Regardless of how you feel about religion, you can't deny that it has given us some of the greatest art of all time. Think about the pressure it puts on an artist -- Michelangelo painted the Sistine Chapel ceiling knowing that he was trying to capture the most absolute expression of beauty, creation and perfection imaginable.

It's really easy to get this kind of painting wrong. Terribly, hilariously wrong.

Read more: The 11 Most Unintentionally Hilarious Religious Paintings | Cracked.com http://www.cracked.com/article_19947_the-11-most-unintentionally-hilarious-religious-paintings.html#ixzz21P7x5hha

#11. The Introduction by Nathan Greene


#10. The Undefeated by Stephen Sawyer


#8. Calvary by Stephen Sawyer
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#7. No Appointment Necessary by Stephen Sawyer
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#4. How to Recognize Jesus by Consuelo Udave


#3. Via Dolorosa by Jon McNaughton


#2. One Nation Under God by Jon McNaughton


#1. The Difficult Case by Nathan Greene
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A ruling that the Catholic Church can be held liable for the wrongdoings of its priests has been upheld.

Last year Mr Justice MacDuff decided in favour of a woman, now 47, who claimed she was raped and assaulted as a child by a priest of the Portsmouth Diocese.

The Court of Appeal has upheld this decision, which raises "an issue of wide general importance in respect of claims against the Catholic Church".

A diocese spokesman said the case was about "fundamental legal principles".

More at link... http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-hampshire-18278529

An evangelical spokesperson for a religious group known as Truth In Action has claimed that the tragedy in Colorado happened because America has lost its fear of hell. In an article published on OneNewsNow, evangelical Jerry Newcombe wrote:

I can't help but feel that to some extent, we're reaping what we've been sowing as a society. We said to God, "Get out of the public arena." Lawsuit after lawsuit, often by misguided "civil libertarians," have chased away any fear of God in the land -- at least in the hearts of millions.

Newcombe’s is not alone in reacting this way to the shooting in Aurora that claimed 12 deaths and left dozens of injuries. On the day of the shooting Rep. Gohmert of Texas also insisted that the shootings are the result of "ongoing attacks on Judeo-Christian Beliefs":

"People say ... where was God in all of this? We've threatened high school graduation participations, if they use God's name, they're going to be jailed ... I mean that kind of stuff. Where was God? What have we done with God? We don't want him around. I kind of like his protective hand being present."

Perhaps more disturbing were Newcombe’s comments when on a segment on the American Family Association radio dedicated to understanding the shooting tragedy in Colorado. In taking about the deaths, Newcombe separated the afterlife fate of those who died as Christians and those who did not:

If a Christian dies early, if a Christian dies young, it seems tragic, but really it is not tragic because they are going to a wonderful place.. on the other hand, if a person doesn’t know Jesus Christ.. if they knowingly rejected Jesus Christ, then, basically, they are going to a terrible place.

Newcombe then turned the tragedy into a time for people to become Christian and avoid the similar fate of hell:

For those who are not ‘in Christ’ and see this incredible tragedy, this would be a good time for soul reflection and consider why have you not accepted Jesus Christ.. I would urge anyone who is not in Christ to repent of your sins.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/07/22/jerry-newcombe-hell_n_1692859.html

The smile that defies the Taliban: Afghan teenager whose mutilated face shocked the world unveils her new image

An Afghan teenager who was horribly mutilated by her husband under Taliban rule was all smiles as she unveiled her new prosthetic nose for the first time.

Aisha, 19, shocked the world when she appeared on the cover of Time Magazine to lift the veil on the plight of many women in Afghanistan.

Yesterday, she bravely faced the public wearing a prosthetic nose - one that gives her some idea of how she will look after having reconstructive surgery.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1319804/Afghan-girl-Bibi-Aisha-nose-ears-hacked-Taliban-rule-gets-new-face.html#ixzz21MstInWj

The mega-church pastor of the Saddleback Church, Rick Warren, took to Twitter on Friday to express his thought about the recent shooting at an Aurora, Colorado movie theater. Warren blamed the shooting on the teaching of evolution in public science classes:

“When students are taught they are no different from animals, they act like it.”

Warren who gave the invocation at President Barack Obama’s inauguration in 2009 joins company with Republican Rep. Louis Gohmert. Congressman Gohmert blamed the shooting on secularism stating:

“People say... where was God in all of this? We've threatened high school graduation participations, if they use God's name, they're going to be jailed... I mean that kind of stuff. Where was God? What have we done with God? We don't want him around. I kind of like his protective hand being present.”

Gohmert’s reasoning actually reflects quite poorly on the character of his deity. According to him, God let those people die apparently because he didn’t like the U.S. Constitution. As a point of clarification, the First Amendment prevents government led prayer forced on to the people. It does not restrict high school students from praying privately at their graduation.

