"religion" news and stories

Author Eric Burkett -- chef, food writer and Buddhist minister-in-training -- posted an essay on the blog Grist identifying a new breed of Foodies. He writes that Americans are "embracing food -- or food activism -- as their new religion" and exhibiting all the usual characteristics like "zealotry, passion, conviction, and a touch of self-righteousness in many cases."

Let's face it; is there anything more annoying than a self-righteous foodie? It's bad enough we had to listen to dull discourses on the latest cheese made by Bulgarian monks or monotonous monologues on the last meal they had at Chez Snooty. Now their diatribes are bordering on scary and strident fanaticism.

How do you feel about this quote, one of the many quotes you can currently find on the coffee cups at Starbucks locations?

"Why in moments of crisis do we ask God for strength and help? As cognitive beings, why would we ask something that may well be a figment of our imaginations for guidance? Why not search inside ourselves for the power to overcome? After all, we are strong enough to cause most of the catastrophes we need to endure."

Starbucks customer Michelle Incanno hates it, and she has decided she can't go to Starbucks anymore.

People have seen many religious icons in food in the past. The last time it was chocolate-related, it was Jesus in a drip pattern on a hot chocolate cup. This time, the image of the Virgin Mary was discovered in a Fountain Valley, California chocolate factory in the drippings under a large vat. The chocolate, seen here, stands two inches tall and the Bodega Chocolate employees have been praying to it since it was found on Monday.

Maybe the photo isn't doing it justice, but that doesn't look much like the Virgin Mary. It doesn't even look like the grilled cheese Virgin Mary. Supposedly, the layers of chocolate look like robes and there is a small white dot on the statue that could be the head of the baby Jesus.

Is anyone else skeptical? In this picture, it looks like an owl or a falcon more than a person, but maybe seen up close...

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In Colombia, the image of Jesus has been seen on the side of a mug of hot chocolate. Specifically, the face appeared on the side of the mug in a pattern of drips. Because this week, the week before Easter, is known as "holy week" by the Catholic Church, the are rumored to be investigating the appearance. In the meantime, a shrine has been set up for visitors to view the cup in the kitchen where it was discovered.

This isn't the first, nor probably the last, time that religious icons have been found in food.

[Image WKYC]

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