Jesus Christ Rises Again (and Again, and again) in South America's Theme Park

THE GUARDIAN
By Emily Payne

Holyland Gift Shop

ARGENTINA - Between Buenos Aires' city airport and a gaudy water park, Tierra Santa or Holy Land: The World's Original Religious Theme Park, is half way through its first hourly Resurrection. Tierra Santa opened its holy gates in 2000, on a 17-acre estate that was once a football pitch, and now sees around 20,000 visitors each summer. It's the only one of its kind in Latin America, but has a glossier rival in the Holy Land Experience in Orlando, which opened in 2001. Currently, they're the world's only two Christian theme parks, but 2014 will see the opening of Ark Encounter, a massive $150m creation-themed park in Kentucky with a full-scale Noah's Ark. [link]

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Catholic woman in Indianapolis ordained as state's first female Priest

INDIANAPOLIS STAR
By TJ Barnes

INDIANA - On Sunday, [April 15th, Maria Thornton] McClain, 71, a former East Coast resident, aunt to several nieces and nephews, and wife of 31 years to Ed McClain, became Indiana's first woman to be ordained into the priesthood. Though the Catholic church doesn't recognize them, McClain becomes one of more than 100 women around the world ordained as a priest. In a growing movement, known as "Roman Catholic Womenpriests (RCWP)," women who are theologically qualified and called to the ministry are ordained into the priesthood. [link]

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In art and in life, nuns finally get their due

THE WASHINGTON POST
By Melinda Henneberger

WASHINGTON, DC - On Wednesday, the Vatican announced a crackdown on American nuns, charging the Leadership Conference of Women Religious, which represents most of the country’s 57,000 women religious, with falling prey to “radical feminism’’ and falling out of step with church teaching on women’s ordination and homosexuality.

The response from the general public was enormous and overwhelmingly sympathetic to the sisters. Not so long ago, Catholic nuns were routinely written off — and in popular culture, written up, as sharp-eyed meanies armed with rulers who paced their classrooms meting out punishment and sowing self-doubt. ...they are no longer unthanked or unsung. Now the view of women religious, in both art and life, is typically far more admiring: The unheeded heroine of John Patrick Shanley’s play and movie “Doubt,” Sister Aloysius, for instance, tries to get out in front of what looks to her like the signs of sex abuse by a parish priest. And the HBO documentary “God is the Bigger Elvis,’’ a respectful treatment of Hollywood star Dolores Hart’s decision to become a cloistered nun, was even nominated for an Oscar this year. [link]

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The Mark of Cain - The Making of an Exhibition

JEWISH ART SALON
By Angela Levine - Midnight East

"Untitled (Cain and Abel)" by Adi Nes | 2004

ISRAEL - Distressing, controversial, politicized, these are just some of the adjectives that might be applied to the works in Portraits of Cain, the new exhibition mounted at the Ben-Gurion University of the Negev. Featured there are some 100 works, photos, paintings, prints and sculpture by 28 Israeli artists, past and present. This exhibition is warmly recommended both for the variety of topics it deals with and the questions they raise, and for its immaculate presentation, a model of its kind. The Senate Gallery, Ben Gurion University, Beersheba. Till June 10th. [link]

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Wife of painter of light, Thomas Kinkade seeks restraining order against his girlfriend

MSNBC
By Gil Aegerter

CALIFORNIA - There's a new twist in the aftermath of the death of Thomas Kinkade, the artist called the "Painter of Light." Attorneys representing his wife, Nanette, and estate have filed for a temporary restraining order against Kinkade's girlfriend, Amy Pinto-Walsh, to prevent her from disclosing information about him, Los Gatos Patch reported. Apparently, there are worries about trade secrets, Los Gatos Patch reported. The documents also state that Kinkade died April 5, not April 6 as previously reported, Los Gatos Patch said. [link]

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RELIGIOUS ART | NEWS OF WEEK

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS
By Tahlib

REDEMPTION, an exhibition of works, including "Hades I" (above) by figurative painter Peter Howson (b. 1958) is the NEWS OF WEEK (Watch video). The Scottish born artist has been compared to Dutch painter Hieronymus Bosch for his fantastic imagery illustrating moral and religious narratives. His darkly disturbing works are in the private collections of many celebrities including American pop icon Madonna. In other religious art news:

• BUDDHIST ART: Artist, Loeum Lorn’s paints "ice" to explore the Buddhist concept of the impermanence of life. [More: Buddhism in Art News]
• CHRISTIAN ART: NYC born artist, Tony Melendez to be the featured artist on Sunday, May 6 for the next A&O Meetup in Indianapolis. [More: Christianity in Art News]
• HINDU ART: Images of the divine in Hinduism, as well as Buddhism according to author and illustrator Robert Beer on view at the October Gallery in London this spring. [More: Hinduism in Art News]
• ISLAMIC ART: The Indianapolis Museum of Art will premiere the new documentary "Islamic Art: Mirror of the World" on May 18, two months before it is televised on PBS, and it will be "free." [More: Islam in Art News]
• JUDAIC ART: Beginning on May 17, Siona Benjamin, painter of evocative Blue Jews reflecting her multicultural heritage will be in residence in Colorado for three days at the Mizel Museum. [More: Judaism in Art News]
• INTERFAITH: This past Monday, Egyptians shared the interfaith holy-day of Sham El-Naism with painted "Easter-like" eggs. [More: Interfaith Art Mixed News]

WANT MORE? Get your daily dose of Alpha Omega Arts on Facebook and/or Twitter, or just come back each day. We also urge you to join the Indianapolis Religious Arts Project online at Meetup.com, and invite a friend to join too! It costs nothing but is another great way to keep up with gatherings of like-minded folks around the country who share your interest in the interfaith religious art news we cover here each week. After all, who is Religious Art for? It's for Believers, and Skeptics too!

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(TRAILER): "Dark Shadows" starring Johnny Depp

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