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Century Marks
A billion here, a billion there: Every two years or so the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi issues this claim: he could eliminate global terrorism by creating a “spiritual force field” with donations from billionaires (Chicago Sun-Times, August 29).
Taking God to the mat: The biblical world of pro wrestling
The lurid and violent world of World Wrestling Entertainment, with an audience of 50 million worldwide, includes microphone-grabbing diatribes by rival wrestlers, “candid” camera shots from the locker rooms, and the ringside connivance of wrestlers’ girlfriends. This blue-collar opera also draws on biblical images and themes. Hugh S. Pyper, senior lecturer in biblical studies, says the Bible provides “a ready set of imagery . . . of power, destruction, revenge and judgment. . . . I cannot now read the book of Judges without casting the characters in a WWE extravaganza.”