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Tales From The Other Side - Alternative Culture to enlighten a mediocre mood

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Religion - Tales From The Other Side

Korean Churches In Australia

September 1st 2008 04:24

Korean Churches are common is Australia – there were 73 in fact as of the year 1991, with 52 in Sydney Area alone.
The Book, “The Australian People” by James Jupp paints an interesting picture of Korean religion. He paints Koreans as especially choosy with religious services, and suggests most will sooner flit from church to church rather than settle for second best. This in turn encourages competition amongst Korean churches – perhaps in part explaining the vast numbers at which they stand.

A reasonably exhaustive list of Korean churches in Australia can be found HERE.

An early version of the Korean flag

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Posted By: Brenton - Category: Religion

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Led Zeppelin Satanic Theories

June 2nd 2008 00:19

Led Zepplin are freaking awesome. If you doubt this, have a look;

A band this huge tends to develop plenty of conspiracy theories. In Led Zeppelin’s case, it was a ripper, a conspiracy that became part of the ledged of Rock n’ roll itself.

The conspiracy stemmed from a passage of Stairway to Heaven which was said to hide Satanic messages that could be heard when played backwards.

There are many variations of what the segment says, but one of the most cited is – “Here’s to my sweet Satan, the one’s who’s path would make me sad, whose power is Satan, He’ll give you 666, He has a toolshed where he made us suffer, sad Satan.’

The following video gives full lyrics for the song backwards, suggesting it as dedicated in its entirety to Satan;

Aside from the various conspiracies surrounding ‘Stairway,’ there are a small number of things that additionally have helped to build on the conspiracy.

The Image 'Zoso' from Led Zeppelin Four

Jimmy Page has been long associated, if not directly with Satanism, with the Occult, and had a known interest in the writings of Alistair Crawly. His symbol, from the album Led Zeppelin four often referred to as ‘Zoso’ has an unknown meaning, as yet unexplained meaning, but contains symbolism, taken from Crowly.

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Posted By: Brenton - Category: Subcultures, Religion, Music

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Hell Bank Notes

May 1st 2008 21:56

In Chinatown the other day I bought myself a wad of ‘Hellbank’ notes. I thought the name was just one of those cute mistranslations. However, browsing a bit of reading, I found the truth was quite different.

Hell Bank notes are simply paper money with ‘Hell Bank’ written on them. They are not play money though, and have a specific ritual purpose to be used at funerals. When a person dies, the money is burnt, in a careful way (either folded or put in an envelope, due to the concept that burning real money brings bad fortune). The basic concept is, as within other cultures where paper effigies of consumer products are burnt, that the money can be used in the afterlife.

Hell Bank money is never given to other people, as it is seen as wishing their death.

Hell Bank money got its name from a loose translation of the ‘Underworld’, where the departed are said to go to atone for their mortal sins. The term Hell does not hold negative connotations in China.

It is rumored the term was introduced by Christian Missionaries, and adopted with new meaning as a term for the underworld.

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Posted By: Brenton - Category: Pop Culture, Miscalany, Religion

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Mormons

February 12th 2008 05:41

White clothes. Bicycles. Bibles. Polygamy. We have a bit of an idea on who Mormons are. But not really a GREAT idea.

Technically speaking, a Mormon is only an individual connected to the Chucrch of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, however it has been used to describe any individual or group expressing belief in the book of Mormon, named after it’s apparent author.

Beliefs held include the following –

• That Mormonism is a form of Christianity that is a Restoration of early Christian and Judaic doctrines

• The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints does not support the idea of Poligamy, however a number of ‘Mormon Fundamentalists’ still continue the practice.

• "Mormons believe that Joseph Smith, Jr. translated the Book of Mormon into English by divine inspiration from golden plates that he received from the angel Moroni. Mormons believe that the Book of Mormon is another scriptural witness of Jesus Christ that is comparable to the Bible, which they also believe to be the word of God. The book gets its name from Mormon, the prophet who abridged the record during the 4th century." Source.

• God has a body like that of you and I, though it is perfect.

• "After His Resurrection, Jesus Christ guided His Apostles through revelation, making the Church of Jesus Christ a church led by God and not by men" Source.

• "In 1820, as He had done throughout history, Father in Heaven again chose a prophet? to restore the gospel? and the priesthood? to the earth. He called a young man named Joseph Smith, and through him, the fullness of the gospel of Jesus Christ was restored to the earth." Source.

