Idol Chatter

What’s that saying about getting out of the kitchen if you can’t stand the heat? Looks like Isaac Hayes, the voice of Jerome “Chef” McElroy, doesn’t like what those “South Park” boys–Matt Stone and Trey Parker–have been cooking. E! Online reports that Hayes has asked to be let out of his contract due to the…

Why do evangelicals have such an affinity for Fox News, homeschooling, and church potlucks? Is there really a “Master List” of who’s actually gong to hell–and wouldn’t you like to take a tiny peek at it if there was? Author and satirist Joel Kilpatrick tackles these and many other important issues as he offers his…

What if someone made a movie of your life? Would you want to watch? And if you did, what would be the highlights? What would you change? The independent film “Illusion,” currently in limited theatrical release, ponders these questions and more through the eyes of a legendary but ailing film director, played by legendary but…

Fans of HBO’s “The Sopranos“–the award-winning mafia family-crime drama that many claim is the best show on television–will finally satisfy their long-awaited desire for a new season this Sunday, March 12th, at 9 p.m. It’s been almost two years since the controversial and shocking season finale of Season Five. I won’t give away that ending…

The most recent Paris Fashion Week has sparked controversy among fashion critics and feminists alike, not so much over what the models were wearing on their bodies, but instead, what they were wearing on–or over–their heads. The burqa (the most extreme style of covering worn by Muslim women) and the hijab (veil) have apparently been…

It’s been blamed for sparking aggression and contributing to American kids’ obesity, but now the beleagured videogame is being given a higher purpose: Toppling dictatorships and spreading human rights through nonviolent struggle. No, “Doom” has not suddenly gone soft. This game is called “A Force More Powerful,” and you will not find it at your…

John Travolta’s decision to play Edna Turnblad in the upcoming musical film version of “Hairspray” –based on the stage musical, which was based on the original film–has “raised eyebrows of Scientology watchers,” reports MSNBC.com’s Scoop. Made famous by cross-dressing legend Divine (on screen) and gay rights activist Harvey Fierstein (on stage), the role would not…

The Wall Street Journal reports today on a former pastor who engaged a young atheist to attend a dozen church services in order to critique how Christianity was being offered. The pastor got the young atheist’s services by buying his soul off of eBay. People have put their souls up for auction on the Internet…

Soon we will all be able to pray while we channel surf! Zemlyanoj Val ul, a man from Russia, has trademarked something called “Remobeads,” a ring of beads you can hold, pray over, meditate on, and use to see what’s on VH1–all at the same time. You can even customize the beads to your favorite…

Forget Enron exec Ken Lay’s trial or the latest phone company merger, the biggest business scandal in the news this week has been the L.A. Times expose on Thomas Kinkade, the kitsch painter best known for selling warm and fuzzy paintings of cottages and lighthouses in Christian bookstores and galleries everywhere. Seems the artist–who claims…

More from Beliefnet and our partners