Satanists to Hold Controversial Black Mass in Oklahoma on Sept. 21

ABC NEWS
By Meghan Keneally

One national Satanic group, The Satanic Temple, is pushing to have this statue (pictured) put up in the Oklahoma State Capitol. Another group with similar beliefs will be holding a black mass in Oklahoma City on Sept. 21, 2014.

OKLAHOMA---A devil-worshiping group hell-bent on hosting a satanic black mass is planning to go ahead with its controversial ceremony this month, despite fervent protests by residents of Oklahoma City and a lawsuit from the Catholic Church. The co-founder of Dakhma of Angra Mainyu told ABC News that the religious and educational organization decided to hold the black mass in public but it will be a “tamer” version than some traditional satanic ceremonies by, for example, substituting vinegar for acts involving urine to comply with state health laws. [link]

Civic Center Music Hall - CitySpace: Black Mass of Oklahoma (September 21, 7pm CDT); 201 North Walker Ave. Oklahoma City, OK; (405) 297-2264; okcciviccenter.com

Supreme Court Adds Gay Marriage to Sept. 29 Agenda

INDIANAPOLIS STAR
By Mike Chappell

WASHINGTON, DC---The Supreme Court has scheduled same-sex marriage cases from five states for consideration at its Sept. 29 private conference, indicating no hesitation to dive right into the national debate. The justices placed cases from Utah, Oklahoma, Virginia, Indiana and Wisconsin on the list for their first conference of the 2014 term. By scheduling all for consideration simultaneously, the justices gave equal footing to the Indiana and Wisconsin cases just decided last week by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit. The 10th and 4th Circuits previously ruled in the other cases. The court could agree to hear one or more cases this winter; deny them all, or delay its decision for a while. [link]

Mobilizing Against Black Masses

NATIONAL CATHOLIC REGISTER
By Father Roger Landry

A Religious Black Mass will be conducted as a public event to help educate the public about Religious Satanism.

OKLAHOMA---As Catholics in Oklahoma valiantly rally to stop a Sept. 21 Satanic “black Mass” at the Oklahoma City Civic Center Music Hall, there’s much that those outside of the Sooner State can do to augment their efforts. In May, I was part of a large group that assisted Catholic students successfully to shut down the May 12 re-enactment of a Satanic mass on the Harvard campus. The first thing we did was to frame what was happening in terms by which Catholics and non-Catholics alike would be motivated to support us. For non-Catholics, we tried to convey that the Eucharist is the most sacred reality of Catholic life and worship. To desecrate the Eucharist is at least for Catholics equally revolting to our sensibilities as would be the burning of the Qu’ran for Muslims or the defacing of the Torah for Jews — outrageous actions, we stressed, for which a venue at Harvard would never be given. [link]

Philbrook Museum of Art Announces Receipt of the Hyatt Collection of Hopi Art

ARTDAILY

The Hyatt family began traveling to the Hopi reservation in northern Arizona in the late 1980s.

OKLAHOMA--- Philbrook Museum of Art announced the important gift of 364 works of Hopi art, including katsinas, basketry and other media from Atlanta and Santa Fe-based collector, Wayne S. Hyatt. Featuring works by more than 160 artists, the Hyatt Collection both expands and strengthens the impressive survey of 20th and 21st century Native American art within the Philbrook holdings. Highlights of the collection include 25 katsinas (carved wooden figures of Hopi spiritual beings) by brothers Wilmer and Wilfred Kaye of the Badger/Butterfly Clan of Third Mesa. [link]

Oklahoma's Sherwin Miller Museum of Jewish Art Breaks New Ground

TULSA WORLD

OKLAHOMA---Ground was broken last week for a new entrance and expansion to the Sherwin Miller Museum of Jewish Art on the Zarrow Campus of the Jewish Federation of Tulsa, 2021 E. 71st St. The project will add 800 square feet and a new gallery to the museum, which features Jewish art, history and culture in the largest collection of Judaica in the Southwest. [link]

Federal Judge Strikes Down Oklahoma Marriage Ban; Grants Stay Pending Appeal

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS

OKLAHOMA---Today a federal judge in Oklahoma struck down the state’s marriage ban, saying that the law violates the U.S. Constitution’s guarantees of due process and equal protection. “This is a tremendous day for loving and committed same-sex couples and their families in Oklahoma, building on the momentum of eight other states that ended their restrictions on marriage for same-sex couples in 2013" said Evan Wolfson, founder and president of Freedom to Marry. "The federal district judge has done the right thing by affirming that marriage is a fundamental freedom for all people, gay and non-gay – for all of us who believe in liberty and fairness. As the case makes its way up through the courts, we will continue to do the work of having conversations about why marriage matters and creating a climate for victory when the Supreme Court eventually takes the freedom to marry case that brings national resolution. The momentum for the freedom to marry will continue as we win more hearts and minds, working to bring the freedom to marry throughout the country.”

