Weird and Religious
In parts of India, there have been temples where rats are treated as sacred and allowed to roam freely. Devotees feed them milk and grain, and eating food that a rat has nibbled can be considered a blessing rather than a health risk.
Religious image of the day.
In the name of religion
2015, Garissa in Kenya. Al Shabaab gunmen attacked a university, killing many students. The attackers separated Muslims from Christians and justified the massacre as jihad, presenting Christians as enemies of Islam and targets in a religious war.
Fact
In Buddhism, the Four Noble Truths explain that Buddhism begins with recognising that life involves suffering, that suffering has causes linked to desire, that suffering can end, and that there is a path leading to its end.
The darkness of faith
Faith demands submission of the mind, and religion calls that submission virtue. In practice, it is surrender. When faith is celebrated, questioning becomes dangerous and obedience becomes sacred. That is the point at which reason dies, not through argument lost but through curiosity forbidden. A belief that cannot endure scrutiny deserves none of its protections. Faith does not deepen understanding, it ends it. It does not open the mind, it closes it and then praises the darkness for its tranquillity.
Quote of the day
“The easy confidence with which I know another man’s religion is folly teaches me to suspect that my own is also.” Mark Twain.
Ask the right question
How were millions of animal species fed, housed and prevented from eating one another on Noah's wooden boat?
Religious Crooks
Ann Lee, leader of the Shakers, claimed divine visions and authority, requiring followers to surrender property and live communally, with critics describing the system as one where religious devotion translated into total economic control.
For more information, google the name.
Today we took a look at yet another religious crook but there are hundreds of thousands of them. You could spend a lifetime researching the topic.