Find Religion

Charity is an important part of many religions, and whether you believe in God or not, charity work can be very rewarding. Here are some celebrities who are doing their part to help the world be attending some great charity events and donating money:

Byron Zanos and Gavin Degraw at the 4th Annual WPLJ vs. Channel 7 Charity Softball Game

Jenny McCarthy poses for photos during her “Big Deal” charity fundraiser to benefit “Early Childhood Partial Hospitalization Program at UCLA” at the Playboy Club at the Palms Hotel and Casino Resort on August 4, 2007 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Actor Rex Lee and Actress Jodi Lynn O’Keefe attend Los Angeles Confidential Magazine and French Connection’s summer beach party and clambake to benefit the Art of Elysium at the French Connection Malibu beach house.

This week marks the two-year anniversary since hurricane Katrina devastated the southern United States along the coast. Unfortunately, there are thousands of people still displaced. Can you imagine loosing all of your worldly possessions and living in a make-shift house or trailer…for TWO years. People simply don’t have the money to get their lives back together and after the media attention died a few months later, so did the support from the rest of the country.

Many of the places where people are now living are low quality and hot spots for crime. It’s not just bachelors living here–there are families with small children suffering every day because their insurance did not cover the damages to their houses.

Today, take a moment to say a prayer for these people and, if you can, make a small donation–even if its only $10–to one of the countless funds set up to help the victims that are almost drained. Every little bit helps.

“One of my coworkers was buying a new house so we went to Google maps to look it up. It’s a satellite image so you can zoom in and see an image of the actual house. Another co-worker walked by and said, “What, are you selecting a target?” — An Arab male finance professional

SAN FRANCISCO, Aug. 28 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — A new study reveals that workplace unfairness costs U.S. employers an estimated $64 billion per year in turnover of managers and professionals, in addition to costs from decreased sales of products and services and damaged employer reputation.

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Do you have a case of “the Mondays?” (inset your favorite Office Space joke here)

I hope I can help! Every Monday, I’m going to give you a list of fabulous freebies, all religiously inspired. These are give-a-ways or contests…nothing you have to “complete sponsor offers” to get (and if you find one of those that slipped through, please comment immediately to notify me!)

Check out what this week has to offer. Happy religion-finding!

Tyson Foods is giving away a free prayer booklet that celebrates the joys of giving thanks before meals. You’ll receive a copy for yourself and a copy for you to give to a friend. I believe that these prayers are non-religion-specific, but I don’t have a copy myself yet, so I’m not sure!

At iVillage’s Astrology.com, you can receive a free couples reading for you and your significant other. This is open to anyone around the world–you don’t have to live in the US to learn your future!

Islam is a religion that is highly criticized but not highly understood by the general public. You can receive a free book called “A Brief Illustrated Guide to Understanding Islam” from Islam-Guide.com to begin learning more about this religion.

Enjoy your free stuff!

Webmasters, let me know if you have any free offers you’d like to promote.

As reported at by April Life as a Christian Woman:

Atlanta police have reported that Juanita Bynum and her preacher husband had an altercation in a hotel parking lot. She was battered and bruised, with bruising around her neck and upper torso…read more

Domestic violence is a problem around the world, and sadly, it is often being swept under the carpet. It doesn’t matter what your religion (or non-religion)…this is an issue that affects women IN YOUR COMMUNITY whether you want to believe it or not.

April will be hosting a day of guest blogging by Jocelyn Andersen, author of Woman Submit! Christians & Domestic Violence on August 28th, where she’ll be live all day to answer questions and read your comments. If you’re a victim of domestic violence or know someone who is you are NOT alone.

Click here to read the best of find religion.

domestic violence, Christian, juanita bynum

Ok, ok…this is particularly about “finding religion,” but it is so bizarre that I just had to share:

MOSCOW (Reuters) - A woman set fire to her ex-husband’s penis as he sat naked watching television and drinking vodka, Moscow police said Wednesday.

Asked if the man would make a full recovery, a police spokeswoman said it was “difficult to predict.”

READ MORE.

The story goes on to talk about how the man didn’t know “what he did to deserve this.” You were sitting naked in front of the TV and drinking vodka with your ex-wife in the house, dummy. That’s what you were doing.

I’m all for happy marriages and reconciliations and the like…but sometimes a girl has got to do what a girl has got to do.