Satanists Unveil Statue for Oklahoma Capitol

TIME MAGAZINE
By Denver Nicks

This artist’s rendering provided by the Satanic Temple shows a proposed monument
that the New York–based Satanic group wants to place at the Oklahoma state capitol.

OKLAHOMA---The Satanic church that applied for a permit to erect a monument to Satan next to the Ten Commandments monument at the Oklahoma state-capitol building has unveiled its proposed design. The 7-ft.-tall (2.1 m) sculpture would feature Satan depicted in the form of Baphomet, a bearded, goat-headed, winged hominid with horns seated on a throne beneath a pentagram with two smiling children to either side. Besides the Satanic Temple, a number of other groups have made requests to erect monuments, including a Hindu group, an animal-rights group and the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster. [link]

Satanists Raise Funds for Proposed Oklahoma State Capitol Monument

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS
By TAHLIB

OKLAHOMA---The New York-based Satanic Temple has already exceeded the $20,000 fundraising goal for a Satanist monument it hopes to place on the Oklahoma State Capitol grounds. Temple spokesman Lucien Greaves told RNS: “The symbol is now a constitutionally protected one that stands for the rights of heretics, for tolerance and free inquiry, and for the unjustly outcast.” The plans show a 7-foot tall-statue of a seated Satan flanked by two children. The design includes two important Satanist symbols: the pentacle [inverted], located above Satan’s head, and the baphomet. The congregation is using the crowfunding site indiegogo.com for the fundraising campaign.

'Sexuality Spectrum' Exhibit of Jewish Art Starts Discussion at Oklahoma's Sherwin Miller

TULSA WORLD SCENE
By JAMES D. WATTS JR.

“Empty Chairs” by Linda Soberman is made of up of dozens of small metal chairs, some with translucent photographs of people’s faces, that memorializes all the “undesirables” who were killed during the Holocaust.

OKLAHOMA---Judging from the title alone, the new exhibit at the Sherwin Miller Museum of Jewish Art might seem more than a bit out of the ordinary. Yet Drew Diamond, the museum's executive director, said "The Sexuality Spectrum," a show of works by contemporary Jewish artists that deal with issues of sexuality, identity, persecution and acceptance, is a perfect fit. The Sherwin Miller Museum is the second venue for the show, which was created by the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion Museum in New York. The exhibit was inspired by the debates that arose in 2011, when the New York state legislature was considering a bill on marriage equality. [link]

Sherwin Miller Museum of Jewish Art: "The Sexuality Spectrum" (Ends March 2014); 2021 East 71st Street Tulsa, Oklahoma; (918) 492-1818; jewishmuseum.net

Sherwin Miller Museum of Jewish Art Receives National Recognition

TULSA WORLD

OKLAHOMA---The Sherwin Miller Museum of Jewish Art, which is said to house the largest collection of Judaica in the Southwest, has been accredited by the American Alliance of Museums. It joins Philbrook and Gilcrease as Tulsa's only accredited museums. Just 6 percent of the nation's 17,500 museums are accredited. "Accredited museums have met and exceeded the highest standards of the museum field in everything they do," said Ford W. Bell, president of the alliance. [link]

Opinion: Satanists Raising Hell to an Art Form in Oklahoma City

THE SEATTLE TIMES
By Lance Dickie

OKLAHOMA---If the Oklahoma Legislature can make room for a monument to the Ten Commandments outside the Statehouse in Oklahoma City, then the Satanic Temple of New York wants an artistic expression of its faith in the same place. The state’s lawmakers brought this on themselves with their pinched view of religious privilege. If Oklahoma chooses to make its Statehouse a prop for religious art, then every faith can claim space. That is how ACLU Oklahoma sees it, and I agree. [link]

Biblical Paraody Featuring "Adam & Steve" Turns Into Bible-Belt Land Mine

OKLAHOMA GAZETTE
By Mark Beutler

OKLAHOMA---What started out to be a small, largely unnoticed production by OKC Theater Company has turned into a First Amendment fight, as well as a battle against Oklahoma City’s gay and lesbian community, claim supporters of the production of The Most Fabulous Story Ever Told. Fans of the arts — and of the biblical parody — say a conservative Christian group is targeting the play and threatening to have the producers and actors arrested on opening night. Recently, a number of local pastors sent a letter to Governor Mary Fallin, Oklahoma City Mayor Mick Cornett, media outlets and members of the state legislature, demanding the play be shuttered. [links]

12 Muslim Artists Take Center Stage in Oklahoma City

ILLUME

OKLAHOMA---Muslim artists from Oklahoma City, Edmond and Norman, Oklahoma, will be holding a one-night event showcasing their works. This third annual "Art in the Heartland" exhibition at Will Rogers Theater Wednesday night. Twelve artists, most of them women, and most of them in their early twenties, will display artist endeavors covering a wide range of the arts: painting, sketching, fashion photography, poetry and Arabic calligraphy, which has long been a traditional form of Islamic art. The list of the 12 artists and their bios are available here. [link]

