Weird and Religious
Some West African traditions include the idea that twins are spiritually powerful. In certain cultures, if a twin dies, a small carved figure is made to represent the lost child. The figure is washed, fed, and carried by the mother as though it were alive.
Religious image of the day.
In the name of religion
1994, Rwanda. Christian majority context. While mainly ethnic, church spaces were massacre sites and some clergy were complicit. Extremists manipulated Christian language about obedience and order, using religious authority structures to legitimise control, while others resisted and sheltered victims.
Fact
In Hinduism, samsara is the continuing cycle of birth, death, and rebirth, in which the inner self moves through many lives rather than existing only once.
No theological escape
The concept of Free Will collapses under scrutiny. Religions insist that humans are free to choose, yet god is said to know everything that will ever happen. If god knows with certainty what a person will choose tomorrow, that person cannot choose otherwise, and a choice that cannot be different is not free. Knowledge and freedom cannot coexist in the way religion demands. Either god does not know future actions, which undermines omniscience, or humans are not free, which undermines moral responsibility, and theologians have tried for centuries to escape this trap without success.
Quote of the day
“I am against religion because it teaches us to be satisfied with not understanding the world.” Richard Dawkins.
Ask the right question
Why should extraordinary supernatural claims be exempt from the same standards of evidence used in every other field?
Religious Crooks
Elizabeth Clare Prophet headed the Church Universal and Triumphant, promoting apocalyptic prophecies and spiritual teachings while building a large organisation funded by followers, with critics pointing to failed end times predictions and heavy financial demands.
For more information, google the name.
Almost all of the crooks appearing in this section have their own wikipedia page.
Throughout history and still to this day, there has never been a shortage of religious leaders who were not always following their own spiritual advice.