Weird and Religious
Islamic texts describe a bridge called As Sirat that all people must cross after judgement. It is said to be thinner than a hair and sharper than a sword, suspended over hell. Some cross quickly, others crawl, and some fall. The afterlife includes what sounds like a cosmic obstacle course.
Religious image of the day.
In the name of religion
2015, Garissa in Kenya. Al Shabaab gunmen attacked a university, killing many students. The attackers separated Muslims from Christians and justified the massacre as jihad, presenting Christians as enemies of Islam and targets in a religious war.
Fact
In Christianity, prayer is an important practice, and Christianity encourages communication with God through praise, confession, thanks, and requests.
Common question
When engaging believers, the critic is often confronted to basic questions such as "if there is no God then who created the world?" The question of who created the world assumes what it claims to prove. It presumes that creation requires a creator, that the universe is an artefact rather than a process, and that intention must exist behind existence. None of this is established. It is merely asserted. Science does not begin with the assumption that everything must have a maker. It begins with observation, and observation shows that the universe behaves according to consistent laws. Those laws do not point to intention. They describe relationships. Asking who created the universe is like asking who created gravity. The question adds nothing. It only reveals dissatisfaction with the absence of a comforting kind of answer.
Quote of the day
“Reason is the greatest enemy that faith has.” Martin Luther.
Ask the right question
Why does moral progress, such as opposition to slavery or support for gender equality, often come after resistance from religious authorities?
Religious Crooks
Sathya Sai Baba was an Indian spiritual leader with millions of followers, associated with major charitable projects but also long standing allegations from critics of staged miracles, financial secrecy, and abuse, all strongly denied by his organisation.
For more information, google the name.
Almost all of the crooks appearing in this section have their own wikipedia page.Every country in the world has its fair share of spiritual crooks.
Religion is supposed to bring morality but it also seem to bring a lot of crooks who take advantage of people.