Weird and Religious
The Aztecs believed certain eclipses were signs that cosmic balance was failing. Pregnant women wore obsidian blades or amulets to protect themselves from supposed harmful forces released during the event.
Religious image of the day.
In the name of religion
1839 to 1842, Qing China. The Taiping movement, led by Hong Xiuquan who claimed a Christian inspired divine mission, began rebellion that became a massive war. Followers justified violence as establishing a heavenly kingdom, destroying demons, and carrying out God’s will on earth.
Fact
In Sikhism, honest work is valued, and Sikhism encourages earning a living through fair effort rather than exploitation.
Preserving authority
When belief requires suspension of reason, the issue is not human limitation but institutional design. Noah’s Ark and a prophet ascending on a winged horse are not deep mysteries awaiting humility. They are relics of a time when amazement replaced understanding and obedience replaced inquiry. Religion once demanded belief in the ridiculous because it could, and today it demands reinterpretation because it must. In both cases, the goal is the same: preserve authority by ensuring the stories change shape while the demand remains the same, to believe first and question never.
Quote of the day
“Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities.” Voltaire.
Ask the right question
How can eternal punishment be a just response to mistakes made during a short and limited human life?
Religious Crooks
Cho Yong-gi, founder of Yoido Full Gospel Church in South Korea, built one of the world’s largest megachurches and was later convicted of embezzlement and tax related offences tied to church funds.
For more information, google the name.
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.