Weird and Religious
In ancient China, oracle bones were used to ask questions of ancestors or gods. Priests carved questions onto animal bones or turtle shells, then heated them until cracks formed. The pattern of cracks was read as an answer from the spirit world, making burnt bone a decision making device.
Religious image of the day.
In the name of religion
1649, Drogheda in Ireland. Oliver Cromwell’s troops stormed the town and killed many defenders and civilians after surrender disputes. Supporters portrayed the killings as divine judgement against Catholic enemies and rebellion, using biblical language to defend harsh punishment and intimidation.
Fact
In Judaism, the commandments, often counted as 613 mitzvot, guide religious and ethical life, and Judaism sees these as obligations shaping daily conduct.
Redefining God
Attempts to deny the close resemblance between humans and their gods usually involve redefining god into abstraction so that god becomes love itself, goodness itself, or existence itself. This is not discovery but retreat. The original gods with emotions, commands, and preferences become embarrassing under scrutiny, so they are dissolved into vagueness. What remains cannot think, feel, or act, which makes it indistinguishable from nothing at all. This strategy preserves belief while discarding its content, a linguistic gesture that saves the word while losing the idea.
Quote of the day
“Religion is regarded by the common people as true, by the wise as false, and by rulers as useful.” Seneca.
Ask the right question
Why would an all powerful being choose fragile human memory and copying as the method to preserve an eternal message?
Religious Crooks
Swami Premananda was a Hindu guru who ran an ashram in India and attracted international followers, later convicted of rape and linked to additional serious crimes, with courts finding that his spiritual authority was used to control and exploit devotees.
For more information, google the name.
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.