Hoax Museum Blog: Religion

The Jedi Religion — I wrote in my book about the burgeoning Jedi movement throughout the world. For instance, when the 2001 census was taken in Britain, tens of thousands of people listed 'Jedi Knight' as their religious affiliation on the census forms. I've actually heard from a source in the Office of National Statistics that when the figures were all counted, there ended up being more Jedis than Jews in Britain. Now we have more proof of the growing stature of 'Jediism': the quasi-official website of the Jedi Religion.

Plug n Pray — Here's a product that we need more than ever! It's Plug 'n' Pray. The software kit that easily allows you to convert to a new religion. As the blurb on the website says, "Do you need to change religion to grab the chance for a career outlook? Are you going to work abroad? Getting a new customized god is easy with Plug'n'Pray. A new spirituality and a new respectability can be yours at a mouse click." I especially like the 'Switch Kits' available in the Palestine and Ulster editions. These offer two religions conveniently packaged in one kit. Again, as the website explains: "Are you on the border where religious communities mix and discrimination rages? Switch religion with the Plug'n'Pray Switch Edition and choose the most convenient one for your present situation." (Thanks to Richard for the link).

Jesus Face — Face of Jesus seen in ozone hole (via Liquito).

Mother Teresa Hoax — Rationalists describe Mother Teresa's miraculous cure of Monica Besra's abdominal tumor as a hoax.

The Nature of Reality — Interesting discussion of the nature of reality. Posits three positions: 1) Reality is hidden and unknowable; 2) Reality is attainable; 3) We can't agree about reality. (via RealityCarnival).

Jesus Freakin — Here's a curious website just sent in by a visitor: JesusFreakin.com. It's the homepage for a new role-playing game in which you get to play Jesus Christ, who's just returned after 2000 years and is ready for revenge. The game has tag lines such as 'The time has come to thin the flock,' and 'After 2000 years, he's ready to cast the first stone.' In my opinion, it's definitely a hoax. First of all, the site and graphics are pretty amateurish, given that it's supposedly produced by a video game company (Last Stone Studios). Second, there's no evidence that this company exists. It lists a business address on a press release it issued, but this address is just a p.o. box at a Mail Boxes etc. Finally, just reading through the site, it seems pretty obvious that it's satire. But the website does link to a CafePress page where you can buy Jesus Freakin merchandise. My guess is that whoever created the site is trying to be controversial as a ploy to sell a few t-shirts.

Afterlife Telegrams — Afterlife Telegrams: Terminally ill volunteers will memorize your messages and, upon death, deliver them to your friends and family on the other side

We Want Your Soul! — Cute hoax website: WeWantYourSoul.com. Though it's more of a spoof than a hoax, I'd say, since I don't think anyone is actually going to believe they're going to get money out of this.

Genuine Holy Water from Lourdes — Scam Alert! A company is sending out spam directing people to a website (http://www.0te.com/3) that sells genuine Holy Water from Lourdes. They boast that it's a miracle cure. "Holy Water can save you where medicine failed!" they proclaim. And it's yours for only $39.95. I'm tempted to believe that if you pony up $39.95 they really will send you genuine holy water from Lourdes. That's not the scam. The scam is that you can head on over to lourdeswater.com and buy the same stuff for less than half the price. So this company is tricking people into paying them $39.95 for a product that they then order elsewhere on the web for only $15. That's a nice scam and a quick way to pocket $25. I was curious who the website 0te.com was registered to and checked it out on whois.org. Turns out it's registered to some guy named Mike Richardson who lives in Atlanta, Georgia and works for a company called n26.com that sells teeth-whitening products. That's an odd combination of products: teeth-whiteners and Holy Water. Maybe you can gargle with their overpriced Holy Water after brightening your smile. Thanks to Philip Richmond for giving me a heads up about this holy water scam.

Not What You Expect — Super-Models-With-See-Through-Tops.com

Absolution Online — Is the weight from your sins hanging heavy on your shoulders? Just visit Absolution Online, home of the Virtual Confessional, and your burden shall be lifted.

Popeface — Here's the latest thing making the rounds in Italy. It's Popeface! Supposedly a picture of the Pope taken during the '80s in which he's sticking his tongue out and making a strange grimace. Prints of it are being offered for sale at popeface.com. Of course, the seller doesn't specify how much he's asking for it. He only tells you to email him for more info at his hotmail account. And strangely, he's also offering the domain name 'popeface.com' for sale. So this has all the markings of a hoax. (Thanks to an anonymous Italian visitor for alerting me to this).

Virgin Mary in a Chimney — First they saw the image of the Virgin Mary in a window of Milton Hospital (see below). Now they're seeing the image of the Virgin Mary in Milton Hospital's brick chimney.

Objective Ministries — A visitor asks: http://crossspot.net/objective/kidz.html
is this site for real,or just mocking christian web sites?
My answer: My vote is that it's satire, though it's pretty hard to tell. To my jaded sensibility the site definitely has a tongue-in-cheek feel to it. For instance the proposed redesign of the American flag to include the word 'GOD' stamped in huge letters across the top of it seems a little much. But there are people who go for that kind of stuff. What confuses me are the banner ads on the site which appear to lead to genuine Christian businesses. But maybe the ads are put there just to give the site a façade of authenticity.

Virgin Mary in Hospital Window — More info about the image of the Virgin Mary that's appearing in the window of Milton Hospital. Plus a picture. I guess I can sort of see how it looks like the Virgin Mary, but it also looks a little like the state of New Hampshire if you squint your eyes just right.

Virgin Mary in Window — Not a deliberate hoax, but bogus anyway. A leaky window seal causes a peculiar moisture pattern to form on the window of Milton Hospital. True believers swear it's the image of the Virgin Mary.

Weeping Mary — For the past six months thousands of people have been flocking to see a small fibreglass statue of the Virgin Mary in a church in Perth, Australia that is supposedly weeping rose-scented tears. But many scientists, including Doug Clarke of Murdoch University, dismiss the statue as a hoax: Mr Clarke believes that when the statue was made, a cavity was built into the head of the statue and for some reason he believes it has been filled with an oil similar to soya-bean oil.

Australian Jedis — Some more news from Australia: More than 700,000 people identified their religion as "Jedi Knight" in Australia's national census conducted last year.

The Shroud of Turin — The Shroud of Turin is back in the news. It turns out that the Vatican has secretly been allowing a scientist to perform tests on it for the past few months. Apparently the scientist is trying to get a more accurate reading of the exact age of the shroud's fibers, following criticism of 1988 tests of the age of the fibers.