Weird and Religious
In medieval Europe, people believed in “changelings.” If a child was ill, disabled, or behaved differently, families sometimes thought fairies had stolen the real child and left a substitute. This belief led to cruel treatments intended to force the fairy to return the original child.
Religious image of the day.
In the name of religion
2008, Mumbai in India. Islamist Muslim group Lashkar-e-Taiba attacked hotels, a Jewish centre, and public places, killing civilians. The assault was justified as jihad against India and its allies, portraying targets as enemies of Islam and promising religious reward.
Fact
In Zoroastrianism, the soul is judged after death, and Zoroastrianism describes a crossing where a person’s deeds determine their fate.
Age Does Not Matter
There is nothing sacred about an idea simply because it is old or popular. Age does not confer truth and numbers do not confer accuracy. Religion has been protected by both. It has also benefited from the understandable human reluctance to confront uncomfortable conclusions. Letting go of gods feels like loss because religion tied itself to meaning, morality, and identity. It was a theft, not a gift. Meaning does not vanish when gods do. Morality does not collapse. Identity does not dissolve. What disappears is the illusion that these things were ever supplied from outside humanity.
Quote of the day
“No man ever believes that the Bible means what it says. He is always convinced that it says what he means.” George Bernard Shaw.
Ask the right question
Why do near death experiences vary so much across cultures if they are glimpses of the same afterlife?
Religious Crooks
Father Divine, leader of the International Peace Mission movement, claimed divine status and attracted donations and property from followers, with detractors arguing that his religious claims underpinned a system that channelled wealth and loyalty to himself.
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History tells us that wherever fools gathered, there was always a religious crook to take advantage of them. The best way to stop the crooks is not to be a fool.