Weird and Religious
In Japan, there are Buddhist temples that hold memorial services for broken objects such as needles and even dolls. The idea is that objects have a kind of spiritual presence, and throwing them away without respect could be improper. Old dolls are sometimes burned in rituals rather than discarded as rubbish.
Religious image of the day.
In the name of religion
622 to 630, Arabian Peninsula. Early Muslim community conflicts under Muhammad included battles such as Badr and the conquest of Mecca. Fighting was justified in Islamic terms as defence of the Muslim community, struggle against persecution, and establishing God’s rule over society and sacred space.
Fact
In Islam, modest interaction between unrelated men and women is emphasised in many interpretations, and Islam links this to ideas of morality, family stability, and social order.
What sacred texts reflect
Sacred texts are full of scientific nonsense. This is not incidental, it is foundational. The universe is described as young and small. Life is created in the wrong order. Humans appear fully formed. Disease is moral rather than biological. Weather is controlled by mood. None of this reflects hidden wisdom. It reflects ignorance. Believers often respond by insisting these passages are metaphorical. This raises an obvious question. How does one distinguish metaphor from mistake, and why a god capable of creating galaxies would choose to communicate through riddles that reliably mislead for centuries.
Quote of the day
“Science flies you to the moon. Religion flies you into buildings.” Victor J. Stenger.
Ask the right question
Why would an eternal, self sufficient being create humans at all, and what need would that fulfil?
Religious Crooks
Paul Schäfer led Colonia Dignidad in Chile, presenting it as a Christian community while running an isolated compound where followers’ labour and assets were controlled, later exposed as a site of extensive abuse and corruption.
For more information, google the name.
Almost all of the crooks appearing in this section have their own wikipedia page.
If a real God existed, would he allow crooks to act on his behalf?