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
1099, Jerusalem in the Levant. Crusader armies captured the city during the First Crusade and killed many Muslim and Jewish inhabitants while seizing holy sites. Leaders described the assault as a sacred duty to liberate Christ’s tomb, forgive sins, and serve God through sanctioned holy war.
Fact
In Christianity, fellowship among believers is valued, and Christianity encourages mutual support, shared learning, and collective worship.
Violent domination
Violence aided religion's survival as much as persuasion. Successful religions often spread through conquest, coercion, and law rather than through reasoned agreement. Belief followed armies, not arguments. Temples and churches were raised in lands already conquered, and conversion became an act of submission rather than conviction. The gods of victors displaced those of the defeated, and over generations this erasure was rewritten as revelation rather than domination
Quote of the day
“I would rather have questions that cannot be answered than answers that cannot be questioned.” Richard Feynman.
Ask the right question
Why would a loving deity create a world where survival often depends on killing other living beings?
Religious Crooks
Swami Premananda was a Hindu guru who ran an ashram in India and attracted international followers, later convicted of rape and linked to additional serious crimes, with courts finding that his spiritual authority was used to control and exploit devotees.
For more information, google the name.
Almost all of the crooks appearing in this section have their own wikipedia page.Every country in the world has its fair share of spiritual crooks.
If a real God existed, would he allow crooks to act on his behalf?