Inspired by Islamic Tradition, NY Man Produces a 2,400-page Handwritten Copy of the Bible

THE GUARDIAN
By Associated Press

UNITED KINGDOM---the beginning, Phillip Patterson decided to write out every word in the Bible. Now, as he copies the last words of the last book, Patterson sees all that he has created. And it is good. One day in 2007, his longtime partner, Mohammad, mentioned that Islam has a tradition of writing out the Qur'an. Patterson replied that the Bible was too long. Mohammad said, well then, Patterson should do it. "The next day I started researching pens and pencils and paper and never looked back," he said. Patterson [finished] up the final lines of the Book of Revelation during a ceremony at his church, St. Peter's Presbyterian, on May 11. [link]

Patterson, 63, might seem like an unlikely scribe for the King James version of the Bible. Tall and bald with a hearty laugh, the retired interior designer is neither monkish nor zealous. He goes to church but has never been particularly religious. Health issues – including AIDS and anemia – have sent him to the hospital and slowed the work. Once the books are bound, the Bible will be given to the church. Every day as I write, I discover something new and it expands my mind more and more," Patterson said. "Not so I can become more of a religious person, but so that I can become more of a whole person."

Read More

China Destroys the Ancient Buddhist Symbols of Lhasa City in Tibet

THE TIBET POST
By Yeshe Choesang

CHINA---Ignoring both religious freedom and the outcry of the Tibetan people, the Chinese authorities have begun demolishing the ancient capital of Lhasa, including one of the most important Buddhist sites of the city, Tibet's holiest Jokhang Temple. Chinese authorities are planning to destroy the ancient Buddhist capital of Lhasa, and replace it with a tourist city similar to Lijiang. "Shangri-La" in Yunnan Province. Several large-scale construction projects are underway for a number of shopping malls around the Buddhist holy temple as well as underground parking at Barkhor Street. [link]

Read More

4 Signs That Religious Beliefs Have Become Evil

CNN | BELIEF BLOG
By John Blake

The Branch Davidians, a religious sect led by David Koresh, clashed with federal agents in 1993 in Waco, Texas.

An angry outburst at a mosque. The posting of a suspicious YouTube video. A friendship with a shadowy imam. Those were just some of the signs that Tamerlan Tsarnaev, accused of masterminding the Boston Marathon bombings, had adopted a virulent strain of Islam that led to the deaths of four people and injury of more than 260. But how else can you tell that someone’s religious beliefs have crossed the line? “There are a lot of warning signs all around us, but we usually learn about them after a Jim Jones or a David Koresh,” said Charles Kimball, author of “When Religion Becomes Evil.” [link]

Here are four warning signs:

1. I know the truth, and you don’t.
2. Beware the charismatic leader.
3. The end is near.
4. The end justifies the means.

Read More

Chris Shaw Re-Imagines the Madonna at SFMOMA

BOING BOING 
By Ben Marks

CALIFORNIA---As the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art prepares to shutter its South of Market location for the next three years, during which it will spend almost half a billion dollars to more than double its size for the Doris and Donald Fisher Collection, the museum’s restaurant on Third Street closes out its more modest exhibition program with nine acrylic-on-canvas paintings by Chris Shaw, on view through June 3, 2013. [link]

Best known locally for his rock posters, Shaw has used his swan-song time slot to present a series of vividly colored Madonnas, each based on Madonnas by such 15th century artists as Bellini, Botticelli, and Ambrogio de Predis. For Shaw, the Madonna is just another propaganda icon, a vessel to be filled up with whatever one is trying to sell. In Shaw’s case, his Madonnas have set aside the Christ Child for a Kalishnikov, a bottle of Colt 45, and an orange squid, whose mantle resembles the Pope’s peaked mitre and groping tentacles suggest a fallen priest’s restless reach. [link]

Read More

Successful Asian Art Auctions at Koller Zurich: Four-Armed Tibetan Goddess is Surprise Sucess

ART DAILY

Four-Armed Goddess, probably Tara or Prajnaparamita,
Nepalese school, Tibet, 14th/15th c. Gilt copper. H 30 cm. Sold for CHF 629 500.

SWITZERLAND---Koller Auctions has again enjoyed a successful Asian Art auction. Of the works of art from China, Tibet and Nepal, this, the largest Swiss Auction house, sold 75% of approximately 250 objects. Good results were spread evenly amongst all periods and price segments. The highest final price went to a 14th/15th century four-armed goddess from Tibet, but the Thangkas and selected ceramics also reached high prices. The Asian Art auction at Koller yet again attracted the attention of numerous Chinese bidders.  Lot 103 brought a surprise with the first long bidding war in which a 9 cm copper sculpture of a female Nepalese deity from the 14th century, estimated at CHF 3 000, saw a final price of CHF 45 600. [link]

Read More

Shavuot (Pentecost) Guide for the Perplexed 2013

ALGEMEINER
By Yoram Ettinger

Shavou’ot – a spiritual holiday – follows Passover – a national liberation holiday: from physical liberation (the Exodus) to spiritual liberation/enhancement (the Torah), in preparation for the return to the Homeland. Shavou’ot (Pentecost) was, originally, an agricultural holiday, celebrating the first harvest/fruit by bringing offerings to the Temple in Jerusalem. Following the destruction of the second Temple and the resulting exile in 70 AD – which raised the need to entrench Torah awareness in order to avoid spiritual and physical oblivion – Shavou’ot became a historical/religious holiday of the Torah. The holiday has 7 names: The fiftieth, Harvest, Giving of the Torah, Shavou’ot, Offerings, Rally and Assembly. The Hebrew acronym of the seven names is “The Constitution of the Seven” --- Shavou’ot reflects the centrality of “seven” in Shavou’ot and Judaism. [link]

Read More

Vatican Brings "Genesis" to Venice Biennale Art Show

ASSOCIATED PRESS
By NICOLE WINFIELD

The Vatican wants to hark back to the days when it commissioned 
great art, like Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel. Image courtesy of The Guardian

VATICAN CITY---The Vatican is getting back into its centuries-old tradition of arts patronage with its first-ever exhibit at the Venice Biennale, commissioning a biblically inspired show about creation, destruction and renewal for one of the world's most prestigious contemporary arts festivals. The Holy See on Tuesday unveiled details of its Venice pavilion, which opens June 1 and marks the Vatican's most significant step yet in a renewed effort to engage contemporary artists and intellectuals in ways that once created masterpieces such as the Sistine Chapel and Bernini Colonnade.  The Venice Biennale, which also features the famous summertime Venice film festival, runs through Nov. 24. [link]

The exhibit "Creation, Un-Creation, Re-Creation" does not include crucifixes or images of the Madonna or sacred objects, but instead explores other themes close to the church relating to "evil, destruction and sin." The three artists selected are:

1. The Milan-based multimedia group "Studio Azzurro" was selected for the "Creation" part of the three-space exhibit. 
2. Czech photographer Josef Koudelka provided the "Un-Creation" section, a series of 18 photos and three triptychs exploring destruction: war, environmental degradation, and the conflict between nature and industry. 
3. The third installment, "Re-Creation," was given to Australian-born painter Lawrence Carroll, who often employs re-used materials in his work.  

Read More