Weird and Religious
Ancient Israelites used a ritual called the “ordeal of bitter water” for a woman suspected of adultery. She drank a special mixture prepared by a priest, and physical effects were taken as a sign of guilt or innocence, placing judgment in divine hands.
Religious image of the day.
In the name of religion
2003, Saudi Arabia. Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula carried out bombings against residential compounds. The group justified attacks as jihad against Western presence and un-Islamic rulers, promising religious reward for striking perceived enemies of Islam.
Fact
In Jainism, compassion toward all life forms is expected, and Jainism links empathy with spiritual growth and responsibility.
Created for punishment
The concept of creation is riddled with inconsistency. God is said to create humans with desires, impulses, and limitations, then punish them for acting on those traits. This would be unacceptable in any human context. Designing a flawed system and blaming its components for failure is not wisdom but abdication of responsibility, and religion insists this is justice only because god is exempted from the standards applied to everything else.
Quote of the day
“My own mind is my own church.” Thomas Paine.
Ask the right question
If divine punishment teaches a lesson, what lesson is learned through eternal punishment?
Religious Crooks
Jean Vanier founded the L’Arche communities for people with disabilities and was widely admired as a Catholic spiritual figure, but an internal investigation after his death found he had engaged in manipulative sexual relationships with adult women under the guise of spiritual guidance.
For more information, google the name.
Every country in the world has its fair share of spiritual crooks.
Today we took a look at yet another religious crook but there are hundreds of thousands of them. You could spend a lifetime researching the topic.