• Posted on Monday, May 5, 2008
  • email
  • |
  • print
  • |
  • rss

tool name

close
tool goes here

Where business meets religion: Holy drinking water

Sign up for email newsletters now!

Sign up for email newsletters now!

 Never miss a McClatchy story
Follow us on Twitter
Follow us on Facebook
Comments (0)
By Audra Burch | Miami Herald

The instructions are simple: Read the Prayer . . / Drink the Water . . . / Believe in God! / Believe in Yourself!

Spiritual Water, the faith-inspired venture of two Florida businessmen, offers its drinkers clearer focus, positive thinking and connection to a higher power. The 11 different bottle designs in the company's collection bear prayers and impressively detailed images of Jesus Christ, St. Michael and the Virgin Mary.

Spiritual Water joins a broad slice of feel-good products — Testamint, Bible Gum and other bottled holy waters — emerging at the intersection of religion and commerce, entrepreneurship and pop culture. Spiritual Water's message is delivered in a 16.9-ounce plastic bottle that sells for $2. The Formula J' variety carries the image of Jesus in a crown of thorns and the Fatima prayer: Oh My Jesus, forgive us our sins. / Save us from the fires of hell. / Lead all souls into heaven, / especially those in need of the mercy. Amen.

California-based Holy Drinking Water offers a $1.49 half-liter that's been blessed in a warehouse by a priest. The New Jersey firm that makes Testamints offers berry, spearmint and peppermint mints wrapped in a verse of scripture. Bible Gum promises consumers they can can chew their way to spiritual enlightenment. Each box comes with a scripture verse.

Read the full story at MiamiHerald.com.

JOIN THE DISCUSSION

We welcome comments. Please keep them civil, short and to the point. Obscene, profane, abusive and off topic comments will be deleted. Repeat offenders will be blocked. Thanks for taking part — and abiding by these simple rules.

Comments are displayed newest first. If you would like to read a thread from beginning to end, select "Oldest first" from the drop down menu.

ECONOMY IN TURMOIL

economy in turmoil

Read McClatchy coverage of the economic pain Americans around the country are feeling, from Florida to California to Alaska.

ECONOMY QUESTIONS & ANSWERS

hall & pugh

McClatchy correspondents Kevin G. Hall (left) and Tony Pugh are available to answer your questions about the economic meltdown at home and abroad, and what's in store for ordinary Americans.

Q&A: THE HOUSING CRISIS

Mark Zandi, the chief economist for Moody's Economy.com, is took questions from McClatchy readers about the nation's deep housing crisis. His book, "Financial Shock," offers a 360-degree look at what caused the crisis, what mistakes were made and who made them. It offers a way forward to prevent future crises.

Q&A: TERMINAL CHAOS

U.S. air travel these days is about as fun as a trip to the dentist. Departure delays are rampant, bags often miss the flight you've caught and rising jet fuel prices have major airlines charging to check a bag. In his new book "Terminal Chaos," George Donohue, a professor and former high-level Federal Aviation Administration official, explains why our system of air travel is broken and what can be done to fix it. Read the responses.

Q&A: THE THREE TRILLION DOLLAR WAR

For two weeks, Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz and Harvard professor Linda Bilmes, authors of "The Three Trillion Dollar War," fielded questions about the cost of the Iraq war and its impact on the U.S. economy. They're not taking new questions, but they're still posting answers to ones they've already received. Read their responses.