Confessions of a Recovering Pharisee

[Yahoo]

A British woman is divorcing her husband after discovering his online alter-ego was having an affair with a virtual woman in the fantasy world of Second Life, media reported on Friday. Amy Taylor, 28, said her three-year marriage to David Pollard, 40, came to an end when she twice walked in on him watching his online character, Dave Barmy, having sex with other virtual women.

Second Life enables players to create online lives in which their virtual alter ego, or avatar, can socialize, develop relationships, buy property and set up businesses in an imagined world using the game’s virtual currency.

The couple met in an internet chatroom in 2003 and married in real life and in a fantasy tropical setting in Second Life.

However, Taylor always had suspicions about Pollard’s online loyalty. At one point she hired a virtual detective to test whether his avatar was cheating on her, after finding him at the computer watching his character having sex with a prostitute.

Pollard passed that honeytrap test but earlier this year Taylor found his character in a compromising position with another virtual woman.

“He confessed he’d been talking to this woman player in America for one or two weeks and said our marriage was over and he didn’t love me any more,” said Taylor, who filed for divorce the next day.

“The solicitor wasn’t at all surprised — she said it was her second divorce case involving Second Life that week.”

Source

[From me]

O my. I don’t see how anything good can come from a website like this. Hiring a “virtual” detective?  People need to get a life! A real life!

What do you think?

[BBC]

A city council has blocked its staff from looking at websites about atheism.

Lawyers at the National Secular Society said the move by Birmingham City Council was “discriminatory” and they would consider legal action.

The rules also ban sites that promote witchcraft, the paranormal, sexual deviancy and criminal activity.

The city council declined to comment on the possible legal action, but said the new system helped make it easier for managers to monitor staff web access.

The authority’s Bluecoat WebFilter computer system allows staff to look at websites relating to Christianity, Islam, Hinduism and other religions but blocks sites to do with “witchcraft or Satanism” and “occult practices, atheistic views, voodoo rituals or any other form of mysticism”.

Under the Employment Equality (Religion or Belief) Regulations 2003, it is unlawful to discriminate against workers because of their religion or belief, which includes atheism.

National Secular Society president Terry Sanderson said the city council’s rules also discriminated against people who practise witchcraft, which is also classed as a legitimate belief.

Read more here.

[From me]

I would rather people not look at those sites.  But I even go to them especially Ask an Atheist. What if the tide turns and those in authority don’t want them looking at Christian sites?

What do you think?

[Christian Post]

More than 1,500 pastors across the country and around the globe have pledged not to short circuit their sermons with someone else’s. In a new campaign aimed at putting the centrality of the Bible back into a preacher’s message, “The Preacher’s Pledge,” introduced by SermonCentral.com, has been signed by pastors from over 50 nations so far.

“We introduced The Pledge because we think preachers must engage the Bible in their sermon preparation and not simply short circuit the process with someone else’s study,” says Ron Forseth, general editor for SermonCentral.com. “Our site is a valuable supplement but not the primary source for a sermon. God’s Word is.”

Read about it here.

Take the pledge here.

[From me]

I could never preach someone else’s sermon! Period! I’ve had some false accusations to the contrary but never, never, never have I downloaded and preached someone else’s study. To me that is lazy and robs the person delivering the message an opportunity to grow through their study. God teaches me new insights every time I study. I have taught the same passages before but somehow God teaches me something new. Other great speakers give challenges to me and I gain wonderful ideas. But my personality and style is different than other speakers. I don’t get this.

Could you preach or teach some else’s work?

What do you think?

With all of the hype surrounding the Vanessa Hudgens internet pictures.  I was appalled to find out there is one making rounds on the internet about me.

[Philly.com]

A couple who broke up seven months after their wedding vows wondered if the ceremony performed by a friend ordained via the Internet was even valid under state law. Now a York County judge has ruled that it was not, although a Universal Life Church official hopes to challenge that ruling.

Read about it here.

[From me]

Wasn’t this guy ordained by the same group?