Weird and Religious
Early Christianity had groups who believed extreme self denial brought them closer to holiness. Some hermits lived on top of pillars for years, exposed to the weather, preaching to people below. These “pillar saints” thought physical suffering purified the soul.
Religious image of the day.
In the name of religion
1947 to 1948, Palestine. Fighting between Jewish and Arab Muslim forces included attacks on civilian areas and expulsions. Religious narratives about promised land, holy sites, and sacred duty were used by both sides to justify control and removal of populations.
Fact
In Jainism, the soul is believed to exist in all forms of life, and Jainism holds that even very small organisms possess a living essence.
Merging gods
As societies became more complex, the functional gods were merged, ranked, or replaced. Their responsibilities expanded. War gods absorbed justice. Fertility gods absorbed family structure. Agricultural gods absorbed calendars and law. What began as narrow functions slowly turned into broader authority. This expansion was not driven by revelation. It was driven by social need. Religion followed power and necessity, not truth.
Quote of the day
“Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities.” Voltaire.
Ask the right question
If a prophet speaks for god, how can ordinary people reliably distinguish a true prophet from a deluded or manipulative one?
Religious Crooks
Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh led the Dera Sacha Sauda sect in India and was convicted of rape, with the court case portraying a system where female followers were vulnerable to abuse under his religious leadership.
For more information, google the name.
Almost all of the crooks appearing in this section have their own wikipedia page.
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.