Weird and Religious
In medieval Europe, people believed in “changelings.” If a child was ill, disabled, or behaved differently, families sometimes thought fairies had stolen the real child and left a substitute. This belief led to cruel treatments intended to force the fairy to return the original child.
Religious image of the day.
In the name of religion
1997, Luxor in Egypt. Islamist militants attacked tourists at Hatshepsut Temple, killing many people. The assault was justified by perpetrators as striking infidels and damaging Egypt’s economy to weaken the state, framed as jihad against an un-Islamic government and foreign presence.
Fact
In Islam, prayer is performed five times a day, and Islam teaches regular structured worship facing the direction of Mecca.
Common flaws
The Qur’an, the Bible, and the Torah are often treated as fundamentally different, but their flaws are remarkably similar. Each reflects the social structure of its time. Each encodes power relations. Each demands submission. Each resists scrutiny. Each claims perfection while requiring armies of interpreters to explain away its failures. If these books were presented today without their sacred status, they would be rejected as the products of their era, not revelations from beyond it.
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
If a god values life, why design a natural world where extinction is common and most species that ever lived are gone?
Religious Crooks
Wayne Bent, also known as Michael Travesser, led a small apocalyptic Christian sect, claimed prophetic authority, and exercised strict control over followers’ lives and resources, later convicted on charges involving abuse within the group.
For more information, google the name.
Almost all of the crooks appearing in this section have their own wikipedia page.
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.