I like Paris Hilton. Really. I honestly think that out of all of the starlets causing a ruckus in Hollywood, Paris is actually one of the few that is hard-working, honest, and smart. You can see this shine through whenever she’s on a talk show or even in episodes of her show, The Simple Life. Paris does put on an act sometimes (ok, much of the time) that’s she’s just another dumb blonde, but you know what? I still like her.

That said, I thought that the world was going to see a “new Paris”? Um…by new, she meant…? Granted Paris has done some charitable things. She’s continued her work with children’s hospitals (which she has done in the past–good for her!) and according to Paris Hilton Watch, she’s “applied her ‘hot’ label to issues such as breast cancer and multiple sclerosis, having lost both her grandmothers to the diseases”.

Ok. But…

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Every day, I hear the same complaints from those against the Christian religion. We’re too close-minded. We’re too unappreciative of diversity. We’re too exclusive. We’re too confined.

And you know what? I get it. Some of that is true for some people. I’ll even say that a lot of that is true for a lot of people. But (and there always is a but), is that the religion’s fault or is that the fault of interpretation?

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Welcome to the best of the best of Find Religion. Here are my personal favorite posts, as well as some of the most popular posts. Feel free to contact me view me if you read a post on my site that you want to nominate for this page. Also, this page will now be linked to the bottom of each post so you can easily read you favorite posts or check out new “best of the best” posts. Thanks for reading! -Allison

Maybe God is Making People Gay on Purpose: Every day, I see more and more controversy surrounding the growing homosexual population in America. Is it “right”?… read more

Does Religion Affect your Job: I’m a freelance writer, and I regularly visit Deb Ng’s blog to check out job links and read discussions. This past week, Deb asked a very interesting question: What won’t you write about? At first, my responsewas “nothing!” However, after thinking about it for a few minutes and reading the responses already posted on the site, I realized that yes, there are certain things I won’t write about…read more

The Top Five Reasons I Go to Church: Not everyone goes to church. When I moved here in late December, I made it my goal for a few weeks to find a new church to attend. I failed…read more

What We can Take Away from Falwell’s Death: Instead of celebrating his life in a way that promotes his views (with which I disagree for the most part), I will instead choose to look at the good things we CAN take about from Falwell. Before your pop the champagne cork, consider the following take-home lessons…read more

The Starbucks Fiasco: Who knew coffee could create such a stir in the religious community? According to reports, the following message, printed on Starbucks coffee cups, has some Christians in a tizzy…read more

Tea for Two - What’s the Point?: Yesterday, I drove to my hometown, about an hour and 45 minutes from where I live now, to celebrate my mother’s birthday by going to a mother-daughter banquet with her at our church…read more

300: An Accurate Portrayal?:Here’s the post I’ve been promising you: My thoughts on the movie 300…read more

I’m Bringing Sexy Back…: …to the Bible. Ok, that might sound dumb, but because tomorrow is Valentine’s Day, I wanted to bust the myth that reading the Bible is all boring, with stuffy, old stories…read more

He Sees You When You’re Sleeping: Ok, forget about Santa…what about God? Is God always watching us? Let me tell you a true-life story here. Yesterday, I went to a farmer’s market with my roommates…read more

Tips for Holiday Services: I realize that many people out there are “once-a-year” Christians–you only go to church once a year, during the holidays. Dear reader, are you a OAYC?…read more

Black Friday Shopping Without the Lines: It’s a little ironic, isn’t it, to think how brutal Christmas gift shopping can be on black Friday! In any case, some people chose not to drive to the mall and inside logged online to grab some great deals at retailers’ websites…read more

I Pledge to Tolerate You: During the holidays, groups of people who don’t neccessarily agree on religion come together. My challenge to you is to tolerate them all…read more

College Connections: Here are some suggestions on how to stay connected to worshipping if you have found yourself in a similar situation, college student or not…read more

Ok, I know that there are people out there who don’t let their kids read Harry Potter. And honestly, I think some parents are letting their children read them at too young of an age. They are a bit gruesome in places, and although we shouldn’t shelter our children, we definitely should make sure that things are appropriate for certain age leaves. But I digress.

What really bothers me is the people who use religion as a way to to to censor Harry Potter and other books where characters use magic. Today, Kelly at Tiny Treasury, talked about Laura Mallory, one of the most famous anti-Potter mothers in the United States. She in June, she actually took her case to the Supreme Court, trying to get them banned.