In the past, religious leaders who have blamed tragedies on atheism, science, and the First Amendment have been considered to be the fundamentalist fringe like Pat Robertson and the late Jerry Falwell. Many religious believers consider Rick Warren to be more of a moderate.

http://www.examiner.com/article/rick-warren-aurora-shooting-the-fault-of-evolution

The mega-church pastor of the Saddleback Church, Rick Warren, took to Twitter on Friday to express his thought about the recent shooting at an Aurora, Colorado movie theater. Warren blamed the shooting on the teaching of evolution in public science classes:

“When students are taught they are no different from animals, they act like it.”

Warren who gave the invocation at President Barack Obama’s inauguration in 2009 joins company with Republican Rep. Louis Gohmert. Congressman Gohmert blamed the shooting on secularism stating:

“People say... where was God in all of this? We've threatened high school graduation participations, if they use God's name, they're going to be jailed... I mean that kind of stuff. Where was God? What have we done with God? We don't want him around. I kind of like his protective hand being present.”

Gohmert’s reasoning actually reflects quite poorly on the character of his deity. According to him, God let those people die apparently because he didn’t like the U.S. Constitution. As a point of clarification, the First Amendment prevents government led prayer forced on to the people. It does not restrict high school students from praying privately at their graduation.

In the past, religious leaders who have blamed tragedies on atheism, science, and the First Amendment have been considered to be the fundamentalist fringe like Pat Robertson and the late Jerry Falwell. Many religious believers consider Rick Warren to be more of a moderate.

http://www.examiner.com/article/rick-warren-aurora-shooting-the-fault-of-evolution

Within hours of the tragic shooting at a movie theater in Aurora, Colorado last night, politicians and others rushed to stake out the tragedy as their own. Some pointed to the senseless murders as proof of their beliefs, while others have used it as an opportunity to gather donations and expand their mailing lists. Others have simply been unable to resist the powerful urge to rush to their computers or smart phones and say, “I told you so!” as loudly as they can.

5. Iranian-American author and activist Reza Aslan. Aslan took to Twitter early and often this morning to make pointed jokes about the killings. “Guy shoots, kills 16 ppl in a Colorado theater last night but don’t worry folks he wasn’t a Muslim so obviously this is not terrorism,” he quipped just after 10:00 a.m., when most people were first waking up to the news.

4. Huffington Post blogger Cindy Handler. Every time there is a headline-grabbing mass shooting, responsible gun-owners everywhere groan inwardly and brace themselves for the deluge of hand-wringing columns and editorials calling for more stringent gun laws, as well as the equally self-righteous, defensive pushback that inevitably follows from The People Who Care Way Too Much About Guns. Thank you, Cindy Handler, for not wasting any time whatsoever in getting that process rolling.

Not that Handler doesn’t have a point when she says that law enforcement personnel “could be more effective in their jobs if it weren’t so easy for every idiot and his grandmother in this country to be packing,” but this column could just as easily have run on Sunday morning, couldn’t it? A day or two of reflection before the moralizing starts seems polite, at least. Plus it avoids the appearance of circling the block looking for a crime scene to hastily erect one’s soapbox in.

3. Ditto New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who didn’t even wait to finish his second cup of coffee Friday morning before clambering up on the moral high ground.

2. The Brady Campaign. ...this morning’s petition sign-up seemed like little more than an excuse to gather email addresses.
“I Demand Congress Stop Arming Dangerous People” reads the petition, and who in their right mind doesn’t agree with that?
Of course, an aside at the bottom of the call for petition signatures notes quietly that those who ease their consciences by signing up will automatically be added to the Brady Campaign’s ongoing communications — including, one assumes, calls for donations.

1. Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-TX). Our top honors go to Texas Congressman Rep. Louie Gohmert, who opted for the Jerry Falwell on 9/11 approach, which means to hang all responsibility for a senseless and complicated tragedy on your own personal set of pet issues.
In an interview with The Heritage Founation’s “Istook Live,” the Tea Party congressman blamed “ongoing attacks on Judeo-Christian beliefs” for the Colorado massacre, as well as for the escalating rate of suicides among active duty military personnel.

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2012/07/20/the-top-five-most-painfully-self-serving-reactions-to-the-aurora-shooting/

Motorists in Grand Junction, Colorado will see the face of the Christian Broadcasting Network's televangelist Pat Robertson on a billboard promoting the legalization of marijuana. The billboard is located just west of the intersection of business route I-70 and Main Street. The billboard is scheduled to be up until the election.

The "Yes on 64" campaign behind an initiative to regulate marijuana states that, "In a March interview in The New York Times, conservative evangelist Pat Robertson said he "absolutely" supports the initiative on the ballot in Colorado that would regulate marijuana like alcohol. 'I really believe we should treat marijuana the way we treat beverage alcohol,' Robertson said. 'If people can go into a liquor store and buy a bottle of alcohol and drink it at home legally, then why do we say that the use of this other substance is somehow criminal?'"

http://www.goddiscussion.com/98960/televangelist-pat-robertson-featured-on-billboard-campaign-for-the-legalization-of-marijuana/