Two ninth grade students from Finger, Tennessee say that Jesus destroyed their biology homework.

"He appeared in a blaze of light and jes’ chewed it right up," said one of the girls - sisters aged 14 and nearly 15 - who cannot be named for fear of further visitations. "I have never been more afraid, or more excited."

According to the girls, Christ appeared in the bedroom they share with their seven brothers, none of whom saw anything but one of whom claims the girls were acting, "Kinda weird, kinda holy."

The Lord commanded the girls to hand over the papers they had written.

"The subject of the homework was evolution," said the elder girl. "I could see he was angry."

Pausing only to request some ketchup, Christ quickly devoured the papers, said "Let that be a lesson" and vanished.

It’s not the first time the girls have had dealings with supernatural forces. Two years ago, they were at the center of a storm when they discovered their gym teacher, Agnes Dawkins, was a witch. Ms Dawkins, whose whereabouts are currently unknown, was never proven innocent.

Some townspeople have criticized the school for setting homework on such a dangerous subject.

"It’s dancing with the devil," said Justice Ezekiel Torquemada, the town’s Judge and District Attorney, and who also runs the county’s leading undertaking business. "We shouldn’t be teaching our children about these black arts. Fortunately, Our Lord stepped in to prevent any damage to these young, impressionable minds. I’m not sure why he ate the papers, though. A bolt of lightning would have done the trick."

The school authorities, however, have been surprised at the reaction.

"We weren’t really expecting them to write about evolution as such," said their science teacher, Rev. Elijah Seraphim. "We just wanted them to explore how Darwin and all that stuff is a government-sponsored conspiracy to turn people away from the true faith. After all, I am the science teacher and that’s what science education is all about, seeking the truth an’ whatnot."

He added that the girls would not be penalized for the mishap.

"As their response to a paper on evolution was to turn in nothing at all, we think that deserves top marks," said Seraphim. "If God had wanted us to believe in evolution, he wouldn’t have sent his only son to eat this homework. Which is proof that evolution is wrong. What could be more scientific than that?"

An Italian scientist has proven that the Turin Shroud - a sheet that bears the miraculous image of the crucified Christ - is genuine and shows the real face of Jesus. And the research was paid for by a bunch of non-believers!

Luigi Garlaschelli, a professor of organic chemistry at the University of Pavia, exactly reproduced the shroud using materials he says were easily available in medieval times.

Prof Garlaschelli laid a linen sheet over an assistant, rubbed it with an acid-soaked pigment and baked the sheet in an oven for that authentic 'biblical' look.

"The result is spooky," said businessman Jack Betise, an acknowledged expert in religion, the occult and the paranormal. "It's an exact replica of the Holy Shroud."

The Italian prof's research was funded by a group of atheists and agnostics, trying to prove that the real Turin Shroud could have been manufactured by con artists in the Middle Ages.

Two decades ago, carbon dating of the original Shroud dated it to between 1260 and 1390, but many Christians have maintained that it is the real thing - the burial cloth laid over Jesus after he was taken down from the cross.

"Professor Garlaschelli has shown, beyond reasonable doubt, that the image on the Turin Shroud was formed by direct contact with a real body," said Betise. "This completely blows out of the water any theories about it being a 'painting' or some other kind of fake. There has to have been a body. And, obviously, that body must have been our Lord Jesus Christ. Just look at the face. Who else could it have been?"

The image produced by Prof Garlaschelli was made even more realistic with the addition of blood stains, burn holes, scorches and water stains. He claims that this shows the real Turin Shroud could have been created at any time by anyone. But this is unlikely to worry the faithful, says Betise.

"That's just the usual scientism we've come to expect from these sorts of people," he said. "You know, scientists. As Homer Simpson said, you can prove anything with facts.

"In fact, this shows the strength of faith," added Betise. "Now we know the Shroud was formed by contact with the real Jesus, we can go back to dismissing mere evidence and once again glory in our beliefs."

Robbers in the English city of Liverpool have stolen the bones of a saint. But they may have got away with less than they thought.

The bones of St Therese of Lisieux are on tour in the UK. They arrived in Liverpool two days ago following sell-out appearances in Bristol, Walsingham, Tottenham and Little Snoring. The Catholic faithful have flocked to see and pray to the relics. In Liverpool, lines began forming nearly half-an-hour before the doors opened, with possibly dozens of worshippers - mostly the old and infirm - waiting patiently for a miracle.

Now they are going to be disappointed.

"It's the worst moment of my life," said Mrs Edna O'Savage, who was hoping the saint's remains might cure her of some particularly difficult piles. "I'd hoped this would be an end to my suffering. Now it's back to the rubber ring. I hope they catch the bastards who did this and string them up."

Angry pilgrims have criticized security arrangements at the church.

"When the bones were displayed at Liverpool Cathedral, they were in a locked ossuary inside a clear case made of bullet-proof Perspex," explained freelance sexton Albert Unctuous. "I'm not sure why they thought anyone would shoot her, though. I mean, she's dead, isn't she?"

Then the relics were moved for a brief appearance at the Blessed Church of the Repentent Scouser in Toxteth, a notoriously crime-ridden area of the city.

