Weird and Religious
In parts of Southeast Asia, spirit houses are built outside homes or businesses to give local spirits a place to live. Offerings of food, drinks, or incense are made so the spirits do not cause trouble, creating a parallel unseen household beside the human one.
Religious image of the day.
In the name of religion
1984, Amritsar in India. Indian forces stormed the Golden Temple complex to remove Sikh militants, causing heavy casualties and damage to a sacred site. Militants had framed their campaign as defence of Sikh faith and rights, while the state justified action as restoring order.
Fact
In Christianity, the Holy Spirit is understood as active in believers, and Christianity describes this presence as guiding, strengthening, and transforming individuals.
Sacred texts
Sacred texts are presented as the strongest evidence religion has to offer. They are treated as the final word, the foundation, the proof that gods have spoken. When belief is challenged, scripture is raised like a shield. Read the book, believers say. The confidence is striking. It collapses quickly once the books are actually read with the expectation one would apply to any text claimed to be divine.
Quote of the day
“Men never do evil so completely and cheerfully as when they do it from religious conviction.” Blaise Pascal.
Ask the right question
Why do religious revivals and movements follow social and psychological patterns that can be studied scientifically?
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.
That was just a tiny case in a vast ocean of religious crooks.