DeVere Baker, Mormon Raftmaker

His page at a Mormon Wiki.

He had the goal of sailing ocean currents in order to prove the voyages spoken of in the Book of Mormon were possible.... His failures were many, and often embarrassing, so embarrassing that the press and Mormons in general began to look the other way, rather than report on his adventures.... Nor were Baker’s dreams confined to the ocean. In a unique combination of science-fiction and Mormon theology, he authored several stories focused on a beautiful alien girl named ‘Quetara.’ A human scientist is kidnapped by her crew and falls in love with her, learning in the process how God came to be, billions of years previously, and how evolution allowed the endless variation of species to develop on each world in a grand, perpetual Cosmic experiment overseen and controlled by Deity. A subtext of this was ostensibly good latter-day doctrine – that countless other worlds, including, of course, the wise and alluring Quetara’s own planet, were inhabited by people just like us.

Read a long essay here.

Posted By: Paul - Wed Jul 19, 2023 - Comments (5)
Category: Eccentrics, Explorers, Frontiersmen, and Conquerors, Oceans and Maritime Pursuits, Religion, Twentieth Century

The Reserved Embrace Theory

A fringe theological theory, advanced by Rev. Robert Kirsch, holding that a Catholic priest could have sex without violating his vows as long as the sex was passionless. The church rejected his theory.

Albuquerque Journal - Nov 18, 1992 (click to enlarge)

Kirsch died in 2005. According to his obituary, the lawsuit described above never went to trial.

Posted By: Alex - Tue Jun 20, 2023 - Comments (2)
Category: Religion, 1990s, Sex

Call to Heaven

At least the call wasn't traced to a cemetery.

The Munster Times - Jun 8, 1950

Posted By: Alex - Sun Jun 11, 2023 - Comments (1)
Category: Religion, Telephones, 1950s

Miracle Dentistry

No need for dentists. Just pray away your tooth troubles!



Lloyd Bovee lived for over 50 more years. No mention of tooth problems in his obituary.

Posted By: Alex - Fri Apr 28, 2023 - Comments (1)
Category: Religion, 1920s, Teeth

Sex, the Key to the Bible

If you want to peruse 172 pages of this kind of analysis, dive right in!

Posted By: Paul - Thu Apr 06, 2023 - Comments (5)
Category: Eccentrics, Religion, Sexuality, 1910s

Ubiquitous Perpetuity God

1985: Enrique Silberg had previously tried to change his name to God, but was denied on the grounds that it would be confusing and that he also needed a first name. Finally he convinced a judge to let him change his name to Ubiquitous Perpetuity God.

1996: Ubiquitous Perpetuity God was sentenced to nine months in Marin County Jail for indecent exposure, a crime that he had 17 prior convictions for. He said that he exposed himself to women so that they "could have some type of awareness of God".

San Francisco Examiner - Apr 18, 1985

Memphis Commercial Appeal - Feb 15, 1996

Posted By: Alex - Thu Mar 16, 2023 - Comments (1)
Category: Crime, Odd Names, Religion

The Shrine of the Grotto of Redemption

The place's homepage.

The Wikipedia entry.

Posted By: Paul - Mon Mar 06, 2023 - Comments (2)
Category: Buildings and Other Structures, Excess, Overkill, Hyperbole and Too Much Is Not Enough, Religion, Outsider Art, North America, Twentieth Century

God Speaks To Modern Man

Looks like he's asking for a raise.



The illustrations inside the book (which you can read for free via archive.org) are equally odd.

Posted By: Alex - Mon Feb 06, 2023 - Comments (3)
Category: Religion, Books, 1950s

SatanCon 2023

It's happening in Boston. Link to article in BOSTON GLOBE, where a paywall might need to be circumvented.

A feature on last year's event:

Posted By: Paul - Thu Jan 12, 2023 - Comments (1)
Category: Religion, Supernatural, Occult, Paranormal, Conferences, Conventions, Meetings and Symposia

The woman who sued God and won

On Aug 17, 1960, Betty Penrose's house in Phoenix was hit by lightning. Nine years later she sued God for damages — and won. Kinda. Sorta. Technically, what she won was the right to summon God to a trial which (assuming God would be a no-show) would have resulted in a default judgement against the deity.

Sydney Morning Herald - May 15, 1969

Some additional context is necessary to understand Penrose's case.

Over in Sebastapol, California, singer Lou Gottlieb had been fighting the county government's attempt to shut down the hippie commune he had started on his Morning Star Ranch. As a legal maneuver to avoid paying the county's fines, Gottlieb deeded his land to God. Then he declared that the county could try collecting the fines from God.

This caused Phoenix attorney Russell Tansie, who was Penrose's employer, to realize that if God now legally owned property (the Morning Star Ranch), then God could be sued for damages. And that's how Penrose's suit emerged.

Indianapolis Star - May 14, 1969

However, I don't think Penrose's case ever made it to trial because, back in California, a judge had ruled that God, being neither a "natural or artificial person," could not legally own Gottlieb's ranch. So Gottlieb was still the owner and had to pay the fines.

And if God didn't own the ranch, then Penrose's case became moot.

But if Penrose's case had proceeded, it was possible God wouldn't have been a no-show. San Quentin prisoner Paul Yerkes Bechtel claimed to be God. So he might have appeared in court. And Joseph Njue of Kenya had also offered to defend God.

Santa Rosa Press Democrat - June 12, 1969

Arizona Republic - May 22, 1969

Posted By: Alex - Tue Dec 20, 2022 - Comments (2)
Category: Religion, Lawsuits, 1960s, Arizona