where's my electric monk?

[acroyear]

You Pay, Computer Prays For You | LiveScience:

Information Age Prayer is a site that charges you a monthly fee to say prayers for you. A typical charge is $4.95 per month to say three prayers specified by you each day.

"We use state of the art text to speech synthesizers to voice each prayer at a volume and speed equivalent to typical person praying," the company states. "Each prayer is voiced individually, with the name of the subscriber displayed on screen."

Prices, however, are dictated by the length of the prayer. As noted in the Information Age Prayer FAQ, "A discounted prayer will cost less than other prayers of similar length."

My house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves.

Comments

[thatliardiego.livejournal.com]

I think "The Electric Monk" was my band name back in the Sixties.

[shalandara.livejournal.com]

Hmm....one of the things Martin Luther had a problem with the Catholic church was the paying of monks to do prayers for your soul (to make sure it would go to heaven or somesuch).

[uncle-possum.livejournal.com]

It's called "simony" and generally means paying for any kind* of prayer or similar sacred thing. It's OK to charge expenses, or suggest a tip, but you aren't supposed to refuse. And this eventually led to Tetzel selling in effect "get out of purgatory free" cards, otherwise known as plenary indulgences. But at least all this had some basis in Roman Catholic theology--unlike the current bunch.
*not just monks, but any clergy

I was more reminded of the "Pray-O-Mat" in the temple in Zelazany's Lord of Light.

[eiredrake.livejournal.com]

It's crap like this that reinforces my belief that religion is a gigantic scam.