Weird and Religious
Early Christianity had groups who believed extreme self denial brought them closer to holiness. Some hermits lived on top of pillars for years, exposed to the weather, preaching to people below. These “pillar saints” thought physical suffering purified the soul.
Religious image of the day.
In the name of religion
1947, Punjab and Bengal during the Partition of India. Mass killings, abductions, and forced migration accompanied the creation of India and Pakistan. Mobs and militias justified attacks as defending Sikh, Hindu, or Muslim communities, avenging wrongs, and securing territory for their religious group.
Fact
In Confucianism, respect for tradition is strong, and Confucianism looks to the past for models of ethical and political order.
Imagination and ritual
Understanding the early gods of war, sex, and crops strips religion of its later mystique. These beings were never about cosmic meaning or universal ethics. They were attempts to control an uncontrollable environment using imagination and ritual. They were invented because humans needed leverage where none existed. That they later became moral judges and eternal creators does not erase their origins. It only hides them.
Quote of the day
“So far as I can remember, there is not one word in the Gospels in praise of intelligence.” Bertrand Russell.
Ask the right question
Why do claims of demons, spirits and possession decline as medical and psychological knowledge increases?
Religious Crooks
Father Yod, born James Baker, led the Source Family in the United States, presenting himself as a spiritual master while running businesses staffed by followers, with accounts describing communal control of members’ earnings and assets.
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.