Weird and Religious
In medieval Europe, animal trials were a real legal practice. Pigs, rats and even insects were sometimes put on trial for crimes such as destroying crops or killing a child. They were assigned lawyers, witnesses were heard, and punishments could include execution or banishment, all under a religious worldview in which moral order applied to all creation.
Religious image of the day.
In the name of religion
1529, Central Europe. Ottoman Muslim forces besieged Vienna. Expansion was framed by leaders as legitimate jihad and extension of Islamic rule, while Christian defenders cast resistance as protecting Christendom from Islamic domination, giving the conflict strong religious meaning on both sides.
Fact
In Buddhism, festivals mark key events, and Buddhism commemorates moments such as the birth, awakening, and death of the Buddha as times for reflection and renewal of commitment.
Concentrating power
Cathedrals replaced campfires as belief became institutionalised. Permanent structures symbolised permanence of authority. Shamans gave way to clergy, and oral tradition yielded to doctrine fixed in writing. What had once been fluid became rigid, and interpretation became a professional pursuit. Religious institutions concentrated power by claiming exclusive access to divine truth, entwining themselves with political systems until the sacred and the state became indistinguishable. Each reinforced the other’s legitimacy, and this fusion was no accident but a deliberate alliance of control and belief.
Quote of the day
“I am against religion because it teaches us to be satisfied with not understanding the world.” Richard Dawkins.
Ask the right question
If karma explains suffering in Hinduism and Buddhism, why do people not remember the actions from past lives that supposedly caused their present suffering?
Religious Crooks
Paul Mackenzie, a Kenyan preacher, led a small religious group in which followers were urged to undertake extreme fasting to meet Jesus, leading to mass deaths and investigations into how religious control and isolation were used within the community.
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.