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Tag: jesus christ

  • Jencarlos Canela: “Telenovela” Star Portrays Modern-Day Jesus in “The Passion”

    Jencarlos Canela: “Telenovela” Star Portrays Modern-Day Jesus in “The Passion”

    Jencarlos Canela played a modern-day version of Jesus Christ in Fox’s Sunday night broadcast of The Passion. The Telenovela star has an interesting take on religion that isn’t unheard of for some modern-day Christians.

    “I was raised Catholic, but I consider myself more spiritual than religious,” Jencarlos Canela said in a recent interview with People magazine.

    Canela believes “human error” is the reason for his “disconnect from religion.”

    “We make the mistake of attaching the word God to religion,” he says. “The word God is way bigger than religion.”

    “We can’t allow anyone to tell us how our relationship with God must be,” he adds. “We can choose our own path. And at the end of the day, all that matters is that we are on that path with a supreme being who helps us strive to become better people–a better version of ourselves.”

    The Passion was set in modern day New Orleans. It featured several contemporary songs, as well as a different look at the final hours on earth of Jesus Christ. In addition to Jencarlos Canela, it starred Trisha Yearwood in the role of Jesus Christ’s mother, Mary.

    What’s your take on Jencarlos Canela’s take on religion? Did you like him in the role of Jesus in The Passion, or do you prefer a more traditional version instead?

  • Jencarlos Canela: The Word “God” Bigger Than Religion

    Jencarlos Canela: The Word “God” Bigger Than Religion

    Jencarlos Canela played Jesus Christ in Fox’s Sunday night broadcast of The Passion, and he has an interesting take on religion.

    “I was raised Catholic, but I consider myself more spiritual than religious,” he said in a recent interview with People magazine.

    What led Jencarlos Canela away from traditional religion?

    The Telenovela star cites “human error” for his “disconnect from religion.” This doesn’t mean he doesn’t believe in God, however.

    “We make the mistake of attaching the word God to religion,” Jencarlos Canela says. “The word God is way bigger than religion.”

    The Passion was set in modern day New Orleans. It featured several contemporary songs, as well as a different look at the final hours on earth of Jesus Christ. Trisha Yearwood played Christ’s mother, Mary.

    “We can’t allow anyone to tell us how our relationship with God must be,” Canela says. “We can choose our own path. And at the end of the day, all that matters is that we are on that path with a supreme being who helps us strive to become better people–a better version of ourselves.”

    What did you think of Jencarlos Canela as Jesus Christ in Fox’s broadcast of the new, modern version of The Passion?

    Did you like this modern take on the story of Christ’s last days or do you prefer a more traditional depiction?

    Jencarlos Canela does make an excellent point in say God is bigger than religion. Too often people get wrapped up in the “right” way to worship, when a relationship with and belief in no doubt God trumps all.

  • Joey and Rory Feek Thankful for Extra Days They’ve Had Together in Spite of Terminal Cancer

    Joey and Rory Feek are grateful for every day they’ve spent together. The country/bluegrass duo known as Joey + Rory didn’t expect to have as many days as they’ve enjoyed, but in their eyes God has been good. Joey Feek wasn’t expected to live until Thanksgiving, and now–at nearly the end of January–she is still alive.

    Diagnosed with cervical cancer in 2014, Joey Feek has fought a hard battle, one she learned this fall she wasn’t going to win. Doctors told her the chemo she’d undergone for the treatment of her cancer hadn’t worked. She returned to her childhood home in Indiana, under hospice care, where she has been ever since.

    Rory Feek has chronicled Joey’s cancer battle in his blog, This Life I Live. His most recent post, “The Power of the Plus-Sign,” provides fodder for some good, long contemplation.

    “It was faith that we added,” Rory writes, addressing the couple’s strong relationship with God. “A willingness to trust Him and be okay with whatever He had in store.”

    Their faith inspired Joey and Rory to “only see the plus’s in our life.”

    “Like all the extra days and weeks that we’ve been given together (the doctors here didn’t expect Joey to make it to Thanksgiving, and here we are near the end of January), and all the beautiful conversations and time we’ve had with her family,” he adds.

    The blog entry ends with a beautiful photo of Joey and Rory’s 23-month-old daughter Indiana.

    “The amazing power of the plus-sign. Joey+Rory = Indy,” he captions it.

    Joey and Rory Feek have likely brought more followers to Jesus Christ during her cancer battle than they will ever know. To see the physical toll the cancer has taken on Joey, and read the inspiring blog posts Rory has shared has no doubt instilled in many of their friends, family members, and fans the knowledge that faith brings with it a wealth of gifts.

