious-nationalism/; https://iowastartingline.com/2021/12/06/archeological-search-underway-in-se-iowa-for-ancient-morman-city/

Love Has Won: https://www.westword.com/news/silver-colloidal-treatment-love-has-won-cult-leader-death-update-12974120

JFK: https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-features/qanon-dallas-conspiracy-theorist-jfk-still-there-1264953/

Cult of We: https://www.almanacnews.com/news/2021/12/16/authors-of-new-book-on-wework-discuss-the-cult-of-we

Optimal Business: https://www.channelnewsasia.com/commentary/workaholic-work-life-balance-employees-office-workers-hybrid-working-employment-2383521

Cheesecake Factory: https://twitter.com/l2ftv/status/1470993160939712512?s=21

"Cult fave" : https://www.bustle.com/life/33-cult-favorite-products-on-amazon-that-actually-live-up-to-the-hype-8334906

Unfortunately posed inflatable Santa: https://www.newsweek.com/womans-obscene-santa-display-goes-viral-hoa-lady-just-had-stroke-1654648 

Geraldo Rivera opens a safe: https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/78842/oral-history-30-years-ago-geraldo-rivera-opened-al-capones-vault

Jesus applies for VP of Student Success: https://www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/jesus-christ-applies-for-vp-of-student-success

An age-old historical and theological question: Why was Jesus crucified? We explore a shocking theory, as Leah engages in a rare (for her) ambush session on Brian with an unexpected twist.

The 19-second sermon clip: https://youtu.be/0fVt7eR1o_w

Steven Furtick’s controversial tweet: https://images.app.goo.gl/rUotpKingcWMtUgw5

WEIRDOS: peeking our heads into your life with a substantive check-in on these things:
(1) Brian is still watching Battlestar Galactica, and the last ep (S4E11) was bananas (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AIV5UqIV0a0&t=248s)
(2) Many of us are still wounded by the ending of Lost (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JH0DigVw1bA)
(3) Leo DiCaprio in talks to play Jim Jones (https://ew.com/movies/leonardo-dicaprio-jim-jones-biopic-movie/)
(4) QAnon thought JFK Jr. was coming back (https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2021/11/02/qanon-jfk-jr-dallas/)
(5) If you enjoy the show, or even if you don’t, give us a review on Apple podcasts, and/or follow us on Twitter, Insta, and Facebook (or “META” LOL):
https://twitter.com/weirdreligion
https://www.instagram.com/weirdreligionpodcast
https://www.facebook.com/weirdreligion

A quick joke about Popeye and a philosophical theory of humor that couldn’t be included in one of the S6 eps for some reason.

The Popeye joke, by Jack Handey: https://bit.ly/3u55ehF

As we finish S6 on the show and approach 70,000 downloads, we take a stroll down memory lane, thanking people in vague ways, singing The Killers and Imagine Dragons, conducting a miniature news roundup on Leah's new article, and strategizing about having the Third Eagle of the Apocalypse on the pod.

Tammy Faye, a double whammy of Christian love, wins in the end: https://religionnews.com/2021/09/17/tammy-faye-column/

William Tapley, AKA The Third Eagle of the Apocalypse, "IT'S PROPHESIED (END TIMES ANTHEM)”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JLT66yJBYbA

We’re talking with award-winning film writer and director Chris White about his new feature Electric Jesus, chronicling the rise and fall of a Christian heavy metal band in the summer of 1986 and the pastor’s daughter who runs away from home to join them. Adorableness, personal memories, and deep commentary about Christian music then and now ensue. Join us.

Chris White, filmmaker: http://chriswhitehq.com/

Electric Jesus on IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8666022/

Review of Electric Jesus on Mashable: https://in.mashable.com/entertainment/17936/scad-savannah-film-festival-electric-jesus-review-a-light-hearted-film-on-the-world-of-christian-roc

The soundtrack from the film: https://www.joyfulnoiserecordings.com/products/electric-jesus

Michael W. Smith, “Friends are Friends Forever”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IbPKaIozS-c

Michael W. Smith’s alleged satanism on someone’s blog: https://aubreeblogpage.wordpress.com/2012/11/08/michael-w-smith-wolves-in-sheeps-clothing/

Christian metal band Stryper: http://www.stryper.com/

Facebook has gathered church leaders for a conference to ask how they can have church on Facebook. It’s all about “connection.” Peanut allergies and Netflix’s new dating show Sexy Beast and Brian not having a son are discussed, as well as theories of brand dilution and holiness. And the revelation: We speculate about how Facebook is promoting a particular version of the internet and its new product idea through this effort.

