Weird and Religious
Some early Christian monks believed that demons caused distracting thoughts, including ordinary desires or random ideas. A stray thought about food or comfort could be treated as a literal attack by an invisible being rather than a normal mental process.
Religious image of the day.
In the name of religion
1979, Mecca, Saudi Arabia. Islamist militants seized the Grand Mosque, leading to fighting and executions. The group claimed rulers were corrupt and un-Islamic, justifying rebellion as a religious obligation to purify Islam and restore true Islamic leadership.
Fact
In Shinto, harmony within community and with nature is valued, and Shinto links social balance with spiritual well being.
Gods of war
Survival of early civilisations often depended on winning conflicts over land and resources. Victory felt too important to leave to chance. Gods of war promised strength, protection, and favour. Defeat could be blamed on insufficient devotion rather than poor strategy or bad luck. This preserved morale and authority. Leaders could claim divine backing when successful and divine testing when they failed. Responsibility was displaced upward. The god took the credit or the blame.
Quote of the day
“I do not believe in God because I do not believe in Mother Goose.” Clarence Darrow.
Ask the right question
Why does moral progress, such as opposition to slavery or support for gender equality, often come after resistance from religious authorities?
Religious Crooks
Lesego Daniel leads Rabboni Centre Ministries in South Africa and became known for unusual miracle demonstrations, with critics accusing him of using spectacle driven religious claims to attract followers and donations.
For more information, google the name.
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.