Soul's Code

Beliefnet Founder’s Founding Faith

Talking about his new book, Founding Faith: How Our Founding Fathers Forged a Radical New Approach to Religious Liberty, on National Public Radio last week, Beliefnet co-founder, Steve Waldman, debunks the twin myths that the Founding Fathers were either a pack of howling evangelicals or a group of proto-new age spiritualists. The Fathers’ intent, he says, was actually to promote faith by separating religion from government.

Dr. Phil, tear down this billboard!

Residents of West Los Angeles, irked over the size of a huge, 60 by 100-foot Dr. Phil billboard on National Blvd., complained to the city.

The Reader’s Oscar night has one man asking, will the Pentagram ever get the same respect as The Star of David

OPINION PIECE: DANNY KENNY — The five Oscar nominations and Kate Winslet’s Best Actress win for “The Reader” give a twist to the old cliche, “if a picture paints a thousand words.” “The Reader” uses a thousand words to paint a picture — and such moving pictures can affect the hearts and minds of millions of people all over the (Golden) Globe.

In the past, a very different kind of “Oscar” (Wilde) once declared,”Illusion is the first of all pleasures” — and as we all know, Hollywood is the Master of illusion.

So let’s take a critical look at the Oscars’ favorite Hollywood clichés. Who and what does Hollywood teach us to love and hate by using its own distorted images? Here are the first two nominees for hero and villain. (Insert your own smarmy generic Oscar Host:)

“Young widow” was a label that I found repulsive. Beyond the label a new love happened

GUEST COLUMN: SUE FREEMAN — When I lost my first husband in 2006, I wondered what changes would come next. Instantly, I was a single parent raising a three-year-old girl. I had mountains of my husband’s paperwork to contend with, which took me upwards of six months to complete.

Most days I didn’t know if I was coming or going, especially during those first few months. Between answering questions as to the “why” of his death, and my attendance at two rounds of very helpful grief support groups, I started to feel a little more like my feet were on the ground again.

Cupid’s Coach.com founder Julie Ferman answers questions from Soul’s Code about the boom in the love business, and “What is an aura mixer”?

SOUL’S CODE — According to varied forms of spiritual practice and to the discipline of parapsychology, all of us are surrounded by an “aura” — a field of faint and glowing radiation.  You have probably had the experience of meeting people who seem to exude love, fun, anger or hate — even before they utter a word.

Julie Ferman uses auras to help singles connect. She hosts Aura Mixers and Flirt Parties. Julie is an expert in these matters: She launched the matchmaking service Cupid’s Coach in the last recession after 9/11 and the dot.com bust.

Betting against Obama fatigue

By now it’s clear that former President Elect Barack Obama‘s image can sell just about anything, from puppy sweaters to phony commemorative coins. But he can also sell your cause — any cause — as discovered by Care2.com. On its “Yes You Can Challenge” petitions page — where you can create and circulate your own petition electronically — the site boasts a picture and an inspiring quote from the new prez. Piggy-backing an inspiring brand to inspire people is a natural strategy for self-help sites — as long as the brand lasts. Some were already claiming “Obama fatigue” before last year’s election.

The Early Church used ‘miracles’ as a marketing theme as much as the producers of ABC’s Lost do today. But by emphasizing Jesus’ Miracles more than His Teachings, it postponed the Kingdom

FR. DAVID RICKEY: In the Bible, Jesus performed more miracles than filled the first four seasons of the ABC series, Lost, and it must have initially been a real kick for him. But for Jesus the miracles seem to have gotten in his way. He was even reported to have rebuked his followers after feeding 5000 people: “You’re following me just because I fed you! Seek the real food!”

For the New Testament Gospel writers, the miracles seem more important than the teaching. So often it reads: “Jesus taught them many things.” Then the writer goes on to tell us in great detail about a miracle. I always say, “Hey! What about the teaching? What was that?” But there’s no answer.

Why Rome’s 2,000-year-old pagan temple, The Pantheon, is one of the most magical and mystical spaces on earth

BY PAUL KAIHLA — The Pantheon has been nearly all things for all people: for the ancient Romans, a cornucopia of shrines; for Catholics, a church for a legion of saints; for modern Romans, a common sight on their way to work; for tourists, an uncommonly spectacular site.  And for Soul’s Code, a mystical destination.

From housing gods, to hosting saints

“Pantheon” comes from the Greek word meaning “every god”, most likely derived from the several shrines and statues lining the interior.  The Pantheon was rebuilt several times by Roman emperors, each one adding to it’s grandeur.  A few centuries after Christianity became a legal religion within the empire, the Pantheon was converted into a church, Saint Mary and the Martyrs.  Though the exterior has lost a few of it’s beauty (e.g., sculptures in the now bare pediment), the interior has remained virtually intact for over 2,000 years.