Here’s the thing. Even if the books DO promote witchcraft (they do not), why is it to be assumed the Wicca and other pagan religions are hurting our children? We still say “under God” during the pledge of allegiance and we still allow books like “Are You There God?, It’s Me, Margaret” to have a place on the shelves of our libraries. From the perspective of someone practicing Wicca, aren’t those things as harmful to them and their children as Harry Potter allegedly is to Christian children?

The answer is no. I don’t care what religion you are, if you do not allow your children to explore and learn about other religions, that how can they truly be Christian? I firmly believe that to be a true Christian you have to have a choice, and to have a choice you must learn, from an unbiased perspective, about other religions. Only then can you really accept that Jesus is your savior and all other religions are false (if that’s what you choose to believe).

All I’m saying is that a good parents shouldn’t have to worry about Harry Potter or about “Under God” or whatever. If you want your child to grow up as a Christian or an atheist or anything in between, that’s great–but let him or her actually decide that. Otherwise, their allegiance to your religion is false. They only subscribe to it because they don’t know any better.

I’d be really interested to hear from people on both sides of this debate. Should Harry Potter be banned? Does it teach children bad things?

Harry Potter, religion, Wicca, witchcraft, banned books

Prayer tips? Why would anyone need prayer tips? And what does one do with prayer tips? Isn’t prayer supposed to be an “individual” type of thing? How can general prayer help me?

Yes, that’s my first reaction too. But really, finding religion is about being comfortable in your own beliefs, and if you belong to a religion that celebrates prayer, these prayer tips really can help you find that comfort you need. The more comfortable you are with praying, the better your relationship will be with the divine.

Prayer Tip #1: Schedule time for prayer. Praying is kind of like working out. If you don’t schedule time for it, you might just not do it. However, like working out, after you get into the groove, it can be a rush and really make you feel better about yourself. At least for a few weeks, schedule time every day to pray.

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Every day, I see more and more controversy surrounding the growing homosexual population in America. Is it “right”? Should gay couples marry? Can a Christian nation welcome gays or would that chip away at the core of what we stand for? My friend Lyndsey, at Lez Keep it Real, recently talked about the upcoming presidential elections, and I can see easily that the GLBT debate is going to be a huge player for many Americans when choosing a candidate to endorse.

So I’m tackling the subject myself. What I say here is not based on the teachings of any church. It’s based on how I morally feel, taking into account my Christian upbringing. I hope that you do two things: 1) Read to the end before leaving a comment (positive or negative) and 2)open your mind to at least the exploration of the idea that maybe God is making some people gay on purpose.

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Instead of religious freebies this week, I’d like to note some “free” articles that you may want to read.

You’ve probably already realized that this blog is part of a larger blog network, 451 press. Although the overwhelming majority of bloggers here are not about religion, many still touch on the subject from time to time. After all, religion really does touch every aspect of our lives, whether you are religious or not. Here are some interesting articles from around 451 that you may want to check out:

At Vertical Quilting Curve, Donna has found a story in the Christian Science Monitor about passing down your quilts. Heritage is important part of any religion, and this story is a real tear-jerker!

Speaking of heritage, Gillian at Food History, is currently running the entires for a contest of your favorite recipes and the stories that go with them. Check out the latest entry, and don’t forget to click around her sit to see more stories and recipes.

This isn’t a purely religious question, but how do you feel about the censoring of some books? Is that the librarian’s job of the parent’s job? And, should you (or anyone) stop your child from reading something that goes against your own religious morals/values? At Tiny Treasures, Kelly asks us - Who has balls?

Can you keep a secret? Beth at Spirituality Guide talks about her daughter’s worries that, because of a sin, God wouldn’t love her anymore.

Have you seen a post on 451 that you like? Let us know!

PostSecret has just released a new movie on their site, talking about Frank’s surprise at we happened when he started the site and featuring a large number of secrets, new and old.

Releasing your secrets can help you heal. On this website, I give my advice on how to find religion, but religion is just one part of finding yourself. PostSecret has helped hundreds of thousands of people find that peace we all so disparately want.

Check out the site today if you haven’t already. Let me know your experiences with it.

I’d just like to take a moment to ask you all to pray or think happy thoughts or send well wishes, etc for the miners that have been recently trapped due to an earthquake. The range in age from 20-60 and many are fathers and husbands. My own father works in for a mining company, and although he doesn’t actually work IN the mines (he works outside, helping with loading, separation, etc), I’m still very aware of the dangers of the job these men do.

No matter what your religion, take a moment to think about these people today, and count your blessings that the people in your family are home safe tonight.