Weird and Religious
In parts of Southern Africa, traditional healers called sangomas are believed to be chosen by ancestors through illness or disturbing dreams. Training involves learning to communicate with spirits, interpret bones thrown on the ground, and diagnose spiritual causes of problems.
Religious image of the day.
In the name of religion
1536 to 1541, Cuzco region of Peru. Spanish conquest of the Inca Empire involved battles, executions, and repression of resistance alongside forced Christianisation. Conquest was framed as spreading the true faith, ending idolatry, and exercising divine authority granted to Christian rulers and missionaries.
Fact
In Taoism, inner stillness is encouraged, and Taoism uses quiet reflection and meditation to align the mind with the deeper flow of reality.
Human texts
The first thing that stands out about sacred texts is how thoroughly human these writings are. They are written in the language, concerns, fears, and prejudices of their time. They obsess over land, lineage, food, sex, obedience, and punishment. They know nothing of bacteria, genetics, planetary motion, deep time, or the scale of the universe. They describe the world as a small stage built for a single tribe, watched closely by a god who cares deeply about local customs and very little about anything else. This is not the voice of a cosmic intelligence. It is the voice of ancient people explaining their world with limited tools.
Quote of the day
“Faith is the great cop out, the great excuse to evade the need to think and evaluate evidence.” Richard Dawkins.
Ask the right question
Why do different sects of the same religion accuse each other of serious error while using the same scripture?
Religious Crooks
Makoto Takahashi, known as Master Ryuho Okawa of Happy Science in Japan, founded a spiritual movement producing large volumes of paid spiritual literature and events, with critics describing the organisation as a profit driven religious enterprise built around his claimed revelations.
For more information, google the name.
Almost all of the crooks appearing in this section have their own wikipedia page.Every country in the world has its fair share of spiritual crooks.
Throughout history and still to this day, there has never been a shortage of religious leaders who were not always following their own spiritual advice.