He REALLY isn’t the Maitreya you’re looking for

Greetings.

Jewish date:  9 Nisan 5770 (Parashath Ṣaw).

Today’s holidays:  Wednesday of the Fifth Week of Lent (Roman Catholicism), Feast of Priapas (Thelema), Student Day (Scientology).

NOTE:  Yesterday I created an iCal calendar for Scientology holidays.  iCal calendars for holidays of religions I am not currently tracking would be appreciated.

Worthy causes of the day:  “Take Action: No stolen elections in Sudan | Save Darfur” and “ColorOfChange.org:  Tell the GOP: Stop inciting and supporting hate”.

Questionably worthy cause of the day:  “A Ticket For Rush!”.  (Submitted by Barry.)  Apparently Rush Limbaugh said on the air that if health care reform passed, he would go to Costa Rica.  This site is trying to raise money for his ticket.  While I would not be saddened by Limbaugh leaving the United States, I do not wish to inflict him on another country.

Topic 1:  Yesterday I posted on how Share International thought that author/activist Raj Patel is Maitreya, a Mashiaḥ/Messiah-like figure.  Someone calling himself “Dave” left a comment on that post denying that Share International actually thinks that Patel is Maitreya, claiming that it is all just a rumor started by Christian fundamentalists.  A bit of searching revealed that Share International makes no mention of Patel at all on their Web-site, and I wrote to Share International for further confirmation.  This is what they wrote back:

Thanks for visiting the Share International website and for your query.

A pity the media doesn't check the validity of these 'facts' as well, before
publishing. But, yes, the "Patel is Maitreya" claim is indeed "only a
spurious rumor".

Why Christian fundamentalists (or anyone else) would start such a rumor or why anyone is bugging Patel, I do not know.  Maybe someone got annoyed at both Share International and Patel and decided to be mischievous towards both.  But the moral of the story is not to blindly trust everything in the news.

Topic 2:  “Super-sizing the "Last Supper"”:  Just something curious reported recently.  Apparently the portion sizes in paintings of the Last Supper have increased over time.

Topic 3:  I had long heard of a strange claim popularly mocked that if one were photographed one’s soul would be stolen in the process.  Only recently did I learn who actually believed it:  Crazy Horse (of the Battle of Little Bighorn fame).  He apparently took this belief seriously enough that there are no known photographs of him in existence.

Topic 4:  For today’s religious humor:  “Happy Passover LOLCat Graphic”:



Yes, that is a scarf the cat is wearing, not a ṭallith.

Peace.

Aaron

He’s not the Maitreya you’re looking for

Greetings.

Jewish date:  8 Nisan 5770 (Parashath Ṣaw).

Today’s holiday:  Feast of Turibius de Mogrovejo (Roman Catholicism).

Worthy cause of the day:  “Protect the Flat-tailed Horned Lizard - The Petition Site”, “Health Insurance Reform: Finish the Job | Senator Harry Reid, Nevada - HarryReid.com”, and “Urge Congress to Increase Funding for Emergency Food Assistance - The Petition Site”.

Topic 1:  “I'm not the messiah, says food activist – but his many worshippers do not believe him”.  I do not know what to do with this article.  Apparently Share International, an offshoot of the occult religion Theosophy, has decided that author and environmental activist Raj Patel is Maitreya (the group’s equivalent of the Mashiaḥ/Messiah).  Mr. Patel has been identified as Maitreya on the basis of him fitting multiple items of what Maitreya is supposed to be like.  One question to be considered is whether there are criteria for Maitreya which Patel does not fit; Patel himself claims that his politics are the opposite of what they should be for Matreiya.  It would be nice to know whether there are “misses” which are not not covered in this article.  Also, there is the question about how many of the “hits” are by chance alone.  The chances that one single human will fit an arbitrary list of criteria are often small, but with over 6,000,000,000 humans on the planet, the chances that someone will fit the same list is usually higher.

Also:  Patel has a sense of humor about his Maitreyahood.  See “Stephen and me” and “Call Me Brian”.

Also note:  If anyone of you, like me, is awaiting Mashiaḥ or any similar special figure, the statistics works in your favor.  The more humans there are, the more likely there is someone who fits the bill.

Topic 2:  The Dry Bones cartoon “Occupied Territories (1977 2009)”.  This cartoon puts Israel’s situation in perspective.

Topic 4:  For today’s religious humor, for which I blame Alan:  “Best pesach photo I could find”.  If anyone needs me to explain how crazy people get cleaning for Pesaḥ (Passover), please let me know.

Peace.

Aaron