    Joey and Rory are abundantly grateful for their gifts, and they’re counting them off–one day at a time.

  • Shroud Of Turin Research Has One Doctor Convinced It’s The Real Thing

    The Shroud of Turin is one of the most controversial artifacts to have ever been found. The piece of cloth depicts a man’s face, hands and legs that many claim to be the body of Jesus Christ. For some, it’s proof that Jesus lived, died and was resurrected. For others, it’s a dirty piece of cloth that people put too much importance on. While these two sides argue, science continues to search for the truth with one scientist now claiming it’s the real deal.

    The Tampa Tribune reports that Clearwater Beach resident Dr. Wayne Phillips is now convinced that the Shroud of Turin depicts the face of Jesus Christ. While Dr. Phillips is a Catholic, he says that his conclusion comes from hard science instead of faith. To illustrate this, he travels the country giving lectures on the science that proves the shroud is real.

    So, what is some of the science that Dr. Phillips cites to prove the shroud is real? For starters, he says the carbon dating method used in 1988 that pegged the shroud’s age at 600 years has been refuted time and time again. He also points to research conducted by Shroud of Turin Research Project in 1978 that proved it’s not a painting. Perhaps the most compelling evidence for the shroud and the resurrection is that research has shown the body under the shroud to have dematerialized. In other words, whoever was buried under the shroud wasn’t moved, but rather simply vanished.

    If you want to know more, you can watch one of the talks Phillips gave at his alma mater:

    Dr. Phillips isn’t the only academic putting a lot of time into studying the shroud. The Richmond Times Dispatch did a feature story on the local Shroud of Turin Center in Richmond, Virginia. The research center and museum has been a part of the city’s Mary Mother of the Church Abbey since 1997 and has sought to educate the public on the shroud and it’s importance. It’s just one of many shroud centers in the United States. You can see a full list of centers here.

    While visiting a center can give you all the information you need on the shroud itself, it still can’t replicate seeing the real thing. For that, you’ll have to travel to Turin, Italy where the shroud is displayed to the public every few years. The last showing was in 2010 while the next will be in 2015. Many U.S.-based shroud centers hold pilgrimages to Turin when the shroud is going to be displayed. The faithful and the curious may want to go with them if they have any desire to see it.

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • Peru Inmates Perform Musical ‘Jesus Christ Superstar’ for Holy Week

    Holy Week-the last week before Lent leading up to Easter Sunday-has kicked off to a theatrical start.

    Peruvian inmates at the Sarita Colonia prison performed their version of the musical Jesus Christ Superstar Tuesday as part of Holy Week in Lima.

    The cast, which has been preparing for the play since February, finally made their debut presentation among fellow inmates and prison officials.

    The production crew consisting of over a dozen actors, apparently designed their own costumes, built their own set, and studied their lines for two months straight.

    One of the inmates was chosen to portray Jesus.

    The reenactment of Jesus’ crucifixion couldn’t have been more realistic. The actor was forced to carry his own cross, was then tied to it, and mounted above for everyone to see.

    Sarita Colonia guards also had the opportunity to enjoy the show as they heavily monitored the play in the back of the prison yard.

    According to the prison’s press release, officials said that the purpose behind the rock opera was to encourage and inspire the prisoners during their time of rehabilitation.

    Director and convicted robber, Freddy Battifora, 35, told reporters that the performance was a “healthier means of self-expression for blowing off steam,” especially for the cast members.

    In other related news, an additional event started on Sunday April 13 in Seville, Spain.

    The Christian Easter Holy Week also includes Semana Santa de Sevilla, which comprises of floats, holy figures, and religious processions.

    One feature in particular involves penitents (sinners) dressed up in robes and hoods to conceal their identity while they confess of their sins in public.

    The traditional festivities are usually celebrated in most Spanish towns during this time of the year.

    In the streets of Jerusalem, both Jewish and Christian people of faith have also gathered to commemorate the Passover and Holy Week by remembering miraculous stories in the Bible.

    Check out this clip of the original 1973 musical Jesus Christ Superstar:

    Image via YouTube

  • Shroud of Turin: New Study Results May Debunk Theory of Cloth’s Inauthenticity

    The Shroud of Turin has long-been one of the greatest mysteries of the world, since it was first mentioned in documents and publications back in the Middle Ages. The shroud clearly depicts the imprint of a man’s face and torso, which greatly resemble the pictures of Jesus Christ we have today.

