Weird and Religious
The medieval Catholic practice of selling indulgences promised to reduce time in purgatory in exchange for money or acts. This commercial approach to the afterlife later helped spark the Protestant Reformation.
Religious image of the day.
In the name of religion
1675, New England in colonial America. King Philip’s War involved brutal fighting between English Puritans and Native peoples. Puritan leaders described the war in biblical terms, portraying Native groups as heathens and the conflict as a providential struggle for a godly society.
Fact
In Confucianism, moral example is more effective than punishment, and Confucianism teaches that virtue inspires imitation.
Acceptance, not evidence
There is a distinction between claims that matter and those that do not. Everyday assertions are often accepted without scrutiny because the stakes are low. If someone claims there is an ant under the carpet, few people demand proof. If someone claims a god exists, dictates morality, judges behaviour, and determines eternal fate, the burden of proof is immense. Extraordinary claims that carry extraordinary consequences require extraordinary evidence. Religion offers none, yet demands acceptance.
Quote of the day
“Religion is the one area of our discourse in which it is considered noble to pretend to be certain about things no human being could possibly be certain about.” Sam Harris.
Ask the right question
Why is questioning religious claims often discouraged if those claims are supposed to be true?
Religious Crooks
John of God, born João Teixeira de Faria, was a Brazilian spiritual healer who claimed psychic surgery abilities and drew international followers, later convicted of sexual crimes, with long standing allegations that spiritual authority was used to exploit vulnerable people.
For more information, google the name.
Every country in the world has its fair share of spiritual crooks.
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.