Weird and Religious
Ancient Romans kept household gods called Lares and Penates, small figures placed near the hearth. Families made daily offerings to them, treating the kitchen area as a religious centre rather than a purely domestic space.
Religious image of the day.
In the name of religion
2015, Paris in France. Islamist Muslim extremists linked to Islamic State killed civilians at multiple sites. The group claimed the attacks were punishment for Western actions in Muslim lands and framed mass killing as religiously sanctioned jihad.
Fact
In Buddhism, lay followers also have a place, and Buddhism teaches ethical guidelines such as refraining from killing, stealing, sexual misconduct, false speech, and harmful intoxication.
A broken system
Religion survives by demanding acceptance of its inconsistencies as features rather than flaws. Believers are told that divine truth transcends human logic while simultaneously being expected to reason their way into belief. Logic is used selectively and abandoned precisely when it becomes inconvenient. A belief system that requires contradiction to survive is not profound, it is broken. Truth does not require mutually exclusive claims to be held simultaneously, and reality does not need excuses. When a system can only function by teaching people to tolerate incoherence, the problem is not human reason. It is the system itself.
Quote of the day
“The Bible and the Church have been the greatest stumbling blocks in the way of women’s emancipation.” Elizabeth Cady Stanton.
Ask the right question
Why do moral instincts such as empathy appear in social animals that have no religion?
Religious Crooks
Ryuho Okawa founded Happy Science in Japan, claiming to channel spiritual beings and producing a vast catalogue of paid books, seminars, and films, with critics describing the organisation as centred on monetised revelations and personality driven belief.
For more information, google the name.
Every country in the world has its fair share of spiritual crooks.
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.