"This place is full of scallies," said Unctuous. ['Scally' or 'scallywag' are believed to be local terms relating to people with criminal tendencies — ed]. "Those arseholes [assholes] will nick [steal] anything."

The bones were removed from the ossuary and placed on a bed of specially blessed shell suits. An hour later, they were gone.

But the loss may not be as great as it seems.

According to US-based conspiracy theorist and militia leader, William H Carpenter, they might not have been the saint's bones at all.

"I saw the bones years ago, before they became popular," said Carpenter, who was visiting Liverpool to research recent UFO sightings in the city. "And I saw them again in the Cathedral here. They weren't the same bones."

The relics on tour in the UK are too small and too fresh, he said. "St Therese died in the 19th century," said Carpenter. "Those bones looked like they were scraped clean last week. If you ask me, they belong to a puppy."

So where are the real bones?

"These religious relics have power," said Carpenter. "Remember that scene from 'Raiders of the Lost Ark'? My sources - who I obviously can't name - tell me the real bones of St Therese are in the hands of a government. I can't say which one and what they're using them for. But trust me, no good will come of this."

Following the lead of ex-President George W Bush, religious leader and messianic prophet Jesus H Christ has converted to Islam.

"It was a long time coming, but I couldn't resist the inevitable any longer," says Christ, 33, from his home in Dead Horse, Kansas.

A stores assistant in a local factory producing self-assembly furniture, Christ says he hopes his followers will understand and even emulate his example. "The next time you're passing a mosque or are about to drink a beer, ask yourself 'what would Christ do?'," he suggests.

Members of Christ's church, the Sacred Heart of Dead Horse, are rumored to be unhappy at the move.

"He's done some dumb stuff in his time, but this about beats everything," says Wienus Cornstobble, 89, lay preacher and editor of the church's MySpace page. "I mean, his fish supper evenings were pretty bad, what with everyone going home hungry. And that stunt on the lake ... well, I don't even want to talk about that. But this is just plain stoopid."

Christ, however, is unrepentant.

"Just look at Christianity, which is what I was preaching," he says. "I mean, it's so old. It's just out of date, which is why everyone is giving up on it. Islam, on the other hand, is younger, more vibrant. I think it has a lot more appeal. And in today's dog-eat-dog religious environment, you have to go where the market is."

Born as Billy-Bob Aletius Neufuffle, the preacher changed his name to Jesus Hellacious Christ in January 2000 after what he says was a moment of revelation.

"When the Y2K thing didn't happen I figured it was for a reason," he says. "I knew I had a mission."

Christ took a correspondence course in past life regression from the Wichita School of Spiritualism and Soothsaying. To his amazement, he discovered he is the reincarnation of the original Jesus.

"That blew me away," he claims. "It completely changed my life. I knew for certain then that I wasn't just another working stiff - that I had an important role to play in this world."

Christ immediately moved out of his brother-in-law's back bedroom into one of Dead Horse's most upmarket trailer parks.

"I got me a double-wide," he says. "Nothing less would do for the Son of God."

Since then he has established his church and built a congregation of over two dozen members. "It varies a lot," says Cornstobble. "Most of them are pretty old so the numbers tend to dip come winter."

For the congregation, Christ's message that the End Times are near is what attracted them to the church.

"The first Jesus kept banging on about how God's kingdom was nigh," says Emily Scroggit, 93, "and that was two thousand years ago, dammit. I ain't got much time left, so if it's gonna happen it, it'd better happen damn soon. Billy-Bob ... I mean, Jesus H, said he could bring it on. But now he's fooling around with all this A-rab bullhickey. Ain't nuthin' in that for me, so I figure I might try them Mormons."

Wearing a taqiyah and white galabiyya, Christ was calm about all the criticism he's receiving. "Although this means a demotion, from part of the godhead to simple prophet, I think it's the right move for me," he says. "And I think the other members of my church will come around. After all, Islam is just another Religion of The Book and provides all the same opportunities for social superiority, discrimination and, when necessary, forceful action that Christianity offers. And the outfits are pretty natty, don't you think?"

A woman in Nevada claims that rampaging angels molested her sausage dog during a night of unmitigated supernal lust.

"I've always believed in angels and thought they were watching out for me," said the 49 year-old, 300-pound, unemployed canine dental hygienist from Sparks. "Now I'm afraid to take Muffy for a walk in case they come back."

The woman says she was alerted to the angels' presence by the faint strains of a celestial chorus. But all too soon, celestial turned to bestial.

"We were in the back yard, waiting for Muffy to do his business," she said."Then I saw them. They were so small, so cute. I knew at once they were angels sent to bless me. And I could tell they were young, just teenagers really."

But it wasn't the dog dentist the angels had come to bless.

"Suddenly they started flying in a circle around Muffy. I thought that was nice - until they started ... you know, doing things."

The flabby flosser fled inside, ignoring Muffy's yelps of despair.

"I knew what they were doing by the sounds Muffy was making. It was horrible. It went on for hour after hour. I just couldn't bear to watch. I had to imagine what they were up to."

Now she is afraid to go outside. "I watch the skies every evening, just in case."

It's not only the heavenly ravishing itself that has upset the huge hygienist - it's the long-term effects. "I just can't get closure," she says. "I need to sue someone, but who?"