Weird and Religious
Some strands of early Christianity practised baptism for the dead. Living believers were baptised on behalf of people who had already died, in case the deceased had not had the chance to receive the ritual while alive.
Religious image of the day.
In the name of religion
1998, Maluku Islands in Indonesia. Christian and Muslim militias clashed in communal warfare, burning villages and killing civilians. Both sides justified violence as defence of their Christian or Muslim faith communities, protection of churches or mosques, and resistance to domination.
Fact
In Buddhism, suffering is not seen as punishment, and Buddhism treats it as a natural part of conditioned existence that can be understood and reduced through practice.
Divine mandate
Ruling over others has always required justification, as force alone is costly and unstable. People obey more readily when they believe authority is legitimate rather than merely strong, and religion supplied that legitimacy. If a ruler governed by divine mandate, opposition became not just political disagreement but sacrilege. The ruler was no longer an individual issuing commands but the representative of a higher will. Disobedience was transformed into sin.
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
Why do different religions claim exclusive truth while relying on the same type of personal conviction and ancient texts as evidence?
Religious Crooks
José Luis de Jesús Miranda was a Puerto Rican religious leader who declared himself a divine figure and built a following that contributed money and loyalty to his ministry, with critics pointing to extravagant displays of wealth and claims that religious devotion was used to sustain his lifestyle.
For more information, google the name.
Almost all of the crooks appearing in this section have their own wikipedia page.
That was just a tiny case in a vast ocean of religious crooks.