Blog Heap o'Urantiana Links 20 February 2015

| All Dates |
Links regarding faith and belief
and men, women, marriage, and family life,
also sciences, the spritual and the 'supernatural,'
and, of course, Jesus of Nazareth.

Urantiana

Three circles
Cult Preparing for Apocalypse?
Dennis Wagner, Arizona Republic Fri 2015-Feb-20 9:33pm

A generally thorough article on the "Gabriel of Urantia" cult. Headline suggests they're preparing for "apocalypse," but nothing in the article suggests anything of the sort, except that they "seem like" other cults that have had apocalyptic episodes.

To join, members must renounce their given names and many of their possessions, steps they say are worth the serenity and security they find with the insular group.

But critics say the alliance is hardly serene. They describe a controlling, narcissistic leader who requires obedience and runs a cultlike community, and they draw parallels between the group and others that have garnered headlines following ritual-related deaths and mass suicides.

Marriage Today

Okla Flag
Next, Virginity Tests?
Tara Culp-Ressler, Think Progress Fri 2015-Feb-20 2:35pm

"Under a proposed bill introduced in Oklahoma, couples in the state who want to get married would be required to prove they don’t have any sexually transmitted infections…"

How will Oklahoma relegate this with its completely open marriage common law? [Ref: Freedom to Marry — Does the State define marriage? a Mindful Radical Incline webwork from 2007 Apr 30.]

Jesus - still with us

CNN's Finding Jesus
Nice Deb Fri 2015-Feb-20 2:43pm

…a new CNN series on Christ called, Finding Jesus: Faith, Fact, Forgery, premieres on March 1 at 9 p.m. ET. With the objective of discovering new insights about the historical Jesus, the series utilizes the latest state-of-the-art scientific techniques and archaeological research. … Each episode of the six-part series investigates the value and authenticity of a historical object which is connected to Jesus: the Shroud of Turin, relics venerated as part of the True Cross, the gospel of Judas, relics believed to be of John the Baptist, the burial box of Jesus’ brother James and the gospel of Mary Magdalene. … In the episode about the Shroud of Turin, their dramatized reenactment of the Passion of Christ packs a powerful punch. As the narrator says, “the Shroud of Turin appears to be a silent witness to all the final sufferings of Jesus.” … “It is extraordinary to find an archaeological piece that is proof of his existence, his death, and his resurrection,” said Erwin MacManus, one of CNN’s panel of experts. …

[Video trailer]