"Blessed art thou amongst search engines"

It's all-knowing, everywhere at once, immortal, infinite, benevolent, and it even answers the prayers of college students. U.S. Catholics likely visit its home more often than they go to church—perhaps even many times a day. It's Google.
Those who are particularly devoted to the search engine can sing its praise (literally—to the tune of Jingle Bells) at the Church of Google. They can also pray the "Hail Google" and many versions of "Our Google," submitted by creative visitors who can become ministers of Googlism. Believers follow 10 commandments ("Thou shalt have no other search engine before me"), but beyond the superficial, the online church's similarities with real churches fall off. Most participants on the discussion boards say they reject traditional religion.

Skin-deep faith

Think tattoos are the mark of Satan? Think again, says Jason Gennaro, a Catholic with 14 tattoos, on his website. The site is devoted to "Christian body art," with hundreds of pictures of tattooed images of Jesus, Mary, the cross, and other symbols.

Gennaro also presents a history of religious body art and a detailed argument against Leviticus 19:28: "You shall not make any gashes in your flesh for the dead or tattoo any marks upon you." Gennaro says the new law brought by Jesus Christ supersedes the law of the Old Testament. He also believes that tattoos, for those who feel called to get one, are a way to evangelize.

Pop quiz

Theology buffs can put their faith to the test online through quizfarm.com's "Are you a heretic?" The test-takers' responses to 42 agree/disagree questions reveal whether or not they are "Chalcedon compliant," meaning "you believe that Jesus is truly God and truly man and like us in every respect, apart from sin."
The creator of the test, Stephen Harris, who blogs on theology and biblical studies, has also created quizzes that determine which theologian you most resemble, what the kingdom of God is for you, and what your eschatology and theological worldview are. Take his quizzes.

Relics for sale

Shopping on eBay isn't so saintly, according to the International Crusade for Holy Relics. The organization is calling for a boycott of the online auction house until it stops allowing relics to be sold and enforces its own rules barring sale of body parts. The boycott follows a decade of unsuccessfully lobbying on behalf of the saints. A recent search of "saint relics" on eBay found saint medals, but also the skull of St. Ursula. The ICHR says that many of these relics are fake, and if they are real, they are disrespectful to the saints and the people who venerate them. "Our saints should be enjoying their eternal reward in peace, not having their body parts sold like cheap trinkets," said Tom Serafin, founder and president of the ICHR, in a press release.

Searching for porpoise

If Rick Warren's The Purpose-Driven Life (Zondervan) is not deep enough, dive deeper, like a porpoise, says Bill Dahl, creator of the online Christian emergent community, theporpoisedivinglife.com. Porpoise diving continues the spiritual journey started in Warren's book, but divers look for the gospel message "outside the confines of a well-ordered, trouble-free, formula-based, prosperity-laden, purpose-driven life," Dahl says in an interview on the site. He has also written a book currently under review for publication: The Porpoise-Diving Life: Reality for the Rest of Us or Picking Up Where Purpose-Driven Peters Out.