No doubt this is not the world’s most cohesive guide to Mormonism, but it should give you some idea. The next time you find yourself unexpectedly at an all Mormon conference, you can say something more intelligent than ‘Hey do you get to wear that special Mormon underwear?’

IMAGE by Pinkbelt Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Share Alike License.

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Posted By: Brenton - Category: Religion

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Equality in an Unequal World

January 31st 2008 13:54

Martin Luthor King claimed that all men were created equal. However, we all know that’s false. Some men are taller. Some are shorter. Some are fat. Some are missing bits. I myself am missing a piece of my kidney.

As some smart arse one said – if all men are equal, why are some in jail?

If all men are equal, why can we send a killer to the electric chair when he is smart, but not when he’s retarded?

The fact is that we are all different and thus not equal. I would never be first choice on a basketball team, would never be welcome in the female loo and would probably not really fit in on a Sydney Madi Gras Float.

What happens though, is we go about trying to make everyone equal. Help enforce equality, even where it is inaccurate to do so. This is politically visible in programs such as Affirmative Action.

Some things that may make us different include – Religion, Race, Political Belief, Class, Ability, Physicality, Education, Sexuality, Taste, Style, Ethics, Moral Compass or Personal History.

Often these elements will be vastly and complexly intertwined – such as a Catholic Ethical system, or the Marxist view of religion.

If we focus of the ways in which we are different and unequal we are never going to get far. We are always going to find ourselves divided and torn apart.

However, in the spirit of Luthor King, we may find ourselves able to focus on that which makes us the same. Not only in the sense that we may match up those things above – connecting with others of our race/class/religion etc, but also by the very fact that we are all humans – to quote the cliché, ‘we all bleed red’. We each are participants in the human experience, familiar with the joys and depressions of what we are. We are each of us on a journey through this life, all travelers together.

Let’s have a look at one particular group who function through division. The Westboro Baptist Church, a group so weird you’ll have to try and work out who slipped the acid in your drink before realizing you’re viewing reality. See here –

http://view.break.com/278059 - Watch more free videos

The Westboro Baptist church focus very clearly on divisions of sexuality (God Hates Fags etc). The interest is in systematically maintaining hatred.

Imagine if instead of simply expressing a hatred of those who are not the same (a hatred not only directed at Homosexuals but at anyone not a member of the Church) this group focuses on inviting people to see how they lived, treating others as equals on a certain level (the level that they are human). Would they attract more change in people’s lives than they do through hate? I believe they would. We imitate those we like. The only people who could like this mob are anthropologists. But then, we do have to remember – they are only human.

As are we all.

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Posted By: Brenton - Category: Politics, Miscalany, Religion

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Hare Krishna Spam

June 19th 2007 11:30

Gouranga Gouranga Gouranga

I got an unusual Email the other day

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Posted By: Brenton - Category: Pop Culture, Miscalany, Subcultures, Religion, Internet

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Flying Spaghetti Monster

February 17th 2007 07:15

Some of you may be familiar with the Flying Spaghetti monster. The huge flying set of spaghetti and meatballs that created the Earth with it’s noodly appendages.
Perhaps nobody has had the will to explain it to you in person. This isn’t because they’re embarrassed of their faith. It’s just because it’s disrespectful to discuss what it means to be a Pastafarian unless you’re wearing full pirate regalia.

WWTFSMD

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Posted By: Brenton - Category: Religion

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Raelians

January 29th 2007 01:16

Hah! You mock the Scientologists! Well, there’s a possie much stranger then that. They’re called the Raelians.
You’ve probably heard of them during the debate on human cloning. They’re the ones who claimed they’d made the first human clone, although that’s not particularly well verified, and would be, at this stage, an apparent lie.

Did the Raelians really create the first human clone?

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Posted By: Brenton - Category: Religion

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Dead People Read Your Script 2: Jesus

January 12th 2007 01:10

Dead People Read Your Script 2: Jesus
Part two in a series suggested by Sophie Bell on This Post (number one in the series).
Well, what can I say about Jesus that hasn’t already been said? That he is opposed to abortion? Supportive of human rights? Supporter of Capitalism? Supporter of the Invasion of Iraq

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Posted By: Brenton - Category: Religion

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