Sex, the Key to the Bible

If you want to peruse 172 pages of this kind of analysis, dive right in!

Posted By: Paul - Thu Apr 06, 2023 - Comments (5)
Category: Eccentrics, Religion, Sexuality, 1910s

Ubiquitous Perpetuity God

1985: Enrique Silberg had previously tried to change his name to God, but was denied on the grounds that it would be confusing and that he also needed a first name. Finally he convinced a judge to let him change his name to Ubiquitous Perpetuity God.

1996: Ubiquitous Perpetuity God was sentenced to nine months in Marin County Jail for indecent exposure, a crime that he had 17 prior convictions for. He said that he exposed himself to women so that they "could have some type of awareness of God".

San Francisco Examiner - Apr 18, 1985

Memphis Commercial Appeal - Feb 15, 1996

Posted By: Alex - Thu Mar 16, 2023 - Comments (1)
Category: Crime, Odd Names, Religion

The Shrine of the Grotto of Redemption

The place's homepage.

The Wikipedia entry.

Posted By: Paul - Mon Mar 06, 2023 - Comments (2)
Category: Buildings and Other Structures, Excess, Overkill, Hyperbole and Too Much Is Not Enough, Religion, Outsider Art, North America, Twentieth Century

God Speaks To Modern Man

Looks like he's asking for a raise.



The illustrations inside the book (which you can read for free via archive.org) are equally odd.

Posted By: Alex - Mon Feb 06, 2023 - Comments (3)
Category: Religion, Books, 1950s

SatanCon 2023

It's happening in Boston. Link to article in BOSTON GLOBE, where a paywall might need to be circumvented.

A feature on last year's event:

Posted By: Paul - Thu Jan 12, 2023 - Comments (1)
Category: Religion, Supernatural, Occult, Paranormal, Conferences, Conventions, Meetings and Symposia

The woman who sued God and won

On Aug 17, 1960, Betty Penrose's house in Phoenix was hit by lightning. Nine years later she sued God for damages — and won. Kinda. Sorta. Technically, what she won was the right to summon God to a trial which (assuming God would be a no-show) would have resulted in a default judgement against the deity.

Sydney Morning Herald - May 15, 1969

Some additional context is necessary to understand Penrose's case.

Over in Sebastapol, California, singer Lou Gottlieb had been fighting the county government's attempt to shut down the hippie commune he had started on his Morning Star Ranch. As a legal maneuver to avoid paying the county's fines, Gottlieb deeded his land to God. Then he declared that the county could try collecting the fines from God.

This caused Phoenix attorney Russell Tansie, who was Penrose's employer, to realize that if God now legally owned property (the Morning Star Ranch), then God could be sued for damages. And that's how Penrose's suit emerged.

Indianapolis Star - May 14, 1969

However, I don't think Penrose's case ever made it to trial because, back in California, a judge had ruled that God, being neither a "natural or artificial person," could not legally own Gottlieb's ranch. So Gottlieb was still the owner and had to pay the fines.

And if God didn't own the ranch, then Penrose's case became moot.

But if Penrose's case had proceeded, it was possible God wouldn't have been a no-show. San Quentin prisoner Paul Yerkes Bechtel claimed to be God. So he might have appeared in court. And Joseph Njue of Kenya had also offered to defend God.

Santa Rosa Press Democrat - June 12, 1969

Arizona Republic - May 22, 1969

Posted By: Alex - Tue Dec 20, 2022 - Comments (2)
Category: Religion, Lawsuits, 1960s, Arizona

The Cherry Tree Carol

This song establishes that the folklore about pregnant women demanding weird foodstuffs--pickles with ice cream, for instance--goes way back. Also, it has Embryo Jesus speaking from the womb.

The Cherry Tree Carol is a bit darker than most Christmas related songs. It is identified as a Kentucky mountain ballad on the record. In fact it is a much older song from the early 15th century. The song is quite lovely and presents an unusual variation on the story of Mary and Joseph.

Posted By: Paul - Wed Dec 07, 2022 - Comments (1)
Category: Food, Holidays, Music, Religion, Pregnancy

An Account of Some Well-Authenticated Miracles

This small book gives details on a few miraculous incidents "authenticated" by the Catholic Church.

Posted By: Paul - Sun Sep 18, 2022 - Comments (2)
Category: Religion, Supernatural, Occult, Paranormal, Unexplained Historical Enigmas, Nineteenth Century

RIP David Bawden, aka Pope Michael

An innocuous obit.

Full article here.





His Wikipedia page says:

He stated in 2009 that he had approximately 30 "solid followers".[2] In 1990 Bawden was elected pope by a group of six laypeople, including himself and his parents, who had come to believe that the Catholic Church had apostatized from the Catholic faith since Vatican II, and that there had been no legitimate popes elected since the death of Pope Pius XII in 1958.[3] In 2011, he was ordained a priest and consecrated a bishop by an Independent Catholic bishop

Posted By: Paul - Thu Aug 04, 2022 - Comments (1)
Category: Hoaxes and Imposters and Imitators, Religion, North America

Walking across the Australian desert to prove that God exists

1985: Six young Christians, carrying only "a Swiss army knife, adhesive bandages, cigarette lighters and three Bibles," set out to walk over one thousand miles across Australia's Nullarbor desert in order to "prove God exists." They were later joined by a 41-year-old man.

They did so "in defiance of police warnings that the walk was dangerous, and complaints of blasphemy from religious leaders."

They made it. So they avoided winning a Darwin Award, though going on a hike in a desert without water would definitely put anyone in the running for one.

Port Huron Times Herald - May 18, 1985

"On the last leg of their trek: Rachel Sukumaran (12), Christine McKay (15), Dane Frick (42), Robin Dunn (19), Roland Gianstefani (22), Gary McKay (16) and Malcolm Wrest (22)."
Sydney Morning Herald - June 30, 1985

Posted By: Alex - Wed Aug 03, 2022 - Comments (3)
Category: Religion, Stupidity, 1980s