    Scientists and scholars have studied the cloth and tried to determine the exact time period of its creation for centuries; the first mentions of the cloth were made in medieval sources around the time of the Middle Ages, between A.D. 1260 and 1390. Radiocarbon dating tests performed in the 1980s were alleged proof of the cloth’s fabrication, with radiocarbon dating test results indicating that the cloth was less than 800 years old.

    The tests performed on the linen during the 80s included three separate studies at different laboratories, each of which yielded the same results of the cloth’s creation being too recent to have been in Jesus’ tomb.

    However, a new study headed by Alberto Carpinteri of the Politecnico di Torino in Italy used a new method of conducting tests on the shroud, and concluded that the theories of the cloth’s inauthenticity were not concrete, due to the testing methods that had been used.

    Carpinteri’s study is based on the theory of stable carbon and radioactive carbon-14 ratios occurring at the same levels in all living things until death, at which point the radioactive carbon-14 begins to decompose in a specific and identifiable way over a period of time. Based on the knowledge that a severe earthquake hit Jerusalem around the same time and could have caused this process to speed up, the scientists in Carpinteri’s study believe that the cloth could be authentic.

    They have also determined that the tests done on the cloth in the 1980s could have provided skewed results, as the samples taken could have been from material used to repair the cloth in the Middle Ages, or that other environmental factors could have damaged the cloth, which led to “a wrong radiocarbon dating,” Carpinteri says.

    According to Carpinteri, the theory that his scientists are banking on is based on the idea that high-frequency pressure waves in the earth’s crust caused by an earthquake that hit Old Jerusalem around the time Jesus is thought to have died and been buried could have produced an overload of neutron emissions.

    Those neutron emissions are exactly what Carpinteri is basing his theory on, saying that they could have had an interaction with nitrogen atoms in the cloth’s fibers that caused a chemical reaction which created the outline of the face.

    Image via Yuval Y, Wikimedia Commons.

  • Megyn Kelly Ruins Christmas For Everybody

    Fox News pundit Megyn Kelly insisted that non-white boys and girls throughout the world face reality: Santa is and only ever will be white.

    “For all you kids watching at home, Santa just is white. Santa is what he is. I wanted to get that straight.”

    How does she know this to be so?

    “I mean, Jesus was a white man too. He was a historical figure. That’s a verifiable fact.”

    Oh dear.

    So it’s not enough for go after children for daring to think that St. Nick is anything less than a WASP, Jesus is white, too? Despite the fact that the social construct for whiteness did not appear until many hundreds and hundreds of years after Jesus’s historically or religiously accepted birth date?

    Since her unscripted commentary on how children are supposed envision Jesus and Santa Claus, Kelly has been getting a great deal of criticism, and with good reason.

    First, given the ethnic origins of both Santa and Jesus, as one writer delicately put it, “weren’t the kind of white that would have passed muster with a segregated 1950s golf club.”

    Second, it’s likely Kelly is basing her assumptions on artwork that regularly portrays Jesus and Santa as the whitest of whites. Artistic license as a verifiable fact? What has the world of news punditry come to?

    Perhaps there is a lesson in this after all: Christmas is for everyone. It’s not the sole property of individuals seeking protect their versions of holiday tradition. Typically by insisting that the interpretation of beliefs should have stayed in the 1950s with themselves and their mindsets. Megyn Kelly is welcome to her “white” Santa Claus, “white” Jesus, and “white” Christmas. Since the spirit of the holiday is outside her grasp, it’s a moot point to try and take the racially exclusionary aspect away from her as well.

    Image: Megyn Kelly’s Twitter

  • Orange Is The New Black’s Taryn Manning Is Grateful For Her New Christ-Like Pennsatucky T-Shirt

    Tayrn Manning, who plays the role of Pennsatucky on Netflix’s hit show Orange is the New Black, like many other cast members, appears to be enjoying the spotlight as fans continue to express their appreciation of the show and its characters in interesting ways.

    Someone has expressed their love for Pennsatucky by taking the famous image of Jesus Christ holding a lamb, and putting Manning’s character in the Christ role. Manning shared it on Instagram, expressing her gratitude for whoever gave it to her. Now some fans want one too.

    If you watch the show, you shouldn’t have a hard time understanding why this exists. Pennsatucky is something of a Christian leader (albeit a violent one) in the show’s prison.

