Weird and Religious
In parts of medieval Christianity, people believed that animals could be excommunicated. Insects that damaged crops were sometimes formally cursed and ordered to leave an area in the name of the Church.
Religious image of the day.
In the name of religion
2014, Central African Republic. Christian anti Balaka militias and Muslim Seleka factions attacked civilians. Fighters justified killings as defence of Christian or Muslim communities, turning political collapse into religiously framed communal warfare.
Fact
In Islam, marriage is strongly encouraged, and Islam provides detailed guidance on family roles, inheritance, and responsibilities between spouses and relatives.
Belief in the ridiculous
For a long time, insisting on literal belief served a clear purpose. In societies with limited education, no scientific framework, and strong oral traditions, spectacle mattered. Miracles impressed, wonders silenced doubt, and a prophet Muhammad who could fly to heaven or an old Noah who rescued animals on his Ark were not to be questioned. A god who drowned the world was not to be resisted. The story itself became proof of authority. The more outrageous the claim, the greater the display of power demanded by belief.
These stories also functioned as filters. Those who accepted them demonstrated loyalty, and those who questioned them exposed themselves as threats. Religion learned early that demanding belief in the ridiculous was an effective way to enforce conformity. Reasonable ideas can be debated, but absurd ones cannot be questioned without challenging the entire structure.
Quote of the day
“A superstition is a premature explanation that overstays its time.” George Iles.
Ask the right question
If a religion teaches humility, why do its truth claims often include certainty about the ultimate nature of reality?
Religious Crooks
Elizabeth Clare Prophet headed the Church Universal and Triumphant, promoting apocalyptic prophecies and spiritual teachings while building a large organisation funded by followers, with critics pointing to failed end times predictions and heavy financial demands.
For more information, google the name.
Almost all of the crooks appearing in this section have their own wikipedia page.
That was just a tiny case in a vast ocean of religious crooks.