Extreme Behavior: In the Name of Religion

In June, "more than 300 people" in Destin, Fla. (according to the Northwest Florida Daily News), assembled at the Destin Worship Center and raised their hands in joyful prayer for a rebound in the real estate market in the coastal communities in the Florida panhandle.

About a dozen Islamic punk-rock bands toured the United States this summer, according to a June Newsweek report, with most using their music as a loud protest of both U.S. treatment of Muslims and the corruption of Islam by violent fundamentalists. Bands such as Diacritical, Vote Hezbollah and the Kominas (Punjabi for "bastards") describe their music with the term (loosely translated) "hard-core piety."

About a dozen Islamic punk-rock bands toured the U.S. this summer, according to a June Newsweek report, with most using their music as a loud protest of both U.S. treatment of Muslims and the corruption of Islam by violent fundamentalists. Bands such as Diacritical, Vote Hezbollah, and the Kominas (Punjabi for "bastards") describe their music with the term (loosely translated), hard-core piety.

Sandy Sabloff had been scheduled to receive a kidney from Australian Ashwyn Falkingham in April, at Toronto (Ontario) General Hospital, but the hospital canceled it at the last minute, apparently acceding to pressure from Falkingham's mother, who said her son had been brainwashed by a "cult" called Jesus Christians, which she said is obsessed with donating kidneys as a test of spiritual devotion. (Ashwyn Falkingham said he remained eager to donate.)

Sandy Sabloff had been scheduled to receive a kidney from Australian Ashwyn Falkingham in April, at Toronto (Ontario) General Hospital, but the hospital canceled it at the last minute, apparently acceding to pressure from Falkingham's mother, who said her son had been brainwashed by a "cult" called Jesus Christians, which she said is obsessed with donating kidneys as a test of spiritual devotion. (Ashwyn Falkingham said he remained eager to donate.)

Inexplicable: No industrialized country has more national holidays than Italy (twelve), but a group of legislators recently proposed to add seven more, according to a June Reuters dispatch (mostly marking Christian events, to combat Italy's supposedly increased secularity).

[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] [15] [16] [17] [18] [19] [20] [21] [22] [23] [24] [25] [26] [27] [28] [29] [30] [31] [32] [33] [34] [35] [36] [37] [38] [39] [40] [41] [42]

© 2009 Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. A Time Warner Company. All rights reserved.

truTV.com is part of the Turner Sports and Entertainment Digital Network. Terms & Privacy guidelines