Weird and Religious
In parts of medieval Europe, people believed in “ordeals” as a way to let God decide guilt. An accused person might carry a red hot iron or plunge a hand into boiling water. If the wound healed cleanly, that was taken as proof of innocence.
Religious image of the day.
In the name of religion
1987, Lebanon during the civil war. Sectarian militias carried out massacres and reprisals across religious lines, including attacks on villages and camps. Fighters often justified killings as protecting their religious community, avenging earlier atrocities, and defending sacred identity in a fractured, faith divided society.
Fact
In Zoroastrianism, truthfulness is a key virtue, and Zoroastrianism opposes deception as aligned with destructive forces.
The purpose of existence
The appeal of religious stories explaining life lies not in their accuracy but in the comfort they provide. Purpose feels reassuring when it arrives fully formed, especially when it removes the discomfort of uncertainty and replaces independent thought with obedience. Aligning life with ancient doctrine feels meaningful because it removes the burden of asking questions that may never yield satisfying answers. The problem is that these doctrines were created by people who knew nothing of evolution, cosmology, or the vast age of the universe. To entrust the purpose of existence to ancestors who lacked the means to understand reality as we now do is not humility but intellectual surrender, a retreat from inquiry disguised as faith.
Quote of the day
“Religion is an insult to human dignity. With or without it you would have good people doing good things and evil people doing evil things.” Steven Weinberg.
Ask the right question
If humans are fallen or sinful by nature, why were they created with that nature in the first place?
Religious Crooks
Theodore McCarrick was a high ranking Catholic cardinal who was laicised after church investigations concluded he had sexually abused adults and minors, with findings that his senior religious position enabled misconduct over decades.
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.