“Facebook’s Next Target: The Religious Experience” (New York Times): https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/25/us/facebook-church.html

“Facebook decided faith groups are good for business” (Reuters): https://www.reuters.com/technology/facebook-decided-faith-groups-are-good-business-now-it-wants-your-prayers-2021-07-22/

Neflix’s Sexy Beasts: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IJO5m6EFL6A

Elevation Church on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/elevationchurch.org/

Timothy Beals on the Bible and “brand dilution”: https://www.amazon.com/Rise-Fall-Bible-Timothy-Beal/dp/0547737343

Spiritual destinations in Second Life: https://secondlife.com/destinations/belief

Mark Zuckerberg bets on the “Metaverse”: https://www.theverge.com/22588022/mark-zuckerberg-facebook-ceo-metaverse-interview

Terry Eagleton, After Theory: https://www.amazon.com/After-Theory-Terry-Eagleton/dp/0465017746

We’re at our local coffee shop for an all-lightning round version of this week in weird religion news. Advice: If you’re writing a Christian romance novel, steer clear of genocide. Here are the stories we’re tracking:

Get your daily prophecy: https://www.elijahlist.com/index.php

Biden compares troops to prophets: https://www.relevantmagazine.com/current/nation/in-an-address-to-the-nation-biden-used-the-book-of-isaiah-to-compare-u-s-troops-to-prophets/

What I Learned While Eavesdropping on the Taliban: https://medium.com/the-atlantic/what-i-learned-while-eavesdropping-on-the-taliban-72c8e2acec9d 

Sister magic: https://thesistersenchanted.com/

The Empty Religions of Instagram: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/05/opinion/influencers-glennon-doyle-instagram.html?referringSource=articleShare

Christian romance novel dabbles in genocide: https://religionnews.com/2021/08/02/christian-romance-novel-draws-criticism-for-romanticized-genocide-of-native-americans/

The Matrix 4 Title Revealed During Presentation at CinemaCon: https://www.ign.com/articles/the-matrix-4-matrix-resurrections-cinemacon-trailer-reveal-warner-bros 

BONUS PIECE (that we didn’t discuss): Sacred Pregnancy in the Age of the “Nones”: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ann-duncan-goucher-college-sacred-pregnancy-in-the/id1060078714?i=1000532965301 (a short podcast ep)

AND: We wanted to comment on this one, but it turns out it’s satire, but it’s still funny: “Jim Bakker says God cannot hear prayers through masks”: https://www.politicalflare.com/2021/08/televangelist-jim-bakker-complains-that-god-cannot-hear-prayers-through-masks/

Biblical forgery cases get everyone riled up—here are the two hottest controversies of the moment, covering both Old and New Testaments: “The Shapira Scroll” and the “Gospel of Jesus’ Wife.” Brian goes off. Come for the juicy details on both documents, and stay for the hard discussion of “history” and meditation on intellectual humility.

The pandemic never ends joke: https://twitter.com/mattbooshell/status/1422589796828987395?s=10

The Rylands Papyrus (which Brian erroneously called the “Rowlands” Papyrus): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rylands_Library_Papyrus_P52

New York Times article on the Shapira Scroll controversy: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/10/arts/bible-deuteronomy-discovery.html

The Shapira Scroll (overview, photos): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shapira_Scroll

Idan Dershowitz: https://www.dershowitz.net/

Excerpt from Dershowitz’s new book on the Shapira Scroll: https://www.academia.edu/45450947/The_Valediction_of_Moses_A_Proto_Biblical_Book

Professor Christopher Rollston on the Shapira scrolls: http://www.rollstonepigraphy.com/?p=896 

Ariel Sabar, “the Unbelievable Tale of Jesus’ Wife (The Atlantic): https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2016/07/the-unbelievable-tale-of-jesus-wife/485573/

Professor Karen King, Harvard Divinity School: https://hds.harvard.edu/people/karen-l-king

Gospel of Jesus’ Wife on Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gospel_of_Jesus%27_Wife 

Ariel Sabar, Veritas: A Harvard Professor, a Con Man and the Gospel of Jesus's Wife: https://www.amazon.com/Veritas-Harvard-Professor-Gospel-Jesuss/dp/0385542585

Chris Hedges’ review of Ariel Sabar’s book on the Gospel of Jesus’ Wife forgery: https://scheerpost.com/2021/07/29/the-forged-gospel-of-jesuss-wife/

Kellyanne Conway on “alternative facts”: https://www.nbcnews.com/meet-the-press/video/conway-press-secretary-gave-alternative-facts-860142147643

We’re talking with professor and author Natalie Wigg-Stevenson about transgression and devotion in the award-winning TV series Fleabag.

Natalie Wigg-Stevenson profile: https://www.tst.edu/directory/faculty/wigg-stevenson-natalie

Transgressive Devotion: Theology as Performance Art (2021), by Natalie Wigg-Stevenson: https://www.amazon.com/Transgressive-Devotion-Theology-Performance-Art/dp/033405947X

Fleabag on Amazon Prime: https://www.amazon.com/Fleabag-Season-1/dp/B0875K9Q4P