Weird and Religious
In some African kingdoms in the past, human sacrifice was connected to royal funerals. Servants or captives could be killed to accompany a ruler, similar to practices elsewhere, reflecting the idea that social hierarchy continued after death.
Religious image of the day.
In the name of religion
2006, Iraq after the Samarra mosque bombing. Sunni and Shia Muslim militias carried out killings, kidnappings, and mosque attacks. Violence was justified as protecting Sunni or Shia Islam, avenging desecration of holy sites, and enforcing sectarian religious control over neighbourhoods.
Fact
In Shinto, the emperor has had a traditional religious role, and Shinto historically connected national identity with sacred authority.
Religion and agriculture
When humans began to settle and agriculture emerged, belief systems changed in response to new dependencies. Land, seasons, and fertility became central to existence, and gods became specialised according to the needs of the moment. One governed rain, another crops, another birth, and another death, reflecting the growing complexity of human labour and the vulnerability of settled life to forces beyond control. Success now depended on coordination, patience, and long-term planning, and religion adapted by providing calendars, festivals, and rituals that synchronised human effort with agricultural cycles. The divine thus became a management tool for time, labour, and community.
Quote of the day
“Religious faith is a neurological disorder.” Sam Harris.
Ask the right question
If the human mind is damaged by brain injury, what does that suggest about the idea of an independent soul?
Religious Crooks
Wayne Bent, also known as Michael Travesser, led a small apocalyptic Christian sect, claimed prophetic authority, and exercised strict control over followers’ lives and resources, later convicted on charges involving minors within the group.
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.
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.