on the web Informational sites

Explore cyberspace and your inner spiritual space through these Web sites.

www.therebelution.com: Teen twins Alex and Brett Harris lead TheRebelution, “a teenage rebellion against the low expectations of an ungodly culture.” Their crusade has taken a familiar postmodern Christian path — Web site, touring conferences, book and study guide. The boys, with help from their father, Gregg Harris of the Noble Institute, encourage people to embrace the motto “Do hard things.” Example: a 16-year-old who pulled eight children from a burning home.

www.bbc.co.uk/religion/tools/calendar/: What do Shavuot, Martyrdom of Guru Arjan Dev, summer solstice and St. Peter’s Day have in common? They’re all celebrated in June this year — by Jews, Sikhs, Pagans and Christians, respectively. The holy days and festivals calendar on the BBC’s Web site is organized by both faith tradition and month and offers lessons on all the special dates. This is one of those sites that the curious can get lost in. Perhaps you want to learn more about summer solstice. So you click on the link and find a Wiccan blessing for summer and an explanation on the tradition of honoring the sun. Then you wander to an animated graphic with details of summer solstice at Stonehenge, as well as a news story from last year’s solstice party.

www.modestclothes.com: Many faith traditions require girls and women to dress modestly. As anyone who’s shopped malls or discount stores in the past decade knows, modest clothing isn’t easy to come by. This site makes shopping for long-sleeved, long-hemmed or scarcely adorned clothes easier. Links are grouped by helpful categories such as style (swimsuits, trendy, classic, head coverings) and creed (Islamic, Jewish, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Catholic). The site’s author, who was raised Lutheran and is now Muslim, keeps a blog that highlights new finds (straight, long denim skirts for girls, housedresses on clearance) and offers a chance for readers to interact.

www.apocalypse2012.com: Will 2012 mark the end of civilization? Writer Lawrence E. Joseph has gathered details and predictions from multiple faith traditions and scientific readings that he believes point toward that year as “pivotal, perhaps catastrophic, possibly revelatory, to a degree unmatched in human history.” The site doesn’t provide all the information he’s gathered — you’d have to buy his book “Apocalypse 2012” for that — but does provide some interesting launching points for research and conversation. Read about fluctuations in solar activity and their effects on Earth, potential volcano eruptions, and Chinese, Hindu and biblical theology that he believes may spell doom in four years. Click on “News” to watch a video blog from the author and keep up with current events that he says support his theory.

www.practicingourfaith.com: One of the fascinating aspects of Christianity is how so many believers practice in so many different ways, even among the faithful in the same denomination. Practicing Our Faith divides Christian acts into 12 categories (including hospitality, household economics, testimony and forgiveness) and explores traditions, hymns, prayers and resources for each practice. For example, the Keeping Sabbath section suggests rest from commerce, worry and work, and it offers four appropriate hymns and a call to worship; it also explains how the movies “Groundhog Day” and “Chariots of Fire” relate to practicing Sabbath. The site’s gentle design and unique content are worth multiple return visits.

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