"Now entering the Virus Zone. Closed and/or irrational minds may be offended. Open and/or rational minds may be infected." This is the tone that laces this site, with its all-black background. Its stark look represents an intense sort of seriousness quite successfully. Click on high- or low-bandwidth (always a nice option) and you're off.
The entire concept about Virus is to infect its readers with free thought - to offer a broad range of perspectives (all with an appropriate "free thought" slant) - to encourage the questioning of faith and spirituality. This site is not intended to "trash" religion or horrify "believers"with blasphemy and irreverence, though at times it might be mistaken as such with links to paganist and satanic resources. The biases are clear from the start, but not overwhelming or pushy.
There are lots of curious bytes to Virus. Separate from one another, they might seem trivial, but taken in the context of the whole site, they help create comprehensive and well-supported arguments. One link will take you to a page about Daniel C. Dennet's book, *Darwin's Dangerous Idea*. The page sports reviews that have been printed in national journals, and also invites readers to submit their own opinions of the book. The same is true with Kevin Keely's book *Out of Control: The Rise of Neo-biological Civilization*. Again, the Virus creator is seeking surfer participation and interaction, all the while allowing us to ingest his creation and make our own decisions about it.
The rest of the site is filled, I mean filled, with statements, summaries, and observations about movements of philosophy, politics, religion, science, technology, and evolution, all striving to infect us, again and again. Virus is relentless in its pursuit. And what I found most valuable beyond the overwhelming amount of time and effort taken to build this site (intense graphics and layout aside) is the reading list.
The reading list is a hyperlink hoe-down of literature to move you through the process of deciding what religion is or isn't in your life. Many of the recommended books have links to summaries, or places they're available online. And, to supplement this reading list, there's also a page of Internet resources to spawn further questioning and perhaps a few answers.
There will be some who have no need for this site and will most certainly
be offended, but there are many others who should find great thought-provoking
pleasure.-SK
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Voodoo
in New Orleans
Don't go to this site expecting to find information about Voodoo in New
Orleans (as Yahoo! would have you believe). Instead, these are photographs
of Voodoo temples and cemeteries in New Orleans, and as a work of art, the
site is captivating. I especially liked the photo of the Haitian Voodoo
flag. The site's small - only a handful of photos - but interesting for
the curious. And it has a nice overall layout and general good feel about
it.-SK
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The
Hinduism Today Home Page
One could spend hours pouring over the Hinduism Today pages (the Web companion
to a full-color print journal articulating Indian spirituality). It's a
never-ending array of beautiful and well-constructed pages lined with news,
current events, health and history of Hindu spirituality. There's a wonderful
section of the journal reserved for the exchange of Aums (Indian graphic
metaphors) that is both spectacular to look at and thought-provoking. It's
a fantastic creation.-KV
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SufiWorld
"You are the center of your universe," the Sufi Islamic Page preaches.
There are poems, essays, links to products ($$$), and a section on medical
philosophies. Though the pages look very nice, it's hard to really submerge
yourself in the concept if you aren't already practicing the faith or have
a strong knowledge of Sufism. Overall, it left me a bit puzzled, but I wouldn't
count it out, especially for those specifically curious about the religion.-SK
B
Nomius
Zen Garden
It's a little hoaky. Though the general principal is good, with weekly stories
and Koans (proverb-like quotes) to help guide Zen Buddhists through their
journey, the tone is slightly condescending in its "let us show you
the way" approach. The site uses advertising, but the creators have
selected sponsors who support their mission, such as a natural vitamin supplier.
There's also a version of the story of 10 Bulls in full hypertext format.
