Weird and Religious
In some Central African traditions, certain masks used in ceremonies are not seen as costumes but as living spiritual beings once worn. The wearer is believed to disappear as a person and become the spirit represented by the mask, with a different voice and authority.
Religious image of the day.
In the name of religion
1209, Béziers in southern France. Forces in the Albigensian Crusade attacked the city and killed large numbers of residents while targeting Cathar believers. The campaign was justified as eliminating heresy, defending Catholic truth, and restoring religious unity under papal authority through violent purification.
Fact
In Jainism, meditation is important, and Jainism uses reflection and concentration to purify the mind and reduce karmic attachment.
The illusion of control
Early humans did not understand bad weather as bad luck or atmospheric physics but as displeasure expressed by higher powers. Drought meant anger, flood meant punishment, and storms meant warning, which gave humans a sense of control because if events had intention behind them, then behaviour mattered. Appeasement became possible, and through rituals, sacrifices, and obedience, people created the feeling that something could be done. The illusion of influence was preferable to helplessness, and although these actions achieved nothing, they reduced anxiety and made existence feel more ordered and less arbitrary.
Quote of the day
“Religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature, the heart of a heartless world, and the soul of soulless conditions. It is the opium of the people.” Karl Marx.
Ask the right question
If revelation is the most important knowledge, why is it not delivered in a way that removes all reasonable doubt?
Religious Crooks
Elizabeth Clare Prophet headed the Church Universal and Triumphant, promoting apocalyptic prophecies and building a large organisation funded by followers, with critics pointing to failed predictions and heavy financial expectations.
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.
That was just a tiny case in a vast ocean of religious crooks.