Weird and Religious
The ancient Norse believed that warriors who died bravely in battle were chosen by Valkyries and taken to Valhalla, where they would fight each other daily, die, come back to life, and feast every night. Eternal life was imagined as an endless cycle of violence and eating.
Religious image of the day.
In the name of religion
2008, Mumbai in India. Islamist Muslim group Lashkar-e-Taiba attacked hotels, a Jewish centre, and public places, killing civilians. The assault was justified as jihad against India and its allies, portraying targets as enemies of Islam and promising religious reward.
Fact
In Shinto, prayer often involves simple requests for health, success, or protection, and Shinto connects everyday life with spiritual presence.
Sacred error
Truth must remain open to revision because evidence accumulates and understanding improves. A claim that cannot be questioned cannot be corrected. Science advances because it treats truth as provisional and revisable. Religion resists this because its authority depends on permanence. A clear example is the resistance to the idea that the Earth moves around the Sun. When early astronomers presented observations that contradicted long held scriptural interpretations placing Earth at the centre, religious authorities treated the claim as a threat to doctrine rather than a scientific question. Evidence from telescopes and planetary motion kept accumulating, yet acceptance was delayed because preserving theological certainty was given priority over adjusting beliefs to match observable reality.
When belief is frozen, error becomes sacred.
Quote of the day
“Religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature.” Karl Marx.
Ask the right question
If a god is all knowing, did that god know every sin before creating the person who would commit it, and if so how is that person morally responsible?
Religious Crooks
Marcial Maciel was the founder of the Legionaries of Christ, a Catholic religious order, and was later found by Vatican investigations to have sexually abused minors and seminarians over many years while using his religious status to avoid scrutiny.
For more information, google the name.
That was just a tiny case in a vast ocean of religious crooks.