    (image)

    Orange is the New Black38 days ago

    Tiffany “Pennsatucky” Doggett: former meth head and current miracle worker. http://youtu.be/nryWkAaWjKg #OITNB #Netflix

    Powered by socialditto(image)  398 likes ·  146 comments

    Fans can expect to see plenty more of her in the forthcoming second season, as Manning was recently promoted to a series regular.

  • Jesus Appears To Woman In Florida During The Bachelor

    Jesus gets around a lot these days. So much to do and so little time for the Son of God, but he at least took a little time out this week to catch up on The Bachelor.

    10 News, a Tampa Bay CBS News affiliate, reported on Guerda Maurice, a Port St. Lucie resident who claims to have taken a picture of Jesus praying in her TV. The miraculous image appeared on a photo she took on her television during the climactic ending to The Bachelor.

    The story goes that Maurice was watching The Bachelor and decided to record an image she saw. The phone immediately stopped working, obviously the work of divine intervention, but restarted the next day to reveal to her that her faith had been rewarded. Jesus Christ, in all of his distorted glory, appeared before her over the image she took.

    Check out the original report here and see for yourself:

    This isn’t the first time Jesus has been spotted. He and his posse appear on everything they can possibly be burnt or impressed into. Take for example the man who found Jesus on a stripped wall or the woman who found the Virgin Mary on a piece of toast.

    Just a quick look on YouTube for “Jesus Sightings” returns more results than searching for “UFO Sightings.” Obviously, Jesus Christ is more popular than extraterrestrials.

    Buzzfeed has a collection of the most famous Jesus sightings from around the world. My personal favorite is the Cheeto. I’m glad the King of Kings likes my favorite snack enough to become one himself. I’m sure it was extra delicious.

    (image)

    I guess this is all to say that Harold Camping wasn’t so much wrong about the date of the Rapture, it was that Jesus was too busy making cameo appearances in Cheetos and TVs that he forget his own show.

    Where do you think Jesus is going to show up next? Have you see the Son of Man show up anywhere recently? Let us know in the comments.

    [Lead image: 10 News]

  • Second Coming of Christ Aided By…Social Media?

    It’s Friday, which as you know allows for a certain latitude to talk about things that might be off the beaten path or might be a little weird or strange.  Previously, Friday gave us the chance to discuss Rebecca Black’s catapult in viral stardom.  This week, the Friday Find is still odd, but contains much weightier implications.

    This Friday is not just any old Friday, but it is the kick off of Easter weekend.  In Christianity, of course, this weekend is the celebration of Christ’s crucifixion and eventual resurrection and ascension into heaven.  Whether it was planned or a coincidence, This Week’s Christiane Amanpour sat down with the Reverend Franklin Graham, son of legendary evangelist Billy Graham.  The topics of social media and the second coming of Christ were among those discussed.

    Rev. Graham said that social media could have a big part in the second coming of Christ.

    “How is the whole world going to see [Jesus Christ] all at one time? I don’t know, unless all of a sudden everybody’s taking pictures and it’s on the media worldwide. I don’t know. Social media could have a big part in that.”

    He also mentioned Egypt and Libya as examples of how social media can inform the world of events happening far away.

    “Everybody’s got their phone up and everybody’s taking recordings and posting it on YouTube and whatever and sending it to you, and it gets shown around the world.”

    Now, putting your personal religious affiliations (or lack thereof) aside, the Reverend makes an interesting point.  Though the idea of twitpics of Jesus Christ’s descent from the heavens and status updates (zOMG! RU serious?!? Jesus iz back! – 145,133 likes) chronicling the event seem silly, you can’t deny that the Reverend’s implication about social media is in essence spot on.

    Honestly, there is no event nowadays that is too big or deemed too important for social media.  Literal blood was being shed on the streets of Egypt and peoples’ first response was to upload the videos to YouTube and Tweet about it.

    Would the end times be immune to Facebook and Twitter?  I bet not.

    Speaking of revolution, Susan Milligan at US News & World Report has an interesting view on the role social media plays in large scale global events.  She asks us to stop glorifying the platform, and start glorifying the people.

    The sites are organizing tools, and are undeniably great at that. They can connect people who otherwise might be afraid to seek each other out to join in a courageous movement for change. In my childhood, we had phone trees–you had a list, and you called the next person on the list, and that person called the next one in line. It was primitive, and had its inherent flaws; it took just one person to drop the ball to make the whole idea fall apart. Facebook and Twitter and the like are far more efficient at organizing people, no doubt about it.

    But you still have to show up.

    Very true.  And if the rapture is covered by all the amateur reporters that social media has spawned, I’m sure that Jesus Christ will be the main focus, not Facebook.