And, for the multimedia component, there are sound clips and visuals to
help you relax and meditate.-SK
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ELCA Homepage
For Christians of the Lutheran faith, this is a great Web site. It's well-designed,
with tasteful icons and buttons, and it's easy to get through. It's also
boiling over with content. Not only will you learn about the Evangelical
Lutheran Church of America, but you'll gain insight into other Lutheran
churches, their beliefs, and the specialty services they offer. Most interesting,
though, is the fact page, which outlines the churche's demographical information:
who's involved, whether they're men or women, how many people have been
baptized, etc. It's for a specific audience, obviously, but it serves them
well.-SK
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Combating
Cult Mind Control
"Truth is stronger than lies and love is stronger than fear!"And that is the tone of this site. Steven Hassan wants to help cult members
break free. It could be interesting even if you're not a cult member, but
want to look at one man's approach to combating the psychological warfare
of "cults." The graphics, well, they aren't so interesting. In
fact, except for the (ack) photo on the front end and a few GIFs of his
book for sale (double ack), they don't exist.-SK
C
An
Internet Guide to Chabad Literature
Wow - this has to be the one-stop site for Chabad information on the Web,
made more noteworthy for its location: Texas! Rabbinical writings, sound
files of Jewish songs, an art gallery, and more. Doctrinal questions are
reviewed, basic tenets of Judaism are presented - there is an enormous amount
of information here. This site is a great example of the Web as clearinghouse,
bringing together widely scattered information and presenting it in an accessible
form. I highly recommend this page to any believer or interested party.
A most impressive Web space, Learned Protocols be damned!-SS
A
Dark
Goddesses
America has never suffered a shortage of religions. Christian sects have
always proliferated on these shores, and the twentieth century has seen
an explosion of the New Agey as well. This site promotes a rethinking of
the current "Goddess" beliefs, examining the darker set of female
deities and mythical sorts. I was pleased to see one of my favorites, Kali,
make a strong showing; the Hindus have the most kick-butt gods! This space
offers a great deal of background information on numerous gods, and would
be of interest to anyone investigating female empowerment in myth.-SS
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GOSHEN Global Online
Service Helping Evangelize Nations
Looking for a Pentecostal space on the Web? Trying to track down a Baptist
book publisher? GOSHEN offers a Christian-focused search function and more.
Billing itself as the Internet Christian Resource Directory, GOSHEN aims
to provide a free and easy vehicle for Christian organizations to establish
a presence on the Web, and to offer a directory of such sites. I especially
liked the verse of the day; heaven knows how frequently I start craving
a fix of Luke. The resources here are plentiful enough to warrant this site's
inclusion on any collection of Christian bookmarks.-SS
B
Quakers
- Autobiography of George Fox
The Quakers have long played an active role in civil protest in this country,
often engaging in all manner of dissent and disobedience. How does a group
with such a reputation for pleasantry and niceness justify such conduct
by its members? Part of the answer lies within the life of George Fox, whose
writings embody much of the Quaker truth. This site offers the autobiography
of Fox, available in RTF, PDF, text, and HTML formats. Those seeking Quaker
resources should do a net search; this site simply offers up Fox's work,
and does so with simplicity.-SS
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SDAnet
If you have a question concerning Seventh Day Adventist doctrine, chances
are you will find an answer on this site or one of its crosslinks. As I
wandered around this space, I grew increasingly impressed with its scale.
A significant portion of Adventist materials on the Web must be within two
hops of this page. The work itself is not of a proselytizing sort; it is
clearly intended to assist the Believer in contacting like-minded others
and in acquiring the resources necessary to maintain the Faith. This page
is certainly of interest to any Adventist; others may find it less inspiring.-SS
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The
Bahá'ís
The Bahá'ís and the Quakers routinely compete for the title
of "nicest religion." A young faith, Bahá'í continues
to make a strong showing among the more disaffected members of the Western
world. This site offers an extensive introduction to its world view. Doctrine,
history, a blueprint for the future - all the trappings of a religion are
here. Thoughtful organization and a clean layout make this a delightful
spot to surf; if I were choosing a religion on the basis of its Web presence,
the Bahá'ís would have my soul. A great single-issue clearinghouse.-SS
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