Seth Rogen: Hobby Lobby Attacked For Anti-Semitic Jewish Holiday Policy

THE INQUISITOR

OKLAHOMA---Seth Rogen’s Hobby Lobby tweets have been attacking the popular store for allegedly being anti-Semitic in how it treats Jews and their holidays. As previously reported by The Inquisitr, Hobby Lobby appreciation day supported their stance on religious freedom. Hobby Lobby declares itself a Christian company and they believe their employees shouldn’t be forced to accept health coverage which includes the morning after pills, which they believe amounts to abortion. But some people claim Hobby Lobby’s Jewish holiday policy is unofficially being anti-Semitic. These allegations claim Hobby Lobby has a “policy against carrying art supplies for Jews, Jewish holidays, and other such turnings they believe are out of line with their Christian beliefs.” [link]

500 Years of Italian Paintings Travel to the America's Beginning With Oklahoma City

ARTDAILY

"Virgin and Child" (1480–85) by Giovanni Bellini,

OKLAHOMA---This fall visitors have an unprecedented opportunity to view some of the greatest works in the history of Italian art as the Oklahoma City Museum of Art presents Of Heaven and Earth: 500 Years of Italian Painting from Glasgow Museums. This remarkable exhibition opened its North American tour in Oklahoma City on August 24, closing November 17. The paintings dramatically illustrate the great achievements in Italian art from the late Middle Ages through the Renaissance and the nineteenth century. [link]

1st Native American Saint Stirs Pride, Skepticism

THE OKLAHOMAN
By Associated Press

OKLAHOMA---Some traditional Mohawks are treating the naming of the nation's first Native American saint with skepticism and fear that the Roman Catholic Church is using it to shore up its image and marginalize traditional spiritual practices. They see the story of Kateri Tekakwitha as yet another reminder of colonial atrocities and religious oppression. "I was a recipient of these historical profanities and want to ensure this does not happen again," said Doug George-Kanentiio, a Mohawk writer who left Catholicism to follow traditional longhouse spiritual practices. Traditional Mohawks recognize the reverence their Catholic relatives and friends have for Kateri, said Chaz Kader, a Mohawk journalist who was raised Catholic but follows ancient longhouse traditions now. But many remain troubled by how the church portrays her life. [link]

Bible Museum Closes $50 Million Deal For Spot Near Washington DC's National Mall

THE HUFFINGTON POST
By Adelle Banks, RNS

WASHINGTON---Planners of a Bible museum in Washington closed a $50 million deal Thursday (July 26) on a building two blocks from the National Mall. The Museum of the Bible, a nonprofit group planning the, as yet, unnamed museum, announced it will be housed at 300 D Street, SW, in what is now the Washington Design Center, a series of showrooms of luxury home furnishings. The museum, which will likely open in 2016, will highlight the collection of the billionaire Green family of Oklahoma. That collection features more than 55,000 items including biblical artifacts ranging from Dead Sea Scrolls to Torah scrolls that survived the Holocaust. [link]

Evangelical Billionaires to Build Bible Museum in Washington, D.C.

RELIGION NEWS SERVICE
By Adelle M. Banks

Detail from artifact in the Green Family's Bible Collection

(RNS) A large-scale Bible museum will open in Washington, D.C., within four years, say planners who have been touring the world with portions of their collection. Cary Summers, chief operating officer of The Museum of the Bible, a nonprofit umbrella group for the collection of the billionaire Green family of Oklahoma, said they considered Washington, Dallas and New York but decided the nation’s capital was the best location. The final name of the museum and its exact location have not been disclosed but planners hope to confirm a location later this summer. Research they commissioned found that the general population was more willing to travel to the nation's capital for a Bible-focused museum than the other two cities, Summers said. [link]

Gregory University's faculty show's tranquil and contemplative elements of christian spirituality

OKLAHOMAN
By John Brandenberg

"St. Claude de la Combiere" by Sheryl Cozad

OKLAHOMA - The campus of St. Gregory’s University in Shawnee has the feel of a tranquil, almost timeless place, and much of the work in a show by its art faculty has a contemplative, but also expressive quality. The exhibit is on view at the Performing Arts Studio, 200 S Jones, Norman, where an opening will be held from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. May 11 at the gallery, located in Norman’s train depot. [link]

Controversial Jewish-themed art & Muslim-themed artworks are good for cultural conversation?

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS
By Tahlib

Muslim woman holding a bra by Sooraya Graham

Is controversial religious artwork a good way to ignite a conversation about faith, and discrimination? On Monday, a photograph of a Muslim woman (above) by a Canadian fine arts student was put back on display following its removal by an offended viewer. This coming Friday, an American artist will unveil her portrait of the Virgin Mary in bondage which will certainly offend many Christians, especially Catholics in Oklahoma. Both will be protested, but is there a different standard for controversial imagery involving Jews? Two weeks, ago in Sweden a drawing by artists depicting Jews as rats was also protested, but this time it was permanently removed from display (see art below). All three instances are intended to provoke conversations, so why are the reactions different?