Internet site offers smorgasbord of religion
The Layman Online, February 15, 2000
Only in America.
Now a venture capitalist has created a web site, called Beliefnet, that is designed to provide information and/or inspiration to believe just about anything imaginable.
Beliefnet is a true smorgasbord – Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Hinduism and other religions. The sponsor, Highland Capital, a venture capital firm, has established a site where pick-and-choose is the only option. There is no preaching or effort to validate one faith or another.
Beliefnet, sort of the E-Bay of religion on the Internet, is sprinkled with tidbits of information and speculation. Why did God kill the dinosaurs? A Muslim and Mormon are coming to dinner. What should you serve? Is there enough DNA in the Shroud of Turin to allow cloning of Jesus Christ?
There’s nothing for sale on Beliefnet, except change itself. A recent “Thought for the Day” was “If you don’t change your beliefs, your life will be like this forever. Is that good news?”
The theme of Beliefnet seems to come from a self-analysis featured recently on the web site. You can take a test to gauge your spirituality. The test is introduced by the following: “What’s your religion? It used to be such a simple question to answer. But now you might be ‘spiritual but not religious’ – or raised in one faith but practicing another. Maybe you’re a Methodist but think of yourself more as an evangelical, or a seeker who is anti-religion – or born again. The old categories don’t seem to work because the religious landscape has changed so much.”