Weird and Religious
Some African Christian movements blend biblical stories with older local beliefs, including ideas about spirit possession, protective charms, and prophetic dreams. Churches may hold all night prayer sessions aimed at driving out spirits believed to cause everyday problems.
Religious image of the day.
In the name of religion
1995, Tokyo in Japan. Members of Aum Shinrikyo released sarin gas in the subway, killing and injuring commuters. The cult blended apocalyptic beliefs and claimed spiritual necessity. Leaders justified violence as purifying the world, protecting followers, and fulfilling a divine end times mission.
Fact
In Judaism, the commandments, often counted as 613 mitzvot, guide religious and ethical life, and Judaism sees these as obligations shaping daily conduct.
Human texts
The first thing that stands out about sacred texts is how thoroughly human these writings are. They are written in the language, concerns, fears, and prejudices of their time. They obsess over land, lineage, food, sex, obedience, and punishment. They know nothing of bacteria, genetics, planetary motion, deep time, or the scale of the universe. They describe the world as a small stage built for a single tribe, watched closely by a god who cares deeply about local customs and very little about anything else. This is not the voice of a cosmic intelligence. It is the voice of ancient people explaining their world with limited tools.
Quote of the day
“Religion has actually convinced people that there is an invisible man living in the sky who watches everything you do.” George Carlin.
Ask the right question
Why would an all loving deity create a system where doubt can lead to eternal loss?
Religious Crooks
Samuel Bateman led a breakaway Mormon fundamentalist group, claimed prophetic authority, and controlled a closed religious community, later arrested on serious criminal charges, with authorities alleging that religious leadership was used to dominate members and their assets.
For more information, google the name.
That was just a tiny case in a vast ocean of religious crooks.